Looking for Nyonya Ware

Thank you to this visitor from Greenfield, Massachusetts searching for “arrogant antique collectors”. Some of the names of the arrogant collectors can be found at the back pages of the book titled “Celadon and other related wares”. In Malaysia, my late father and I had bad experiences with arrogant antique collectors and some may have passed away leaving the said to be good items to the next generation. The remaining ones are quiet now.

Visitors searching antique shops will not find it because antique shop owners do not know the items that arrogant antique collectors want so might as well do not keep stock to sell. My late father did not retire from this business but his son has to look for other business and put the antique business aside.  Antique business was put down by arrogant antique collectors by claiming that any new porcelain can be aged with acid and did not tell dealers how the ones that are aged looked like and the ones that are not aged.

The freelance Hong Kong dealer mentioned in this blog earlier who claims to be good at authenticating antiques does not ring a bell to me and if he wants to claim that he is good maybe he has to go on stage to answer questions. Interest in collecting antique Chinese porcelain will carry on from one generation to another. For example when I hold up one piece of genuine Nyonya ware or Tang Dynasty horse or Yuan dynasty blue and white item to confirm it as genuine, I am able to tell my sons and my grandchildren to know that it is genuine. 

One visitor e-mail one image of a square polychrome plate and ask whether I sell such plate, I don’t like to sell something that will create argument on the part of genuineness.

 Another visitor e-mail asking whether there is anyone in the government sector to authenticate antique porcelain and as far as I can say I don’t know in the government sector but I can suggest to look for these people, they are Mr. Lu Yaw in Singapore, the rest in Malaysia are Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali, Mr. Mohammad, Mr. William Willetts and Mr. Peter Clague. These are the famous experts and arrogant antique collectors are nobody because they do not know how to authenticate and are only big bluff.

 Last visitor from Thailand searching for “peranakan ceramic factory in malaka” which I have not heard of any porcelain factory but maybe it might have started not long ago.

Ng Ting Kau Antique Shop is in Kuala Lumpur and not at any other places with the business registration. There are another three visitors, one from United Kingdom searching for “peranakan antiques” did not mention the items that was searching for. The next is from Singapore searching for “nyonya ware kamcheng and the following is from San Jose, California searching for “nyonya nyonya ware porcelain” and I am happy to say that many nyonya ware porcelain items passed my late father’s and my hand while we were staying at 4^1/2 Mile Klang Road and many owners who bought nyonya ware from us will be asked from whom you get it from. Experts who get the reply that they are from Mr. NgTing Kau will be claimed modern copies or fakes. I have checked with some of his customers who has thrown away the items sold by my late father and what is left that is not thrown away is for you to find out because I am not interested any more.

A Case for Genuineness

There is a case which involves me and an expert of a world famous museum because a customer bought a Sung dynasty item from my late father and this expert confirm it as Ching Dynasty Chien Lung copy and at that time this customer distant themselves from my father and myself. This customer came back asking me to glue a broken Tang Dynasty horse’s leg after a few unsuccessful attempts. I then told him that I have the Sung Dynasty items as well as the Chien Lung copy item of the same ware. I would like to see this expert with the aim to  bite hard that the Chien Lung  copy as genuine Sung dynasty and see what the expert is going to tell me. This customer got frightened and said that you do not have much of such stock left so don’t create trouble.

 One visitor from Kuala lumpur searching for “antique shop in kuala lumpur” and another visitor from Australia searching for “penang antiques” which I suggest by saying keep on searching and don’t give up because you may not find it today but you may find it tomorrow. A visitor from Bandar Seri Begawan searching for “how do I know whether the nyonya ware is authentic” which is simple if you have seen the authentic specimen, Bandung copies and present Jing dezhen copies and at the same time ask the vendor or vendors to give you information about genuineness which is the best effective way with the specimen in front of the vendor and you. The next visitor from Kuala Lumpur searching for “vintage plate shop in Malaysia” which I have not heard of any but there is a company that sells vintage plate salvaged from the Straits of Malacca and a few years ago, the company held a sale at KLCC business convention centre and I met Dr. Ivan Polanin, a cancer specialist working in Malaya in 1948 and he has been collecting porcelain and I shared my experience with him. I am unable to tell where this company is after I have partly retired from antique business while driving taxi.

