The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

This from the China Daily / China.org recently:
The chairman of a major pharmaceutical company and his employee died in an explosion caused by a “chemical experiment gone wrong” at the businessman’s residential villa. Police found an instruction book of ozonizer as well as fragments of oxygen cylinders on the fourth floor, suggesting a chemical experiment [...]

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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 [...]

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The Brutal Truth about Buying Chinese Antiques on eBay
This is a great little guide from an ebay seller who goes by the screen name of  loveshackbaybee. Its fairly comprehensive and worth a reprint here. Well written, very candid and overall good advice for the masses looking to pick up that “authentic Qing Dynasty vase at [...]

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I am noticing a trend where just about “everyone and anyone” is now selling so called “Chinese antique furniture” (or some variation of this) and misrepresenting it as any number of different things. Items made just yesterday (antique reproductions) are falsely labeled as genuine antiques and the real antiques are often completely misclassified. I [...]

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Another excellent youtube find.
[http://youtube.com/watch?v=742wDih0ySI]

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There is a great show on on BTV (Beijing TV) called “Collection” which I happened to stumble upon late one evening while flipping though the Chinese channels. Normally I avoid the Chinese channels like the plague since about 90% of the time they are eiter a) boring b) lame c) boring and d) lame and [...]

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I am by far not an expert and to be honest, my main advantage is simply having the opportunity to see, touch & feel different restored, un-restored pieces on regular basis. When the factory is literally right behind you and you can hang out with the workers and see the entire process, one can [...]

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Here is an excerpt from an interesting article I found on yahoo about Hong Kong’s Hollywood road:
“On Hollywood Road, Hong Kong’s famed strip of art and antique outlets, the shopfronts provide a veritable tour of Chinese and Asian history, selling everything from Tibetan temple carpets and centuries-old Chinese wedding cabinets to giant Cambodian and Burmese [...]

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If you have never been to the Panjiayuan weekend market, you are really missing out. Genuine antiques? Not really (Well maybe one or two) But cool stuff? Definately!
It you are a wholesaler or professional in the industry, you know this is a horrible place to do business. On the spot cash payments and [...]

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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. [...]

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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 [...]

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FAKE/REPLICATION
New, handcrafted pieces using natural materials (May use older or aged materials). Produced in a
workshop or “cottage industry” environment and based on actual antiques with extra effort put into
each piece for it to be made to look unique. Like antiques items can be very similar though no two will
be exactly alike. Pieces will possess little [...]

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CONVERTED
Converted items are both antique & reproduction at the same time. Because of this the materials
and/or construction should possess a very slight degree of wear/tear due to age/use. The main overall
design of a converted piece may remain the same or similr but heavy modifications are made including
structural, finishes etc

KNOWLEDGE: Basic an understanding of periods, regions, [...]

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For anyone who really is looking to have more control over the complete look of a piece, here is an excellent article by Architectural Classics entitled How to Age Brass – Ultimate Guide. Definitely worth a look if you are interested in the specific process.
The link is: http://www.architecturalclassics.com/blog/how-to-age-brass/
There is also a few good books on [...]

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Another youtube find, apparently from someone (Tricia Wang) shopping in the various “antique” markets (notice the quotes) here in Beijing. Highly doubt there are many antiques to be found here but still… its a lot of fun and a great cultural experience. Love the music overlay….

If the embeded version does not play, try this direct [...]

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