I find the processes used in the workshop fascinating, and though others might enjoy it if I share some of them here. Today we look at the steps taken from start to finish to create one type of finish: a slightly distressed thick black lacquer finish with hand rubbed  edges.

In this case, the project was a large floor standing mirror with thick rounded edges.

Step one: After applying a base layer of gesso, multiple coats of black lacquer are applied to a wood frame allowing for time to dry in between each coat. Elmwood is used for the frame in this case, due to the large size of this particular mirror frame.

Step two: After the lacquer has been given sufficient time to properly dry, edges are scraped away, down to the bare wood, with a dull blade or scrapper.

Edges and any other protruding surfaces are then scraped again this time using the flat portion of the blade to create and irregular effect and to imitate wear and tear.

Since each piece is hand rubbed, no two will ever be exactly the same and this is a highly subjective process which varies depending on the overall structure of the item.

Depending on the structure of the piece, one would normally scrape away areas of heavy use, joints or areas likely to be easily rubbed over the years in passing.  If the intended look is just distressed, this will suffice.  For an actual “antiqued” effect, the the bottom areas would require more attention as these areas would normally be subject to more wear and tear. Opinions may vary on what is “natural looking” and whats not depending on the artisan and the intended recipient.

Step three: Lots of gentle hand sanding to smooth out any hard contrast between the lacquer and the bare wood as well as to increase the “naturally occurring” distressed feel. This looks much easier then it is and takes quite a bit of time to smooth out the edges of the tick dried lacquer.

Step four: A brown stain is then hand applied to the exposed bare areas of wood. The actual color of the stain may be darker or lighter depending on the desired effect. In this case we used a darker brown for that slightly worn look.

Step six: Several coats of clear lacquer are then evening applied (sprayed)  over the entire surface. This not only seals in the stain but also give the appearance of an even thicker finish. After the lacquer has dried it is then lightly sanded and waxed for a smooth, even and slightly glossy finish.

The final result: A beautiful slightly worn finish with just enough character and its own unique hand crafted beauty.

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

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I am always a fan of people who dig into a subject, taking the time to take photos, make illustrations and simply dig in to the nitty-gritty details. People often forget that it takes time to take the time to share their own thoughts and insights on topics they are passionate about. So I was excited when “JP” at earlyming.com was kind enough to allow me to share his writings (below)  on collecting antique Chinese porcelain.

It’s been some time now since I’ve made any additions to my collection. There are several reasons. The first being that authentic Ming and Qing porcelains of value are quite rare and difficult to find. The second reason is that the online supply of such is totally out of control. I am speaking mainly of e`Bay. I like e`Bay, and in the early days (1998) there was an occasional bargain to be found.

Comparing the early trading days of 1998 to the present, I see many changes. Back in 1998 you could search for the exact phrase “Ming Dynasty” and come up with about 15 or 20 items. Of those, possibly one or two might be authentic. Statements of authenticity were carefully phrased with sellers wanting to build a good reputation. The e`Bay picture for Chinese porcelain quickly started to change.

Doing that same search on e`Bay  today now returns about 300 items. Most are guaranteed to be authentic Ming Dynasty. The sellers are now international, many from China. The Chinese authorities would not allow national treasures that belong in their museums to be sold for pennies to outsiders. The Chinese are not foolish. Of the many wise sayings Confucius came up with, he’d have smiled at the famous P.T. Barnum saying that there is a customer born every minute. Time of course has replaced the quoted word customer with the word sucker.  I bowed out of e`Bay’s Chinese porcelain trading years ago and have only recently returned with a renewed interest. I’m working on the detection of  fakes.

Early in 1999 I reported a certain seller, user  thesaurusfinearts, to e`Bay as being very dishonest in their claims, thinking they would look into the matter. Nothing happened.   They instead allowed them to continue trading for another 4 years. In 2003 I got the following message when checking the username:

This seller is not currently offering any items for sale

Hmmm… I wonder why. Here’s why.

The US Government finally stepped in and closed down the dealer, Thesaurus Fine Arts of Seattle. Their claims of guaranteed thermoluminescence testing were finally challenged by an investigative reporter. Oxford’s Authentication Laboratory of England and Daybreak Archaeometric Laboratory of the US, both world leaders in the field, verified the fraudulent test results. Charges of fraud have been filed causing Thesaurus Fine Arts of Seattle to close down their operation. Click here to view that article.

In the Reference section of this site, under the heading of Buyer Beware, I point out one of the tactics to look out for in online auctions, the private auction. This particular seller quickly converted to the private auction early on. At one point I tallied up the asking price of the 50 some items they were offering that week alone. It came to $250,000.00. So why did e`Bay allow trading to continue for so many years in opposition of the many complaints I know they received?

Though the sales were few and far between, they must have received a nice commission on some of the 162 transactions listed, 88 from unique users.

I still like e`Bay, but only hope that they will now establish guidelines to protect the buyers instead of ignoring complaints, and turning a blind eye until the US Government has to step in.

Continuing on now with the detection of fakes,  I’ve chosen these particular pieces as they have the appearance of genuine Ming blue and white.  In some cases they almost mirror what you would see in a Christies or Sotheby’s catalogue.

Because of the explosion of supposedly authentic Ming and Qing Dynasty porcelain now available on e`Bay, I decided to do some purchasing to put together a page devoted to help identify fakes. I was looking for good quality fakes. What I got was bad quality fakes. Even though they were guaranteed authentic Ming Dynasty, I couldn’t complain since I knew they were fakes when I bought them. One however was so bad that I immediately demanded a refund and was granted one with no questions asked. My total expenditure for these items was about 100 dollars, but it might save someone thousands of dollars. I won’t disclose the sellers, as they are still trading on e`Bay under many different names.  I will add however, if you’re not careful on e`Bay when buying China, you can get Shanghaied in a New York minute..

This first item was sold several years back as coming from a sunken ship off the Chinese mainland. It shows the mark Chenghua which is very rare. I’ve only seen (held) two or three that are authentic. The images on the auction page were carefully chosen in the fact that they hid the important signs of it being fake. It’s my belief that the cup did indeed come from a shipwreck and was quite possibly Chenghua. It displayed many of the properties such as very thin potting, a delicate (intricate) play scene, and an under-glaze blue of the native Chinese variety that is characteristic of the reign. The glaze itself was almost non-existent, giving it a more flat or matte finish. This possibly from 500 years of being submerged. The reign mark however is new, added recently. Close examination shows it with a deeper cobalt blue and covered with glaze. The actual shipwreck is on record, documented as salvaged by Captain Hatcher who has made many discoveries of shipwrecks throughout the world. Someone obtained this item, faked the mark, and ruined the treasure.  It did have a numbered Hatcher sticker applied.

