Shameful collectors for not knowing

 Two weeks ago there was an art and cultural exhibition with talk by experts in Chinese paintings, Chinese tea and Chinese Antiques. My friend and I missed the talk and by the time we came to know it was about to end and one lady asked about ta hong pau tea and one expert mention about Van Goth paintings are worth collecting and the ending ceremony came so fast that what I actually wanted to ask was cut off . So I asked one art dealer about Van Goth painting is that why Jho Low sold his painting at a loss and this was heard by many people and at the refreshment table a China trained local part time antique dealer openly said that for sale value which is commercial value you will lose money but for admiration it the value has no limit so in other words there are two kinds of values to every antiques most of the items “lau hua” are not with them. I realized that many collectors are just making use of antiques collecting by fooling around and not by proper studies. The problems are all with the collectors because they want to be respected which makes lesser antique dealers in Malaysia but increasing number of dealers for collectibles.

At the authentication session, my friend and I stayed until the end and I noticed that none of the collectors who are owners of the artefacts knows what the items are in their collection which makes them to bring the items for authentication. One man brought a clay teapot which was polished by shoe wax and was not told how to remove the shoe wax which is a very simple way to remove. This person is of the proud type so why bother to share for the unexplained genuineness or unexplained fakes with him.  Another is the marking that is only known by the Chinese potters and experts in People’s Republic of China and not known to collectors outside People’s Republic of China when not told. My interest is to keep good Chinese Antiques with the knowledge for an explained genuineness whereas most of the collectors only buy and keep thinking that what they had kept are important pieces.

Rich people want to show off that they are powerful with their words but to me they are nothing unless what they say is educational in logical and sensible ways. They like to throw their weight around by saying this are fakes or copies or that dealer is selling fakes or copies and many people believe them but they did not talk about Bandung copies or fakes in the 60’s making of call it what you like “Peranakan ware, Nyonya ware,  Pua Nguar  ware, Straits Chinese Porcelain ware’” and others and now about Jing dezhen copies or fakes but nothing comes out what are genuine leaving all items with collectors are fakes or copies unless and until proven genuine. To be honorable or respectable collector is very easy and it is by way you show your knowledge to prove your items are genuine and not Bandung or Jing dezhen copies or fakes and not by pointing fingers at this and that. One arrogant collector even confront by telling me that one Datuk doesn’t know how to authenticate antiques, I told him let them shit in their own bed and after all these problems are not mine and I don’t know why tell me about this.

Every collector has a right to be proud of their collections but they must show their worth in Chinese Antiques collecting field otherwise they will embarrass themselves for not having proper knowledge in collecting. A number of collectors have brought their items for authentication thinking that they can have a good show of their collection which ended that they put themselves into shame for being no good.

I took years to search for good antiques and also made my research to know what are good antiques and the interesting part is to learn to know what is genuine and fakes and not by way of thinking.  I made my statement that most dealings are based on rumor buy, rumor sell” and manufacturers do not keep every piece they make and I would like to be proven wrong .Manufacturers need not know “lau hua” in porcelain because for the antiques that they have and also to show their arrogance now that it hits back at them.    

ALL CHINESE ANTIQUES ARE FAKES OR COPIES UNLESS AND UNTIL PROVEN GENUINE.

A visitor from Duncan, South Carolina searching for “antique chinese jars Malacca” which I do not know what kind of jars, he or she is referring to and maybe jars that was referred have been sold making it difficult for me to know what are the items which was being referred.

Recently there were few auction places which came up in Kuala Lumpur with a number of interesting artefacts. It needs the items to tell the visitors to know in order to be interesting and not the ones with certificates. It has been a long time that business rivals run each other down by spreading that which dealer is selling fakes and not willing to tell what is genuine. This was joined by collectors and experts and due to this motive I discover that experts collectors and dealers are no good telling what are good antiques and also that fakes, copies or imitations can be easily produced making stupid collector to pay high prices for artefacts which can be available from factories.

It is of no use owning a piece of genuine items without knowing the characteristics for the item or items. There were cases where good genuine items were thrown away and also cases of bad accusations against dealers which I had experienced and also found some confusing results in scientific tests.

Kuala Peranakan Porcelain Shop

A visitor from Singapore searching for “kuala peranakan porcelain shop” which is easy to find. First look for the place then the shop. Road directory instrument like GPS will be helpful. Keep on searching and do not give up.

