Talks on Chinese Antiques

A very educational weekend with three days of exhibition on Chinese Antiques by The People’s Republic of China and with talk about Chinese porcelain, jade and paintings. I have to spend time to attend to learn during these sessions.

The expert mentioned that the value of antiques dropped after it changed hands many times due to historical links which means that any artefacts must have a historical record from the family will only fetch high value. I then told him that I am looking for the record or records for the items that Mao Zedong government which took from the families of the rich and the high ranking officials (Kuoming Tang or Manchurian) to sell and raise funds to fight the Korean War. The reason for me looking for the record is to have the historical link to the good items sold by Mao Zedong government that is not export ware (wai siau for in mandarin) and not to turn treasure into rubbish. This record is a requirement by experts but not by me for the reason I had helped my late father to handle these items and as I had earlier in my blog I treat case to case in authentication and not rumour.  I have high respect for one English expert who also puts his experience in writing taught me to follow some of his footsteps and that has put me very firm in knowing and able to stand up to challenges when necessary.

At the exhibition, I read the mind of the people. There were people who had collected and then bring their artefacts for authentication with the hope that it can be auction off at a high price. Auctions are actually deals which the buyers are willing to pay for the price. The people who bring items for authentication may not be fakes or copies just because they are cheaply bought from the roadside. I do authentication to protect my own collection and I hate to comment on others’ collection. I was told not to go near the table where the authentication is done because the owner of the artefacts has to pay a fee for authentication. I am not offended by her telling me. After the owner remove the packing material I just past and from the distant I could not find the characteristic (lau hua in mandarin) on the items on the items. It is so easy to be a collector but it is difficult to be a knowledgeable collector.

I also met a couple who told me that copies can be so good which I am prepared to treat this studies as garbage and I told him to throw this studies away in the museum and further I cited Madame Lopez “Nyonya  ware” plate can be made in Bandung and further selling fake antiques is as bad as selling drugs in the market. She objected by saying that it is not that bad. I then said it is bad because it made collectors bankrupt. I also advise some of the visitors not to become a collector (you will be a fool if you do not take note and become a collector.) Many are just gas bags talk one thing and do another and some of them are frogs under the nut shell and some monkey see, monkey do.

There were many that claim that items from the sunken junks are good old antiques. There are some fine items among those salvage. Most of these sunken vessels are Chinese merchant junks that were overloaded and could not take the strong sea current during the storm. I have come across a record of 244,000pieces recovered from 300,000pieces from a sunken vessel and most of these items were also put up for auction.

There are two visitors to this blog 1) From Ampang, Selangor searching “nyonya ware sale in Melaka” which I am unable to see what is available and cannot comment. Make up your own judgement and if the items are correct to your satisfaction and the price is to your satisfaction, buy up the whole lot.

2) Visitor from K.L. searching for “antique shop in Medan Tuanku” . This antique called “Asia Antiques” is owned by an Englishman named Peter Clague and his address is Loke House, Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur. He is a licenced dealer in antiques under Antiques Act 168 of 1976, The Law of Malaysia. I have too many things to do that many things I do not have the time to follow after my wife passed away making me having time for one thing but no time for other thing.