It’s a soft glaze, since they probably didn’t have the kiln, or the knowledge to refire the entire piece.  A poor quality attempt to deceive.

______________________________________________

This next item, recently purchased, is an amateurish attempt to create a Xuande stem cup. I once had such a cup about twice this size, only it was late Ming, with the mark being apocryphal. I sold it under that condition for about what I paid for it, continuing my search for the authentic. The cup shown here however, is a very poor attempt to duplicate a Xuande stem cup. Symmetrically it’s perfect, meaning it’s tooled or machined. A very thick potting and the under glaze cobalt has run giving it a blurry appearance. The reign mark is supposed to be Xuande, but it too has blurred making it almost un-decipherable. The auction pictures were small, without showing any macro. Just enough to fool the buyer into thinking the image itself was out of focus, but enough detail to see it’s a Xuande mark. Glaze is lustrous with zero imperfections or wear showing. A piece like this would have been immediately discarded (destroyed) if from the period.

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This next item is from the same seller and also supposedly Xuande. Again, symmetrically perfect, same characteristics as the previous fake, only the decoration is a little better. Not blurry and it does have the correct color for the rich Mohammedan blue of genuine Xuande.  This classic design is seen on many early Ming porcelains.

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Next is a very easily recognizable fake just from the mark. The strokes are way too difficult, not light and flowing. Instead they are thick and heavy, almost a heaped and piled effect. Sometimes this effect is seen on the decoration of genuine pieces, never on the mark. It shows repeated (retraced)  strokes on the characters. Though the bowl itself is not symmetrical, it was created from a modern machined bowl, just tooled to modify its shape to be slightly out of round. Both the decoration and the reign mark were created by the same hand, displaying the same characteristic. Rarely did the hand that created the decoration also do the mark. The only thing right about the bowl is the deep rich Mohammedan blue of the under-glaze cobalt.

______________________________________________

This next reign mark is an excellent example of a mark made to deceive by someone with little or no knowledge of Chinese calligraphy. I did not purchase this piece, only saved the image for the example.

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This next item is one to pay close attention to. This came from a second hand furniture store. A Westerner with a good knowledge of Chinese calligraphy might be quick to point out that it’s a fake since the mark (temple mark in this case) has a mistake, several actually. One of the characters seems backwards and another appears incomplete. Delving a bit deeper into Chinese calligraphy, into the origin and etymology of the characters, shows the characters are indeed correct. I’ve come across about 7 or 8 marks with this exact same characteristic, several in museums. The explanation goes into a bit of detail which includes the connection between calligraphy and seal marks.

Click Here to view that information.

.

This bowl turns out to be of Imperial quality and was probably a gift made personal by the mark being placed by the presenter. An old hand in this case. At first glance with some knowledge, it’s a fake, and many an expert might pronounce it a fake. However, an in-depth detailed study taking in the quality, characteristic, and specifically the mark, say it’s priceless.

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.I recently had the opportunity of examining 8 pieces of supposedly authentic Ming dynasty porcelain from a village near Shanghai, China. All but one were fake.  I’ve chosen one of those pieces to show you since I’ve started to see several of these same pieces now appear on e`Bay.

Here is one piece for example. It’s actually an attempt to copy the early Ming, or possibly late Yuan style. The image below shows what a quick cleaning revealed (or exposed).  The dark color looks authentic, and some genuine early Ming pieces have this property.  On the authentic it can also be cleaned up (lightened) to some extent. But on this particular piece it was clearly done to deceive.  If the piece were as old as the unglazed underbase discoloration suggests, the overall surface of the glazed areas would also have signs of 600 years of wear in the way of small scratches, nicks, and cracks. . The cleaning was done with a stiff bristle toothbrush using soap and warm water. It took very little effort. Rarely will a piece clean up this easily. It is possible on some genuine pieces, but examination of the other properties show the discoloration was clearly done with intent to suggest 600 years of wear. This next image shows what appears to be 600 years of wear to the footrim. It looks real, but is  indeed faked. It’s hard to believe the image below is the same image, only cleaned up. It has the right color, the right design, even the right feel. It’s looking closer with a magnifier that tells the true story. Not just in the lack of discoloration, but how the smooth, sharp lines show no wear at all.  This would not be a characteristic of a genuine piece having the discoloration and wear as suggested by the image. . Close examination under a 30 power microscope reveals straight lines with no visible wear other than from normal manufacture. Not even a good fake. The image  below is an example of what the entire glazed surface area looks like, completely new. Not a single scratch or sign of wear, even to the rim where it would be most expected. The entire glazed surface is smooth and uniform.  Not a single scratch over the entire surface. The experienced forgers will at least attempt to create the look of normal wear, but it’s almost impossible. This is where the use of a fairly powerful microscope comes in handy. Last but not least is the underbase.  Even when the fake discoloration was removed, the color and texture revealed beneath are not that far off from the authentic. The color and texture on this piece were created with a slight glaze. It’s easier to obtain the correct coloring with an additive than hoping the kiln will produce it naturally. Regarding the above piece as well as the other  pieces accompanying it, I was doubtful that the source  would readily admit to their being new. He at first vehemently denied the accusation. But after being confronted with the details challenging their authenticity, he finally admitted that they were indeed modern reproductions. This, after first blaming the source on a villager his father obtained them from. I now know the true story. The one piece I did not challenge was from another source and very authentic. I believe he himself thought it a fake.

I hope the above information is helpful. Thank you for viewing the page, and always remember what P.T. Barnum said.

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

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In order to make it a bit more user friendly I have a) added Hanyu pinyin pronunciations and b) reorganized the list itself according to specific categories. Trust me when I say this was no easy task! There are also links to pronunciation via the MDBG Chinese-English dictionary wordpress plugin. Though far from perfect, I hope this is a useful guide to anyone working with Chinese antique furniture. The list is broken down as follows:

Decorative Beading and Molding Names

TOP

Patterns, Designs and Motifs

TOP

Common Names of Chinese Furniture

TOP

Hinges, Pulls and Metal Hardware

TOP

Chinese Joinery Names And Types

TOP

Legs and Feet Descriptions

TOP

Lacquers, Inlays, and Wood Carving Names

TOP

Woods and Materials Names

TOP

Names of Decorative Openings

Other Specialized Terms and Words

TOP

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

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When a Chinese traditional homes is demolished  to make way for the new, elements like antique window screens, carved panels & screens and other architectural elements are typically salvaged to be reborn as decorative items in modern homes. Thinking about adding such a piece of history to your collection?  Here’s a quick look at the restoration process  from start to finish.