 I found events in collecting Chinese Antique Porcelain more amusing but because we do not have the same horizon but we live under the same sky makes the jokes shared in small area.

I have been told that sometime in June 2016, the experts cum buyers from the People’s Republic of China are coming over to Malaysia to look for Chinese antique porcelain and these are the learned people  was here last year and they are unlike the most of collectors whom I have met.

 During the recent days before the weekend I was told to go to an auction preview and I called up my friends and the whole group of us had enjoyable hours because the items for auction were genuine. I hope that in future there will be more events like this to keep up the interest for collectors.

I noticed that most of the Nyonya porcelain wares can be bought in Bandung and Jingdezhen whereas good items like blue and white and others need to be sourced and in the chance of a lifetime you may get it or may not get it. It is said and known that Chinese Antique Porcelain can be easily imitated in Bandung and was joined by Jing dezhen later. Learn to tell what is and what is not the imitations made in these two places and also write down the discovery for your follower or followers. Proving is most important in authentication and many collectors based it on reign marks by saying that the reign marks tells the time of manufacture but these collectors don’t want to admit to the fact that new made items with reign marks can be produced in Jing dezhen today. There is a way to tell and to test whether the artefacts are old or new but many collectors are not willing to listen and understand. A friend told me that you talk based on facts but the other chap talks based on the way to confuse people. This chap is a collector with many pieces highly valued. 

USELESS PERANAKAN WARE COLLECTORS

One visitor from New Zealand searching for “peranakan porcelain for sale” and another from Singapore searching for “kl peranakan porcelain” after visiting titled “unwanted and cheap nyonya ware. We live in different countries and even if we live in the same country we may be able find the items in this place but not at another place. Peranakan porcelain has been mentioned too many times in the different title and different time in this blogspot but visitors choose to ask this about this search and it is like playing the same old record. Peranakan wares can be found in many places where there are importers. Many were made in Bandung and Jing dezhen. Since there are no importers in New Zealand you won’t be able to find peranakan wares in New Zealand. You can order from Jing dezhen, People’s Republic of China and for kl peranakan porcelain there are difficulties to find importers due to currency exchange and even importers find it is difficult to find buyers because of price hike.  

 There are many collectors who do not know whether the items with them are antiques and yet want to tell others that theirs are antiques. These are the best antique collectors. So far I have met up with bogus collectors but not genuine collectors and some of them are just blind supporters who are useless and worthless in antique field. A case I encountered is an old man who was claimed a scholar by others claimed there is no nyonya ware in the 60’s but Pua Nguar is called considered himself as very good at antiques field. When he walked into my shop at Amcorp Mall and claim my Yuan plate a fake, I demand to know how he tell that the Yuan plate a fake and he warn me not to pressurized people and because of that I learn from this old man who thinks that he is a respectable and senior who tells the truth but taught me not to pressurized collectors but to let the collectors to pressurized collectors themselves to tell the genuineness to family members and friends so that treasure will not turn rubbish.

A few days ago I met a retired Chinese Newspaper reporter whom we had known each other for a long time at the market and on the spot we shared knowledge about antiques. The ladies around began to understand Chinese antiques. The fun in knowing can be carried out everywhere.

The failure to become good collectors was set up by experts and collectors themselves. When Mr. Ng Ting Kau sells his antiques, he did not just sell the piece by just telling that a Ming dynasty piece which ignorant collectors have to accept the item as Ming dynasty. He will give the details on the result that it is a Ming dynasty piece and was accused for selling fakes or copies. Bad dealers, bad collectors and bad experts are made by arrogant and ignorant people themselves. This set up was internationally known because everybody wants to have a say in this field but now bad days are after them and they should know what to do to improve their situation.

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.  

Misbehaved Dealers

A very good Sunday afternoon to know more about antiques and a dealer, the three of us with the two of them had known each other before me. One of them an antique collector cum dealer, he told the both of us that a group of Chinese came to buy some items from him but did not mentioned the when and the number of them. Recently one of these men came back wanted to buy some more and this collector cum dealer refused to sell any items to him (one dealer) for the reason that the earlier deal had made the buyers rich and also asked for discount by them until this local dealer got fed up.

