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Is it really Antique..?

by Tom
(Banjarmasin, South Borneo, Indonesia)

Diameter 39.5 CM, Height 6CM

Diameter 39.5 CM, Height 6CM

Hi All, I'm a novice and begginer in antique chinese porcelain, this is my new hobby, I started collecting chinese porcelain couple weeks ago, I will submit two of them, your opinion greatly appreciated.....cheers

Comments for Is it really Antique..?

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Thanks
by: Tom

Yup...you're absolutely right Peter, I should have done my homework before decided to buy an antique since I know nothing about them, too bad I didn't find your website until I bought these garbage, just to get a second opinion, I sent this pictures as well to a reputable dealer in London, she said that according to her knowledge my plate and lidded jar is likely were produced around late 19th century to beginning 20th century, her conclusion is based on the glaze and crakcle on both of them, but I think your analysis is more accurate, eventhough I wish you were wrong, I don't know what am I gonna do with the rest of them, I might gonna take a picture of the others so everybody else could take precaution if they spot the so-called antique similar to mine, I guess I have to learn the hard way, glad I found your website, very informative and usefull especially for people like me...thanks again Peter...Happy New Year...
antiques
by: peter

No need to talk of shame. We have a lot of people selling fake Chinese antiques here. Some will disappear afterwards for a good reason.
All collectors have bought fakes at one time. Just don't waste too much money on fakes, if possible.

In the past, Indonesia was one of the places where many real Chinese antiques were found, until twenty or thirty years ago. But I was told by a former resident that now genuine Chinese antiques are difficult to find. You need to be extra careful as there are many fakers there.
I would recommend to look at the gallery a bit to see how antiques look http://gallery.chinese-antique-porcelain.com
These are authentic antiques, mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The fakes made in Southeast Asia are often very roughly done, so they are easy to recognize, but there are more sophisticated ones too.

Suggestion:
If you buy, first take photographs and ask here or at asianart.com to verify it. If the seller does not let you take pictures, then it is likely that the items are fakes anyway.
Thanks
by: Tom

Hi Peter, thank you so much for your help, I really appreciated, too bad I spent quite a lot on this..unfortunately I can't track the dealer down, he doesn't have a gallery or anything, he came to my store out of nowhere saying that he needs money so bad and willing to sell his precious antique....oohh well...shame on me...by the way..I still have many of them...
plate and lidded jar
by: peter

Hello,
I'm afraid what you have are fake antiques. They are easily to recognize as such, hope you did not spend too much money on these.

The decoration is trying to imitate Chinese motifs, but it is easy to see that the painter has no knowledge what Chinese antique decorations should look like.
What makes this even more evident are the marks on both items. These are not proper Chinese characters. Someone who does not know how to write Chinese wrote the marks.
I have seen such decorations before and I believe they were made in Southeast Asia.

Please be careful when buying Chinese items in Indonesia, as far as I understand there are a lot of fakes.

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