Before and after cleaning

1. Cleaning

A years of being exposed to rain, dust, smoke (and who knows what else), quite a lot of build up can occur, which must be carefully removed. While there are several methods used in cleaning, initial stages typically use water.  Depending on preferences, this process may be repeated several times, often using a small quantity of a gentle cleaner like hand soap or a touch of dish washing liquid.

Removing years of dirt

In Chinese, this process is often referred to as piāo bái   (漂白) which means “to lighten,” and details may emerge that were not evident under all the years of dirt.

Beautiful color emerges

2. Repairs to carvings

After cleaning, the second step is repairing some (or all depending on preference) damaged sections of the wood carving. Typically this involves scraps of the same or similar wood which are then pegged and glued over the damaged areas (known as bu mutou 补木头).  Once pegged and dried, the damaged sections can be carefully re-carved, sanded and detailed to match. Some people may prefer to re-carved/repair every minute detail. Others may choose to repair major damage only. Depending on the shape and structure of the carving other repairs to joinery may be required as well.

Repairing of damaged sections of carving

3. Touch-ups

After any damaged sections of the antique carving have been repaired, if the screen was painted, then replaced sections will need to be carefully hand painted to match the original color and style.

Retouching the color

4. Display in the home!

The final and most rewarding step… Options range from hanging or mounting to stands and even frames.

Display in the home

5. Learn More

I recommend you buy the book Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage of a Nation from Amazon.

Enjoy!

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

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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 a great price!” I  added some screen shots as well of some so called “authentic Asian antiques” which are currently on offer on ebay.

As long time collectors of Asian art, we have purchased many authentic and truly remarkable Chinese antiques on eBay. You can too. But fair warning – you need to really understand how this fraud riddled business works – or you will most certainly be ripped off.

Here is a summary of years of hard learned experience.FACT # 1 – EXPORTATION OF GENUINE ANTIQUES FROM CHINA IS TIGHTLY CONTROLLED.

It is highly illegal for sellers based in the Peoples Republic of China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan Republic of China, to export very old Chinese antiques out of their respective countries. These countries have enacted strict Cultural Preservation laws designed to keep their national heritage at home.

In the Peoples Republic of China, exporting anything earlier than 1796 (the end of the reign of Emperor Qianlong)  is strictly forbidden. Items dating from 1797 to 1949 must be inspected  for approval, and most often Imperial or other culturally important pieces are prohibited from exportation. In Taiwan, anything 100 years or older cannot be exported. In the Peoples Republic of China, the penalties for smuggling “Cultural Relics” are severe. Lengthy imprisonment, and even in serious cases execution. The Government of the Peoples Republic of China doesn’t fool around -they execute grave robbers. This is well documented – look it up on the internet.

Some common, lower quality antique items are legally exported from China, and bear a red wax inspection seal, a so called “jianding”. You see these seals occasionally on items from western sellers. These seals are found on genuine antique items sold at official government “Friendship Stores”. Tourists can also request inspection of items that they find locally, and if compliant, Chinese Customs will affix a seal to them. There are several versions and forms of these seals. All the seal means is that the piece was inspected by some Chinese government official and was found to be in accordance with the antiquities exportation laws. It is possible to obtain a seal for a brand new fake. Remember – seals alone are no guarantee that the advertised age of  item is accurate as the seals do not authenticate the piece.

Hong Kong was the gateway to the west and served as an important trade center for Asian antiques for many years. When rule reverted to China in 1997, many of the free and open trading practices were curtailed and selective enforcement of Cultural Relics regulations began. Although some HK dealers claim they are still allowed free trade, it may be safest to assume that Hong Kong dealers now fall under the same Cultural Relics laws as those in Beijing. Do business with HK dealers at your own risk.

Tibet is part of China, and the same rules apply there too.

Can you imagine any official Chinese Museum or other legitimate Chinese business issuing “Certificates of Authenticity” for the export of very old and very valuable antiques? There are plenty of them on eBay! Complete with snazzy photos, lots of bogus Chinese text,  and official looking stamped seals! Some people are actually paying thousands of dollars for fake pieces from these scammers, and leaving glowing feedback. Don’t fall for this pathetic scam.

FACT #2 – THERE IS A HUGE DEMAND FOR GENUINE CHINESE ANTIQUES INSIDE CHINA.

The market for genuine Chinese antiques in China is much hotter there than anywhere else in the world. China has many new auction houses that do a booming business selling genuine Chinese antiques to the nouveaux riche Chinese businessmen. It is a well known fact that world record prices for Chinese antiques are being set in auctions taking place in China. American and European auction prices for equivalent articles are substantially lower than typical prices achieved in China. That’s why Sotheby’s and Christies are so hot to get a piece of the action, and have established a HK presence. If a China based antique dealer acquires a valuable piece, he or she would sell it inside China, legally, for a lot of money. Why on earth would they want to sell it cheap on eBay, to a foreign buyer, and take the chance of imprisonment?

We collect certain types of Chinese antiques – specifically carved lacquer, or Cinnabar. We have an extensive library of carved lacquer reference books, and a large collection of genuine pieces – many of them found on eBay. We look at every single listing for carved lacquer, and have looked at every listing for many years now. We have NEVER seen a genuine antique carved lacquer piece offered by any China based dealer. Not once. And we have looked at countless thousands of listings.

FACT #3 – MOST CHINESE ANTIQUES LISTED ON EBAY ARE MODERN FAKES.

The overwhelming majority, maybe 90% or more, of all Chinese “antique” items listed on eBay (regardless of the source) are not antique – they are modern reproductions. Or tacky fantasy creations – like these horrid examples currently appearing to the right of this guide! ————–>

Some reproductions are beautiful, and undoubtedly require skilled artistic abilities. But heads up – you are buying a worthless modern decorative piece. If you like the piece, that’s great. If you keep it long enough it will be an antique some day!
FACT #4 – BEWARE OF IMPORTED FAKES FROM WESTERN DEALERS.

There are several large “Chinese Antique Dealers” out there who live in the USA, or Canada, or UK. They seem to have the same stuff as advertised by their mainland brothers, but they proudly display “USA DEALER”, or “UK DEALER”, or similar. This does not mean that these items are genuine. This means that these con artists import their modern junk, and sell it from a western country to an unsuspecting dupe who lives in a western country. Apparently, there is no shortage of dupes!

Some of these western scammers claim to have current antique sources inside remote villages in China, or they have personally collected large quantities of pieces and moved them offshore prior to the enactment of the export laws. (The laws have been in effect since 1982, and have further tightened up over the last few years.)  This is pure nonsense.