Rival to Gold

It has been many years that historic Chinese porcelain has been claimed to be “RIVAL TO GOLD” and its subtitle is “Historic Chinese ceramics may be good bet to invest”, Hong Kong news found in The Malay Mail dated October 12^th 1979 and this article also tell us that it is impossible to make copies otherwise how can it be rival to gold.

I have not found any good collectors in antique Chinese porcelain because experts like William Willetts, Peter Clague, His Honour the Learned Magistrate Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali, Mr. Mohammad, an Indonesian dealer, Hong Kong freelance dealer, a Chinese dealer at a shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur wants a piece of cake from the late Mr. Ng Ting Kau. I instigated my late father to fight on and now I am instigating collectors to fight with vendors or sellers if the items are not right or properly explained to satisfy doubts. This instigation was made up by experts and at that time when the experts told the collectors that their items are genuine are also problems to the collectors because they did not get the way how the experts got the conclusions. His Honour Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali was a good expert in this field when he wrote the grounds of judgement.  The rest are dealers who want to make themselves popular by pointing their fingers at Ng Ting Kau for selling fake antiques and ended that they were brought down at public places.

There are two men I met recently one at a coffee shop and another at a society. 1) The one I met at the society is a Chinese calligrapher who wants to start an event at the society and seated beside him was a friend who said that you need to grind the Chinese ink, I then said that if the ink is viscous, it will be difficult to drag the brush and if it is too thin it will smear which made them staring at this English educated man. I then told them that I have two sets of Sung dynasty 960A.D. to 1279A.D. calligraphy set which I kept for my family. They were so excited and wanted to see, I told them to get the ink stick and we will make use of it. 2) The one I met at the coffee shop is a manager of a company and he reads Chinese and English, I show him some of my pieces and he is a knowledgeable person in Chinese culture. He told me that the group of artists who boarded the missing plane was at the gallery for seminar near the coffee shop that we met. We have enjoyable moment sharing knowledge because I can produce the piece and he was able to shed some light like I brought a painting, he then told me that the silk for clothes are different from for Chinese paintings.

There are two visitors. 1) Visitor from Malaysia searching for cost of antique nyonya “chai” in Penang. What is the item or items are not stated. Pricing can only be done with the items in front of you and not by just guessing. 2) Visitor from Singapore searching for “antique store in kuala lumpur” will have a good time searching for it. All the best and look for safe deals. There is an e-mail asking what I sell, I used to sell a lot of antiques like furniture , old embroidery, old Kelantan silver ware, coins, pocket watches, Dutch cast iron hanging kerosene lamps, old copper batik chops, porcelain wares of different dynasties, cut glass ware and whatever I come across that is of interest to customers. In my private collection, I have antique Chinese porcelain of different dynasties, old fountain pens which I bought at a clearance sale and there are not many collectors at that time and an old cut glass tantalus.

There is a Chinese lady who knows my late father and also known to many people, she was angry with me for criticizing William Willetts and from then on she has been fishing for information on antique Chinese porcelain. There was an exhibition and most of the items are from sunken vessel, she brought two items to show to a man who took part in the salvage of the sunken vessel. She said that it is from her ancestors, I then seek her permission to take a look at the base of one of the item which is a blue and white mei ping vase drawn with a stork. I then said it is a common drawing of the Yuan dynasty but did not say whether it is genuine or fake and she said it is older than that, I then said that it is Tang dynasty which I am making a fool out of her. I know that she is a student of William Willetts and she is a spy for Willetts and criticizing my late father and now she has distance herself from me. I felt it is much better instead of wasting time.

