The specialists guide to Chinese antiques

Guide to relic inspection certificates, customs documents and export requirements for antiques

“If I purchase a genuine antique while in China,
will I be able to export it back to my home country?”

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:

“They shall be those of which there are large numbers of replicas and which are overstocked.
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.
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.
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)

Guide to relic inspection certificates, customs documents and export requirements for antiques

(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.

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Basic guide to recognizing Tibetan antique furniture – Part 1

“Tibetan” style furniture is a phrase used loosely and frequently items made just yesterday are placed side by side with items 50 or 80 years old. Of course, all are claimed to be real “Tibetan Furniture.” So when it comes to so called Tibetan” items, its important to know just what is is that you are actually purchasing and (hopefully) later on selling to your customers. So, without further ado, we will start off a series of posts to help you better understand and demonstrate the differences in the low end, the fake and even the good stuff!

An comparison of styles

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Determining quality in antique furniture (What is Quality?)

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.

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Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 6) Custom Built

CUSTOM BUILT

Custom items are “one of a kind” items built to spec in limited, often one off quantities. Custom items sometimes may be used as a template to make more – thus known as a SAMPLE or PROTOTYPE.

KNOWLEDGE: Requires extensive understanding of design, testing, materials, quality, construction techniques and factories
OPTIONS: Options are extremely flexible which both complicates the process significantly and simultaneously is the core advantage.
ORDERING: A standardized but time consuming process requiring careful selection and evaluation of materials, and construction/finishing techniques. A research and design phase is usually necessary and quoting must occur before ordering.
SUPPLY/PRICING: Cost is often high due to limited or limited or no economies of scale/reuse potential, indirect costs and the additional required attention to the product.
TYPES: Samples, a part of the research and design process and may be used as a template for additional items. Also, “custom” which is a single one off item.

Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 5) Manufactured Items

MANUFACTURED ITEMS

This is an area where people often have a quite a lot of difficulty distinguishing between the “style” of the product (in other words the visual appearance of the item) vs the actual “type” of product. To the average eye, an item may look like as if it is a hand-made, traditional Chinese piece but in reality may be a mass produced product.

Recognizing and being able to point out the differences is extremely important as there is a HUGE difference in price between factory made items vs antiques, reproductions or other product classes. If a customer does not know anything about cars, then they may be unable to tell the difference between a economy class car vs a luxury brand. What if the customers doesn’t care about the differences? No problem – just make sure you don’t sell the luxury car at the economy class car price (your customer will be happy – though you will probably be out of business).

What exactly are manufactured items?

New items are characterized by standardization of materials, construction, specifications, process and assembly. Manufactured items usually use modern construction techniques & materials as well as complex machinery in a normal production line environment an as a result parts are interchangeable/replaceable

KNOWLEDGE: Unlike antiques where you need to know about about periods, wood types etc, there is no special knowledge required to purchase, other then of common styles and an ability to recognize quality in regards to price.

OPTIONS: Set options are according to manufacturers pre-set colors, sizes or feature sets. Limited choices. Usually follows pre-set product lines.

ORDERING: There are usually significant minimum quantities requirements, and the ordering process is very standard, sophisticated and business like. Items can be re-ordered within exact specifications.

SUPPLY/PRICING: Pricing is typically stable and organized according to a structured price list based on quantities and chosen options. Supply is limited only by market conditions such as raw materials cost and production capacity

TYPES: Highly technical/Non-technical and Sample (see custom).

Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 4) New Reproductions

REPRODUCTION

New items which employ natural materials and handcrafted construction techniques often in use for
many generations. Generally occurs in a workshop environment with mostly hand tools and limited use
of modern machinery. Designs are based on traditional deigns modified slightly according to the times.
Items can be very similar but no two are exactly alike as a result of the hand-crafting processError!
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1. KNOWLEDGE: Basic understanding of periods, regions, and styles as well local handcraft
construction techniques. Ability to recognize quality in regards to price.
2. OPTIONS: Typically only colors and finishes can be controlled. Choice and selection of
materials is limited.
3. ORDERING: There are usually no or fairly low minimum quantities, though the ordering
process is generally unsophisticated and inexact. Items can be re-ordered but because
production & finishing techniques are non-standardized, the resulting product will ary from
factory to factory.
4. SUPPLY/PRICING: Pricing is often based on limited quantities of semi unique items as most
factories are unable to produce in regular larger quantities. Supply is limited only by market
conditions, available materials and each workshops factory capacity.
5. TYPES: Converted, which uses salvaged old components such as an old cabinet which is then
converted into a new item. Is sometimes cheaper then new since there is no purchase of new
raw materials, though this may change over time. If using salvaged componnts overall sizes
and shapes of the final product may vary to some extent. New, which uses completely raw
materials as opposed to salvaged components.

“If I purchase a genuine antique while in China, will I be able to export it back to my home country?”

Potential problem items

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

“If I purchase a genuine antique while in China,
will I be able to export it back to my home country?”

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