Some western sellers appear from nowhere offering batches of 20-50 high end Chinese antique items from an “estate” they are liquidating. Great pictures. All fakes. We call these “hit and run” dealers.

FACT #5 – MOST SCAMMERS HAVE GREAT FEEDBACK!

Good feedback ratings on these western con artists do not mean that they are selling real antiques The types of customers who buy junk from these scam artists are mostly low feedback novices. They are all too happy to leave excellent feedback for their “genuine Ming Dynasty jade dragon pendant”, or whatever piece of junk they just blew $100 on. They wouldn’t know a real antique piece from a fake – so how reliable is their feedback? There are dealers out there who have thousands of sales and better than 99% positive feedback who have never sold a genuine piece their entire life.

What’s one common tactic used by almost all these scammers? “USER ID KEPT PRIVATE”. When you see this, hit the back arrow key. This is most often used not to protect a buyer’s privacy, but to protect the scammer’s sales. This is used so you can’t look at the seller’s negative feedback, look at an actual item and say “Hey, that buyer WAS right. This WAS a fake.” There are several dozen dealers out there that if eBay rules allowed us, we’d simply post their IDs and tell you to avoid them like the plague. Unfortunately, we can’t do that – you’ll just have to figure out who these crooks are yourself.

FACT #6 – LOOK IN THE USA, CANADA, JAPAN & EUROPE FOR THE REAL PIECES.

There are not that many good, undiscovered antiques left floating around in China. Surprise. This is difficult to believe, but true. An ancient and  large country like China should be teeming with antiques, right? Wrong. The good ones have mostly been looted and taken out of China over the years (by a succession of foreign interventions and wars), voluntarily sold to westerners or Japanese collectors years ago, destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1970′s, put into public museums, or bought by wealthy dealers and/or private collectors living in China. If you want to find good Chinese antiques on eBay, do what the China based collectors do – look in the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe! If you find yourself bidding against a person living in China or Taiwan, bingo – you’ve probably found a real piece! But be forewarned, most of the China based collectors are actually dealers, and they have a lot of money. You might be in for a bit of a bidding war. Some of these dealers ALWAYS seem to win their auctions, so we suspect the market is so hot in China they know they can buy expensive and still sell pieces at a premium price.

Sort your listings by country, and pay attention to those NOT in China. Then, look at the Chinese listings – this will show you what kind of fakes are currently hitting the market. Keep an eye out for these bogus items appearing from western sellers – they will show up sooner or later.

FACT #7 – YOU MUST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT.

If you do not know what you are looking at, you stand an overwhelming chance of buying a fake. Want to collect snuff bottles? Great. Buy a couple of books and study the subject. Then you will start to develop an eye for what is real and what isn’t. Buying something because it looks cool will not guarantee that it is genuine. Read. Study. Learn. Browse the Asianart and Gotheborg boards. You will still make mistakes occasionally (we do), but less and less. When you do buy a fake, try to get your money back as quickly as you can. If you get stung, that’s called your “tuition fees”. You will pay some.

FACT #8 – MOST LEGITIMATE SELLERS DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT GENUINE CHINESE ANTIQUES.

When it comes to Chinese antiques, many sellers know next to nothing about what they have. They are not experts in Asian arts. Don’t take their age estimates, descriptions, stories about where the piece came from, etc. seriously. They’re guessing. Educate yourself and trust your own opinion. Listings with lengthy history lessons are virtually guaranteed to be bogus! Beware fuzzy photographs – ask the seller to email better ones. Occasionally you will find some sellers who know EXACTLY what they have. You will probably not get any “great deals” from these people, because they also know exactly what it is worth. But “great deal” is relative. It may seem expensive to you, but if it is truly valuable, it is probably selling for a price way less than Sotheby’s or a major art dealer. Of course, ignorant or greedy sellers often price items way beyond what they are worth, so look out for these too. Interestingly, pieces which are grossly overpriced are usually described generically – like “old oriental vase”. Sellers have no idea what they have, but darn it, it sure looks valuable to them – so they want a lot of money for it! We find the combination of ignorance and greed very entertaining.

FACT #9 – ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ARE PROBABLY INCORRECT.

If the item description says Qing, Ming, Song, Yuan, Tang etc. – it probably isn’t! (But then again, we have seen some rare few pieces from all these periods selling on eBay, so you never know…) Same thing for TIBET, JADE, IVORY, SILVER, CINNABAR. Fake city – you better know your stuff. An eBay search on the two keywords TIBET and JADE brings up over 3,500 listings – every single one is a fake.  Try it yourself!

FACT #10 – BEWARE THE INTERNET-ONLY SCAMMERS.

Avoid buying “antiques” from any dealer that has a name that sounds like a Chinese restaurant! Basically, endless combinations of dragon, golden, lotus, Tibet, jade, lucky, etc. Also, any dealer with the word “museum” in its name is suspect. With very few exceptions, most of these dealers are internet only scam artists. Think about one thing – where can ANY dealer get real pieces to offer for sale? All legitimate dealers need a source for genunie antiques! Legitimate dealers find them in estate sales or they are a brick and mortar shop. If they find them in estate sales, the supply is naturally limited. They won’t have access to hundreds of pieces – just a couple here and there. Legitimate brick and mortar dealers can usually be identified by doing some internet sleuthing as they must have a life beyond eBay. Everyone else is just an internet only scammer.

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT SMUGGLING

Are some real antique pieces being smuggled out of China? Yes, undoubtedly. We’ve heard from some Jade collectors that sometimes villagers will rob graves, and, because their activities are illegal, they will secretly sell pieces to smugglers who get them out of the country clandestinely. We suspect that the majority of these looted pieces will end up in South East Asia in the hands of big money collectors and dealers – not the type of individuals who will post them cheaply on eBay. Even if smuggled pieces were being dumped on eBay, is this the kind of shady business you want to support?

Sad to say, there appear to be many western Jade collectors who are absolutely convinced that large quantities of authentic Hongshan Period (3,500-2,000BC) jades are making their way from China to eBay. They gobble up archaic looking jades from China based dealers in the vain hope that somehow, among all the fakes, they will find an authentic artifact. They purchase high precision electronic scales, hardness testing tools, and all sorts of equipment to assist in their authentication process. Then they post their results on internet forums and endlessly debate each other about tool marks, burial calcification patterns, etc. ad nauseum. Our opinion is that these well intentioned folks are simply wishful thinkers looking for a lottery win - but the game has already been fixed. They may be very knowledgeable about their subject matter (much more than we are – we know very little about Jade), but they seem to be totally oblivious to the legal and economic realities of the fake antiquities trade in China.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA – TREASURE TROVE OR SNAKE PIT?

