Tips for the Novice Collector

But, first I want to clarify something that all collectors with many years of collecting experience know. The chance that you find any expensive Ming or Qing ceramics in a thrift store, flea market, etc. is about as remote as winning the lottery.
So, if you have found some Chinese porcelain in such a place, please don't expect it to be valuable.
Mostly the items that can be found in such places are vintage at the best, or recently made. Finding something made in the 19th century is rare, from the first half of the 19th century or earlier would be exceptional. Often the Chinese items found in such places are made within the last two or three decades.

Another thing novice collectors must learn is that porcelain that looks old is not necessarily very old. In fact, there are vintage items that look older than porcelain items made over 200 years ago.
Please check these examples of 18th century porcelain from the gallery:

• The antique items shown on this page are relatively common export porcelain dishes and plates dating to the Qianlong reign (1736-1795).
• The second example is a Qing dynasty porcelain plate dating to the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735).
• This is a blue and white dish from the Kangxi reign (1662-1722).

New or old?
Many of the wares made for the common people during the 20th century are of lesser quality and sometime look outright old in comparison to those, even if they are only a few decades old.
Their glaze may contain sand or other impurities, giving them an old (or "rustic") look, but actually they are just of lower quality. Even in the past the porcelain made for the common people rarely would have contained sand or other impurities on the outside surface. Sand may be present around the foot rim, depending on the firing method used by the kiln.

Please learn to differentiate between this superficial "old-look" and real age signs. See page related to age signs of porcelain.

If you are just starting out, always keep in mind that an old look does not necessarily equal old "age". And, an old look is easily faked. See age faking.

Summarizing the issue:

• An "old" look does not necessarily mean an item is antique.
• Antique porcelain can be looking "new", but can actually be over 200 years old.
• Dirt or damage are often used to make ceramics look old, beware...

Novice collectors should avoid spending a lot on very old looking items at the beginning, before they are able to recognize the real porcelain age signs. Better spend your money on books and visit porcelain collections in museums.

If you have an opportunity to learn with hands-on experience, grab it! Nothing teaches you faster and is less expensive than an experienced teacher who knows this all already. Those of us who study porcelain on our own all had to pay our school fees*** - as the Chinese say - just be careful not to pay too much. The trial and error method of learing can be costly and slow, sometimes.

*** At the beginning we all have bought old looking items and later learned they were only looking that way, the price of such fake items is the tuition.

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