Another case was at the Chinese tea exhibition last year, one man  and his son operate a stall knows my friend, this man has always ignored me and in front of his stall with his friends, I brought out tea pots problems and further said wealth never passed one generation if we buy the wrong thing. One of his friends brought out his hand phone from his bag and asked me to look at the items that he has. I told him that I do not authenticate for collectors because genuine or fake are none of my business.

I have been playing the fool with foreign speakers and I enjoyed it because the fact that they handle artefacts less than me. I challenge them by my experience and they are out. I look forward to challenge experts otherwise antique business is a sunset business. Chinese educated experts are not worth trusting.

      

Rumor Buy Rumor Sell

There are visitors searching for 1) Visitor from Singapore searching for “antique store in kuala lumpur”. 2) Visitor from Boardman Oregon U.S.A. searching for “used vintage watches sales in sibu with contact no”.  3) Visitor from kuala lumpur searching for “porcelain plates in K.L”. 4) Visitor from Malaysia searching for “antique for sale in Malaysia”. 5) Visitor from Santa Fe, New Mexico searching for ‘nyonya ware and kitchen ching”. 6) Visitor from Indonesia searching for “Singapore sale tea pot peranakan”.

 I have not heard of antique store in Kuala Lumpur so visitor from Singapore should carry on searching . Visitor from Boardman, Oregon, U.S.A. searching for used vintage watches sales in Sibu with contact number, should know the brand or make of watches available and I wish him a happy time. Next visitor from Kuala Lumpur searching for porcelain plates in Kuala Lumpur which is easy to find and I had seen a lot sold at factory price at shopping complexes. A visitor from Malaysia searching for “antique for sale in Malaysia” which I have not heard of but I came across that dealers are frequently accused of selling fakes or copies because collectors wants dealers to guarantee them that the items they buy to be genuine and to be sold at high prices to their customers and when those items are not suitable for their customer’s house or the items are not sold because the price does not suit the buyers’ budget then make complaints that they are fakes or copies. I have faced these complaints. I will say there are not many good antique Chinese porcelain collectors internationally and now it is needed strict proof from collectors that their collections are good and they are good knowledgeable collectors. Antiques has stock limits and not that you can tell the dealer to order whatever you want and collect or deliver later. A visitor from Santa Fe, New Mexico searching for nyonya ware and kitchen ching. Santa Fe, New Mexico is a different place compared to Malaysia. Malaysia has nyonya ware made in Bandung and Jingdezhen. Kitchen ching  ware are crude which is difficult to find buyers and there are fakes or copies. Last visitor from Indonesia searching for Singapore sale teapot peranakan  should know where to buy and go ahead and buy what you understand what you like. Make sure that it is an important piece.

I have problems in this trade because many said to be collectors do not know what I am talking about and it is like a foreign language to them. I got bad experiences like Nyonya ware and Pua Nguar and good old porcelain items were said to be Bandung copies. Further laughter is found in The STAR World News dated Saturday, 10^th November 2007 titled “Forgotten vase sells for RM19million” tells us that a precious 18^thCentury Chinese vase in a closet virtually forgotten for three decades before selling  for more than Pounds 2.82mil (RM19.8mil). Sotheby’s said. Her blue and white “dragon “vase had been sitting at the bottom of her wardrobe since the 1970s, when an expert told her the piece was a copy. In the 70’s “Bandung copies” in antique ceramic was known and “Jing dezhen copies” were not heard of in Malaysia.

Many years ago, my late father has been giving opportunity to collectors but was not taken up and later I started a shop but was also not taken up so it was the choice of collectors who wants to base their collections on “rumour buy, rumour sell” which I would laugh at “monkey see, monkey do” which means that person has a good collection of Pua Nguar and I also must follow to make up a collection.

 I openly declare that those collectors whom I had known and made my late father their enemy by accusing him for selling fakes or copies are actually the enemies of their own and they cannot blame others for their own wrong. There is nothing for me to hide and I did not hide away from any issues but to educate myself and keep a good valuable collection with one motto “all artefacts are fakes unless and until they are proven to be genuine”.