Increasingly, sellers from Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, etc. are showing up on eBay and listing large quantities of “valuable” Chinese artifacts – mostly porcelain. Real? Well, all these countries DO have large ethnic Chinese populations, and Chinese trade was conducted with them for many centuries. Well publicized ancient Chinese shipwrecks were discovered and harvested through out South East Asia, and many countries do not have restrictive antique export laws… So, theoretically, they can be legitimate sources for Chinese antiques.

Now for the bad news. Scammers in these countries are firing up their local kilns and manufacturing  fake Chinese ceramics by the boatloads. Usually copies of valuable Song era pieces. Some popular internet Asian art forums are being used as test grounds for their forgeries. The scammers post their fakes, and solicit feedback from knowledgeable westerners – looking for ways to improve their wares.

As recovered shipwreck cargo has verified, most genuine items from South East Asia are likely to be common export tableware – so called “kitchen Ming” or “kitchen Qing”. These were produced in huge quantities in south China’s Fujian province, and exported extensively.

Whether you should consider a South East Asian dealer as a reliable source is entirely up to your comfort in authenticating the piece. In our opinion, the vast majority of these dealers are scammers, and we would not consider purchasing anything from these countries unless it was part of a well publicized and VERIFIABLE shipwreck recovery.

SO WHAT SORTS OF REAL CHINESE ANTIQUES CAN YOU FIND ON EBAY?

You will mostly find late 19th century to early 20th century export quality items. These can be recognized because they are generally marked with a CHINA country of origin marking. They are not very high quality or particularly valuable, but they are authentic and a great place to begin your collecting.

Then you will find some rare, but damaged pieces. These are often overpriced, so be careful. A little natural shelf wear is expected and in fact is a good indicator of authenticity, but significant damage or restoration really hammers the true value of the piece - so be careful you don’t overvalue it in your mind. This damage devaluation depends a lot on the type of antique. Porcelain can loose up to 90% of it’s value with simple chips or hairline cracks. Rare Chinese cloisonne can tolerate a few minor chips without affecting value – same thing for lacquer and Canton Enamel. Each area of collection has it’s own standards.

Occasionally some of the larger legitimate dealers will have significant numbers of good quality pieces from major estate sales or private collections. These used to be commonly auctioned on eBay Live Auctions. But as of Jan 1 2009, this venue was no longer active. In our opinion, the quantity of higher end antique Chinese pieces on eBay has dropped dramatically as sellers shifted to alternative venues such as Artfact.com live auctions, and the percentage of fakes has increased.

HOW DO YOU AUTHENTICATE PIECES?

Once you have found something that looks interesting, the next step is to try to authenticate it.

Step #1 – Check out the dealer first! Start by checking all negative feedback for the seller, specifically looking for complaints of fakes and forgeries.
There are external websites that allow you to look at any seller’s old and removed eBay feedback – find them through Google. Even a couple of suspicious negatives in a sea of positive reviews are big red flags. Not proof, but warnings to look carefully. Even positive feedback can contain hidden warnings – like “not as old as advertised”, “different from photograph”, “shipped from China”  “honorable seller, quick refund” etc  – these scream FAKE. If you are more familiar with certain types of antiques, say for instance cloisonne, then carefully look at any cloisonne pieces sold by this dealer. Do they look legitimate to you? If they don’t, forget this dealer and move on. In our opinion, the dealers that sell fakes generally sell nothing but fakes – so it’s a one rotten apple spoils the barrel type of argument.

Step #2 – Compare to known good examples. The internet has many sources for helping you authenticate pieces. Start by looking at other eBay listings for similar items. Then look at eBay completed auctions and try to identify if the piece is a mass-produced copy. Do a Google image search describing the piece, and look at any museum examples that might pop up. Do a Google product search and find out what similar pieces are being sold by antique dealers, or importers of modern curios. Sign up for free accounts on Artfact.com and Sothebys.com, and search their completed auctions to find similar pieces. If you are going to do this often, sign up for an account on Gotheborg.com. Scan the Asianart.com forum for postings about similar objects. Try to acquire a library of good reference books and auction catalogs with lots of photos and descriptions. Some auction houses, like I.M. Chait, allow you to search their completed auction listings. Same thing for Liveauctioneers.

Step#3 – Beware of the red flags! Look out for unusually heavy pieces, as this may mean molded resin. Look out for air bubbles (signs that a piece was molded) in pieces that are supposed to be carved. Look for tiny knife nicks on carved items – there should be some. Ask the seller for better photos of areas that are damaged, or should show signs of shelf wear – like foot rims and bases. Mint condition often means made yesterday! Be suspicious of heavy corrosion on metalware pieces like bronzes and cloisonne – these are usually signs of chemical distressing, not real age. Large reign marks are often suspicious – many genuine pieces were unmarked. Look out for suspiciously dirty pieces – dirt does not necessarily mean age – especially for pieces that are easy to keep clean, like porcelain. Speaking about porcelain, good luck! It takes YEARS to become modestly proficient in authenticating Chinese porcelain. You will have to learn all about Chinese history, shapes, enamel colors, painting styles and techniques, glazes, kiln techniques, foot rims, marks and calligraphy, etc. Old wood darkens with age – learn how to recognize true aging from artificial coatings.Understand that real silver pieces are almost always hallmarked, and these marks are extensively cataloged to aid in authentication. Knowing just a little bit about each of these areas will help a lot.

A SPECIAL WARNING ABOUT IVORY

As of Jan 1, 2009 trading of IVORY was no longer allowed on eBay, but we leave this in just for reference.

Interested in ivory? Wow. What a cesspool of potential problems. In addition to there being many fake ivories to contend with, ivory is a highly regulated commodity that can land you in huge trouble with local law enforcement if you do not understand and comply with the international CITES regulations, and local laws. If you are unfamiliar with the CITES regulations, you have no business even THINKING about buying any antique ivory artifact. There is a very good eBay UK guide to ivory by member argento_glitter that discusses the legal pitfalls of trading in this controlled commodity – start there. The bottom line is that all ivory transactions need to conform to the world-wide endangered species laws, and all items need to be genuinely old (pre 1949) and accompanied with proper CITES conformity paperwork which includes valid provenance proving the article is pre-ban.

WHAT ABOUT THE HIGH QUALITY FORGERIES?
There is big money in fencing high end master forgeries. These pieces are exquisite, and even experts are often fooled. These forgeries have made their way into the best of dealers, museums, noteworthy collections and the high end auction circuit – so there is no reason to believe eBay is immune. These are the pieces that are most troublesome to serious collectors, because skilled forgers go to painstaking lengths to create their dark art. Buying one of these means loosing thousands of dollars to what is essentially criminal fraud – not something many of us can afford to do.

