The specialists guide to Chinese antiques.

18th-Century Qianlong Jade Collection from Qing Dynasty
Appraised Value:
$710,000 – $1,070,000
Watch the appraisal video here on the Antiques Roadshow website. Or even better, watch this interview with the owner in North Carolina.

GUEST: My father was in China two different times– I think in the late ’30s and sometime during the ’40s, with the Army, and he [...]

[Read more →]

“I have a lot of people approach me with inquires about selling porcelain collections they have either inherited or amassed over the years. I am guessing this might be one of the reasons why:”

THE OWNERS of a Chinese imperial vase which sold for €110,000 at a Co Laois auction on Tuesday – a record-breaking price [...]

[Read more →]

The Antiques Roadshow on PBS, has some great Chinese antique-relevant episodes, particularly this one on Chinese reverse glass paintings. Even cooler is the fact you can watch these episodes online!  The Chinese reverse painted glass mirror pictured above was recently sitting in our shop before it was purchased by someone who is now enjoying it [...]

[Read more →]

Another super quick post but a link worth including here: http://www.oxfordauthentication.com/
One thing to be aware of is that thermoluminescence testing works only with fired items, in other words items like porcelain, earthenware or bronze. If you don’t know what thermoluminescence testing is have a quick read of the snippet below from their website:

Thermoluminescence
A [...]

[Read more →]

(This is a section from a previous post which I think is worth separating out here, since I am asked this question quite a lot).
Where can I find more detailed information on Chinese porcelain, pottery and ceramics?
Chinese porcelain, Oriental ceramics and Japanese porcelain and pottery are all unique entire subjects of their own [...]

[Read more →]

A customer recently sent me these photos of a Chinese Noodle cabinet which they purchased from an estate auction. Their inquiry was pertaining to its age, value and authenticity. In other words, a quick antique appraisal. The question of course was the one I am asked most frequently which was “Is it old and is [...]

[Read more →]

Here’s a nice post on another blog that I happened to stumble upon today:

Rose Medallion Porcelain – An Antique Chinese Import

Very informative overview of how to recognize and collect 19th and 20th century rose-medallion china. While not necessarily Chinese porcelain, he also has a nice explanation of what Flow Blue China is.

Related Books:
Easy come, easy [...]

[Read more →]

Recently we have installed a live-chat function, and we start to meet a lot of interesting people through that.
There was this man who possesses an antique bench from China, a masterpiece. He would like to know the value of it. Sounds like : “the antiques road show” on BBC television! (where people bring their ‘treasures’ [...]

[Read more →]

If you read my previous post “blurring the line” you know how difficult it is to honestly decide whether or not an item should be considered an “genuine Chinese antique.” Answering this question becomes even more difficult when you consider the awkward journey a piece my take as it travels through the “antique-reproduction” supply chain. [...]

[Read more →]

Determing whats antique and whats reproduction is getting harder and harder. Sometimes this is a deliberate attempt to pass off a reproduction as antique with the idea that customer would be willing to pay more for the antique. But other times, the line between whats antique and whats reproduction is simply just blurry. In the [...]

[Read more →]

A few interesting examples and baselines which can be used when making an assessment of quality. You will need to click each photo to see the enlarged verion and associated comments.
Poor to low quality
This piece speaks for itself. Particularly evident is fitting which uses the lowest quality of materials.

Related Books:
Water Management: Water Quality Concerns, Management [...]

[Read more →]