Thinking about buying an expensive, very rare high-end piece from one of those high profile “boutique” Asian Art dealers on eBay? Not for the timid, and certainly not for the novice. Try to find out as much as you can about the dealer. Find out if they have a street address that’s an actual storefront – or are they running this as an internet only business. Ask them where they get their pieces from, and if the piece has any valid provenance. Google the dealer name along with the keywords “fake” and “forgery” just to see what dirt comes up. Since some of the most active collectors with the biggest money live in China and Taiwan – look through the dealer’s feedback to see if they have ever sold pieces to these legitimate Chinese buyers. If not, why not? Verify the dealer’s no-questions-asked return policy and get the piece authenticated, from multiple sources, as soon as you get your hands on it. Then authenticate it again.

Guarantees of authenticity are great – but make sure you really understand what “authentication” hoops the dealer will force you to jump through before they will accept any returns. Unless you live in a major city, getting access and cooperation from Asian Art specialists from the Major Auction Houses, or major Museum curators is not going to be easy. Even then, it’s not going to be trivial to get them to write an official opinion. Remember, TL (Thermoluminescence) age testing from Oxford Laboratories costs at least $500 – if you need to do it, you need to eat the cost of the test.

We’re not pointing fingers at anyone, but sadly, there’s just too much fraud in this business to trust or rely on anyone. When the stakes get higher, you have to increase your due diligence.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU BID?

If you are absolutely wild about a particular piece and must have it at any cost, bid 3 times more than you think you will ever need.

But we prefer to acquire pieces at a wise price – a price that will allow us to get our money back, or occasionally make a modest profit, when we decide to sell them again. The thing about collecting Chinese antiques is that what you find appealing when you first start collecting is not what you will want after a few years. As you learn more and more, and see higher quality examples in the market, your taste will probably improve and you will gravitate towards those higher quality pieces. You will likely want to flip parts of your collection to re-invest in better pieces – and the secret is always to buy right in the first place.

As a rule of thumb, most authentic antique Chinese pieces on eBay will end up being a bargain – even after heavy bidding. But bear in mind that if prices start to approach major auction house prices, it’s time to stop bidding. Remember – when you buy a piece off eBay, you are buying something essentially without provenance. Provenance means provable history of ownership. (Forget about Certificates of Authenticity – they are not worth the paper they are printed on). Even if the item is authentic and rare, you will probably never be able to re-sell it through a major auction house or dealer, because they won’t even look at pieces without provenance. The major auction houses have been stung and embarrassed by clever fakes, so they are loathe accept pieces without provenance. That means some day you will have to re-sell it on eBay or through a minor auction house, and you will never get its real value with these venues. We stop bidding when a piece approaches 1/3 of a Sotheby’s type level – but that’s your call.

The question of “to snipe or not to snipe” comes up. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. If we find a really rare piece that we want badly, we often bid big up front, and just wait to see if we get it or not. It kills you when you loose a bid by $10, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere or you will end up making poor bidding decisions. More than once, we’ve had items mysteriously “withdrawn” – probably because the seller made an off-eBay deal – so getting a bid registered at least provides the seller with notice that someone is watching them. Probably doesn’t change a thing, but makes us feel better!

If we are bidding on a less valuable piece, we often snipe. Live by the snipe, die by the snipe: sometimes we get a fantastic deal, many more times we lose – but there’s always another piece on eBay just around the corner. Oh, and by the way, no serious bidder is going to fall for the trick of putting multiple high bids on a piece just to intimidate and discourage potential bidders. When we see 3 or 4 consecutive high bids on a piece from the same high bidder, that tells us THE BIDDER IS BLUFFING, and that doesn’t stop us one second. The true serious bidders often bid only once – and they bid high – seriously high.

Finding the hidden jewels can be very exciting. Sometimes you run across a valuable piece that has been totally mis-identified and mis-classified by a seller who didn’t have a clue what they had. Hot damn! But guess what? With 800 Million eBay users, you are NOT going to be the only one to find it!  The serious collectors are always looking in unrelated categories, checking for mis-spellings, looking for generic descriptions, etc.
There may be fewer bidders, but valuable pieces still tend to draw the serious bidding action, no matter how messed up the listing is.
“ABANDON ALL HOPE – YE WHO ENTER HERE” ???

The odds are heavily stacked against you – and it’s going to get worse. The heydays of finding inexpensive rare Asian antiques on eBay are now behind us, never to return. But there are still some cool treasures out there – if you are smart enough to recognize them, wise enough to bid appropriately, and lucky enough to win. If you want to invest in quality decorative Asian art but are not prepared to battle this tsunami of fraud, consider collecting Japanese pieces as an alternative. Once you’ve recognized how to identify fake Chinese copies (it’s really not that hard to recognize fakes because the artistic quality is NEVER as good as the Japanese originals), your chances of finding authentic Japanese pieces are much, much better. Plus, dealing with the Japan based dealers is generally much safer. Generally, but not always… Good treasure hunting!
We hope that you learned something that will save you from wasting your money on junk. If you understand the basic rules we have just outlined, you are now more informed than thousands of naive eBay buyers who fall for this fraud weekly.

HERE’S A QUICK QUIZ TO SEE IF YOU GRADUATE!

1. How many Chinese Dehua blanc de chine porcelain statues are now being listed on eBay? The answer should be something over 100.
2. Now, how many are authentic antiques? None? Maybe one… maybe… Excellent!
3. Now, what about the Song Dynasty Geyao piece in our avatar? Bought it here on eBay. Real or Fake?

Real! We scored big. You can too! OK, you Graduate!

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 3) Fakes & Replications
6. Basic guide to recognizing Tibetan antique furniture – Part 1

Nice little article here which explains what Cloisonné is, (Cloisonné is a form of enamelware) which a surprising number of people are unfamiliar with. Another article on the The Antique Marks Blog entitled “Antique Cloisonne Ware – Collectible? Popular? Profitable?” also gives a bit of the history associate with Chinese cloisonne and also Russian cloisonne.

I also stumbled across a nice video on Youtube of  a cloisonne enameling factory in Beijing which shows the whole process quite nicely.

Then there is the cloisonne page on wikipedia of course, which also has some nice examples of antique cloisonne. The Art of Cloisonné details the process of making cloisonne step by step along with some detailed photos of the process and the artisans.

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. How to Age Brass – Ultimate Guide
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 6) Custom Built

The short answer is only if it is A) made after 1911 and more importantly B) not classified as Cultural property. According to the official Chinese law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, before an item may be exported (including items which have either been “passed down from former generations” or simply found/unearthed) it must meet the following criteria:

1. “They shall be those of which there are large numbers of replicas and which are overstocked.
2. They shall be those unearthed during archaeological excavation which, after the completion of the tasks of scientific research, are no longer in value for domestic preservation.
3. They shall be those which, in addition to satisfying the conditions set forth in items (1) and (2), are strictly below the third-class* (inclusive) as specified in the classified criteria of assessment for museums formulated by the State.
4. In assessing cultural relics to be exported, any objects whose authenticity is hard to determine at the moment or disputable shall not be exported for the time being so that the outflow of important cultural relics out of carelessness can be avoided.”

In practical terms, this means that:

• That not all pieces are treated equally: Certain items will be considered more valuable to the countries heritage then others.
• Some items may indeed be antique but are nevertheless seen as of little value (in the eyes of the Chinese authorities): Luckily, this tends to mean Chinese provincial antiques which most non-Chinese prefer.
• When in doubt, play it safe if you are a customs inspector: This means inspectors have little motivation to err on the side of leniency.
• First and second class antiquities have a zero chance of being legally exported. One rule of thumb is, if it looks like it belongs in a museum, then either its a fake or you likely have major problems. Fortunately the majority of items foreigners purchase are reproductions, fakes or converted items.

Common misconceptions about exporting antiques:

• Anything made before 1911 cannot be exported (false)
• Screens and carvings cannot be exported (false)
• Tibetan items cannot be taken out of the country (false)
• No antiques can be taken outside of china (false)
• Cultural products of minorities made 1949 or earlier cannot be exported (false)

(click to enlarge) Beautiful Chinese country antique porcelain ginger jar with the original lid. Perfect condition. Most likely exportable without trouble.

(click to enlarge) Classical cobalt blue porcelain bowl with original period mark on the bottom. May have problems exporting but not necessarily.

Its important to note that, Chinese classical antiques are generally subject to increased scrutiny whereas Chinese country antiques tend to be much easier to export. With that said, at present furniture is generally not scrutinized

(click to enlarge)	(click to enlarge)
Beautiful Chinese country antique low “kang table” from Shanxi province exportable	Beautiful Chinese classical antique low “kang table” from Shanxi province most likely exportable

Potential problem items

These items will likely raise red flags:

Large iron bell / bronze bell	Yuan dynasty stone statue
Han dynasty model home	Complete “pailou” door
Antique signboard	Finely carved hardwood architectural carving

Its also important to note that enforcement varies per geographical region with some areas enforcing the regulations more strictly then others.

Why is China so sensitive about this topic?
Other countries allow antique exports…

During the opium wars (Late Qing Dynasty 1839-1842), countless relics were looted, with many remaining outside of China today often showing up at places like Christies Auction House. The government today considers this to be daylight robbery. Then, between 1911 and 1945 before the founding of the PRC, antiques flowed from the Liuli Chang market in Beijing, where French, British, German and Jjapanese buyers frequented. In more recent times, during the disastrous period in Chinese history known as the cultural revolution, countless antiquities, furnitures, porcelains and works of art were looted and/or destroyed by the red guards. And even today, items are still frequently stolen from museums and ancient murals have been hacked away from grottos.

Artifact smuggling reached its peak during the 80ies and 90ies and though it has died down somewhat now, it still persists. For years Hong Kong’s famed strip of art and antique outlets on Hollywood Road has been ground zero for smuggled antiques. In fact, according to this article in the Taipei Times, some collector purchase antiquities as a way to way to launder money. China has stated its aim to reclaim as many of these items as possible and has even requested assistance from the United States under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) though this request has yet to be addressed. Foreigners continue to get caught up in this as well, and according to the shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post, a 62 year old Japanese man was recently sentenced to life in prison for smuggling of antiques.

There are the domestic aspects at play here too. There is a Chinese saying which, (to paraphrase) translates roughly into “If you want to get rich, then start digging” which is probably why according to some estimates, 300,000 to 400,000 tombs have been raided in China in the last thirty years of “opening and reform.” Grave robbing remains a problem and Chinese peasants have been know to even use dynamite to get at artifacts. Unemployed peasants see not history, but rather cold hard cash. A case in 1996 in Fengcheng City of Jiangxi Province talks of 199 tombs looted by 187 different people. Even government workers themselves are sometimes in on the action, with a cultural relics official in Hebei Province by the name of Li Haitao being arrested and sentenced to death for theft of “first grade relics.”

Chinese authorities can take some small comfort, in knowing that non-Chinese artifacts in China are not always safe either as was the case with a precious Maori carving from Canterbury University which was stolen during a recent visit to Beijing. Nor can one miss a certain irony to all this, as China is said to be one of the biggest buyers of poached and smuggled ivory.

So how do I export the antiques I have purchased?

The antiques purchased or given as gifts in China should not be exported without the advanced declaration to the Customs and the assessment and export permit issued by the Committee of Cultural Relics Administration at the provincial level. When the antiques are to be shipped abroad, it is requested to present to the Customs the export permit stamped with sealing wax. (http://www.customs.gov.cn)

According to Chinese law, a relic certificate is required to export anything pre-1949. Items which are pre-1795 items which are not exportable at all. And more recently the government has announced it intends to push this date forward and ban exports of all antiques dating before 1911.** The first step is to determine if the item is considered a cultural relic and if so, how does it stack up against the criteria above. This is the purpose of the relic inspection.

Relic inspection, is the process in which individual items are inspected and cleared by a customs officer, before being either carried out in luggage or packed into the shipping container. If you have purchased antiques, antique looking restored furniture or any items that might be seen as old (If the item looks as if it could be real, even if it is fake or not is irrelevant – it still needs to be inspected), you must have a relic inspection performed and an antique export certificate issued by the Antiques and Relics Bureau prior to leaving the country. Otherwise your item could be confiscates at the airport or in the case of shipped items, your entire shipment may be detained by Customs for a thorough inspection at the port resulting to delay, demurrage and other additional fees.

This antique signboard was rejected by China customs on multiple occasions over the period of a year and a half.

Depending many different factors, “Relic Inspection” can be either a necessity, a simple formality, or a major headache.. There is however, no hard and fast rule and customs agents can at any time delay a shipment. If the inspection is only cursory as is sometims the case, items may be give only brief glance before adding the “official” stamp – often in the form of a red wax seal imprint. For exporters and wholesales this is more frequently the case. If the pieces are permitted for export, a wax seal will be placed on each item, typically on the side, underbelly or the back. Typically this inspection is facilitated in part by the export agent and usually occurs on site before actual packing. For an individual, this may mean their home, whereas for a wholesaler this will occur in the warehouse. If you are a wholesaler, paperwork will often be prepared with minimal details to avoid red flags. The Certificate of Antiquity can also be used for import-tax reductions as in many countries, imports of antiques are tax free.

Note: do not remove this seal as it is the proof the items were inspected and approved for export.

A certificate of antiquity use by exporters

Generally the rule of thumb with customs is, the smaller the package the more strict they are with inspections and paperwork and the more time it takes to process. A full container is often easier to ship out then a small Fedex box with product samples. The most difficult is sometimes a sample, hand carried in your luggage. Though containers as well can sometimes be subjected to just as much scrutiny. A lot of this also depends on the type of antiques. Furniture for example, is often treated very differently then say porcelain or ceramics.Its also worth noting that since early 2008, customs seems to have gotten a lot more finicky and we have had trouble with items such as carved screens and old signboards. Some comfort can be taken in that many items foreigners believe to be genuine antiques are in fact fakes.

The process has several purposes ranging from the opportunity to levy a fee to preventing cultural treasures from leaving the country in mass (IE items that are dated prior to 1795). Some have said that the whole term of relic inspection could be considered extremely ambiguous in that it is common in the industry to simply list all items as “antique.” Considering the cursory glance items are sometimes given during inspection, it would be difficult to accurately determine if an item is antique or not during the relic inspection. Maybe for this reason we have had brand new items confiscated – our guess is the inspector was either over zealous or maybe even simply liked them and wanted them for his home.

Therefore, it is important to understand that relic inspection in this regard, can accurately be described as “red tape.” Regardless of what any factory may tell you, it is impossible to export furniture from any major port in China without the pieces first undergoing some sort of “relic inspection.” “Not having a relic certificate is a huge risk. Customs can seize and search a whole shipment if a relic certificate is not in order.

What about bring in antiques into the country?

The key here is declaring them in advance and retaining all detailed paperwork.

If the consular post, its members and the accompanying spouse and underage children wish to bring in precious antiques, gold, silver and their artifacts that are prohibited or restricted from exporting by the Chinese laws and regulations, they must present a list thereof and declare to the Customs. With the original Customs declaration form, such articles will be released by the Customs when they are to be brought out of China later.

I would also recommends bringing additional documentation for future reference to be used when taking the items back out with you. Some suggestions might copies of your original purchase receipts, clear photos of the items outside China, before they were brought in. If the items are cleared on entry make sure to save all information including the date, who approved it and where it was approved. If they are not hand carried and brought in via container, make sure the items are specifically noted on your shipping documents. Seals and chopped documents will be much more useful then a few hand written notes.

Warning: If you really do own tang dynasty pottery, a 700 year old scroll painting or any other genuine antiquity, it is not advised to bring it into the China as it can be seized and Customs officials do regularly confiscate items at ports of entry and exit.

Useful numbers

For wholesale and container customers, ACF China will facilitate this process. On a case by case basis we can also assist individual buyers with arranging this as well.

Beijing Municipal Administration of cultural Heritage

1. http://english.bjww.gov.cn/
2. 6401-4608
3. No.6 Jianguomennei Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing,

For inspections you will want to contact the Division of Cultural Heritage Market Administration (8610-6403 2017)

Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office

• 87047165、87049634, 87047165,87049634
• Guangzhou Yin Wang 1, second floor.
• E-mail: gdjdz@tom.com.
• http://www.gdfao.gov.cn/english/

State Administration of cultural Heritiage

• http://www.sach.gov.cn/
• No. 10 Chaoyangmen Bei Da Jie Chaoyang District Beijing, 100020, China

Heritage Management Committee of the Shanghai Municipa Government

• http://www.shcrm.com.cn/
• 201 Renminlu Shanghai, China
• Tel: (021) 63580340 Fax: (021) 63720063

Notes:

* Relics are divided into grades. Relics are divided into grades. In 1987 the Ministry of Culture published a circular, “The Ranking and Standard of Cultural Relics,” to provide guidance in determining grade for purposes of the CRPL. This system largely repeats the definitional language of the CRPL. Grade One relics are symbolic of Chinese culture and rare; Grade Two have “important” historic or scientific value, but are “widely found;” Grade Three are of lesser importance and include “important relics ‘with certain defects’.” In 1992 the State Bureau of Cultural Relics promulgated the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics [*PG205](Detailed Rules). These rules divide relics into “precious” (which includes Grades One, Two, and Three) and “ordinary.” It is important to note that this essentially administrative process of grading can have repercussions for criminal penalties. In the case of stolen relics, grading occurs when the relics are seized.

** The government has announced a ban on exports of all antiques dating before 1911 in a bid to curb the outflow of priceless art treasures, the China Daily reported on Wednesday. An existing ban affects relics made before 1795 but the date will be pushed forward to 1911, the final year of the Qing Dynasty and the end of imperial China.

*** The request concludes by seeking “import restrictions on categories of pillaged archaeological material from the Paleolithic Period to Qing Dynasty including, but not limited to: • Metals – bronze, gold, and silver vessels, sculpture, utensils, jewelry, coins, weapons, and armor • Ceramics – stoneware and porcelain vessels, sculpture, jewelry and architectural elements • Stone – vessels, sculpture, weapons, utensils, jewelry, architectural elements • Painting and calligraphy – on wood, paper, silk, stone, fresco • Textiles – silk clothing, hangings, furnishings • Lacquer, bone, ivory and horn objects, including inscribed materials • Wood and bamboo objects, including inscribed objects.”

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 3) Fakes & Replications
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 6) Custom Built

An comparison of styles

Part 1) Locally produced “Sudo-Tibetan Style:”

An example of what we can be called a newly-made, locally-produced Tibetan style sideboard.

Characterized by very thick, raised-paintings in bright, primary colors, these pieces are often constructed from pine, southern elm or any other number of inexpensive softwoods. Finishing is relatively simple, with minimal attention to finer details. “Rough” is a good word to describe these pieces. But its important to point out that in reality, there is little about these (if anything) which could be considered “Tibetan” (other then the bright color scheme). A favorite with low-cost/high volume wholesalers & trading companies, they are usually “cranked-out” in high volume.

On the flip side, these pieces are inexpensive, contemporary, and make good accent pieces. Contemporary designs such as the magazine rack (in the examples shown above) make these easy to integrate into the home.

The stool in the samples shown here was listed as a “RARE Tibetan wood painted chair” from a seller on ebay. The magazine rack was from overstock.com.

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 3) Fakes & Replications