My protest against his action was that when the Chinese dealers bought the antiques from him, they have to put up capital and risk. I told this local dealer that you were hoping that Chinese buyers with the items bought from you to take back to China and not able to sell and go bankrupt. This dealer who came back is a successful dealer whereas the rest of them has not been so successful and this successful dealer has found that the antiques with this local dealer as important and the only thing is to increase the price and make better profits and do not sell if the price is not to your satisfaction instead of rejecting him. This local dealer has regretted selling his antiques at a low price at the previous deal and jealous of this successful dealer making profits from his pieces.

Later this local dealer asked me to get some buyers for him whom I have to turn him away for not sensible way in dealing and his arrogance. There are a lot of people that I have to distant myself where there is a waste of time. Many collectors, dealers and experts are jealous of my father running his antique business then and now the burden is with collectors with the ability to prove genuineness for their private owned artefacts.

I remembered reading an article in the local newspaper featuring a famous Chinese antique furniture collector holding a rare piece of antique bench in his hand in a photograph. The bench is a rare piece of furniture but meant for Chinese ancestor.

 Most of the collectors by now must have known what are genuine antiques and not on guessing basis after I had mentioned so many famous experts for consulting or sharing.   

Many Wicked Collectors Came By

On the1st, April this year a friend who works for a Chinese Newspaper company and a collector in Chinese antique porcelain items brought two items, one is a Ming dynasty Blue and white cover jar and the other is a Ching dynasty polychrome enamel jar. At the time he contacted me, I was at my niece’s coffee shop having my lunch. I then told him to come over to the coffee shop and at the coffee shop, my niece, mee stall operators and customers pick up some knowledge about antiques and a day of fun for my friend and others. Before my friend left the place, he told me that nobody has told him what I had told him about the characteristics from the old pieces.

Collectors with knowledge will only have fun in collecting Chinese Antiques. Dealers will want to profit from sales but for me I had already in my blog that “Do not become a collector if you have not started to be one” and to be a good collector must be able to let any man understand how to tell the items are old or new. Collectors will only want to insist that the items that they have collected are genuine and loudly claimed that they are “antiques” but I claim that all antiques need to be proven to be genuine in order to be “precious” or of high value.

Malaysia has been a difficult place to carry out antique business so it would be better carry out this business in another country. No local collectors want to see my things and when I have no business, I have to look for a good way to make my livelihood. I recall a call off deal and this incident involves three parties one is my father, the second is a couple who has been a long time customer and the third is a busy body who like to check at this couple buying. This couple was not happy with this man’s action and to protect customer’s relationship we had to do was that based on trust to send a Ching dynasty Yung Cheng period (A.D. 1723- A.D. 1735) Clair-de-lune big mei ping jar with embossed flower to this couple’s house before this man sees the item and later the husband of this couple came with a friend took another same jar with other flower. These two mei ping jar was left with the couple for a while and the wife told me to take back two jars, the husband asked me why am I in a hurry to take back the two jars and my reply is that your wife told me to take back the jars (husband wants the two jars and the wife do not want the jars) and that when I am free things need to be done I will do. The wife called up to negotiate the price for the jars which is priced at Rm16,000 she got angry and throw force at my father to take back the two jars and saying that the two are only few thousand ringgit worth. I remembered very well that this happened that while I was busy accompanied my mother doing some shopping and when my father told her that Ronnie will only be available in about an hour time and she replied saying that the two jars are taking up the spaces where painting job and my father was forced or compelled to send my younger brother to take back the two jars. Later I found out that experts told this couple that many things that are for sale at my father’s place were fakes. After my father’s passed on this couple discovered the truth and contacted me to buy Chinese antiques but prices have changed which made them difficult to buy.

The two jars which are not for sale and with other things beautify my house very much and also it teaches me not to share knowledge with others. Recently I came to know an uncommon musical instrument tuner in Malaysia who died without teaching anyone how to tune and this person has also taught me “not to teach others children to be clever” is a Chinese proverb. All along there are no good collectors in Chinese antique porcelain and many are bogus experts and collectors. The largest part of fun is to know and see collectors and experts embarrass themselves. 

Private Antique Collectors in Singapore

There is a visitor from Singapore searching for “private chinese antics collectors in Singapore” and my only answer is that I have not heard of any. South East Asian Ceramic Society was founded by some people in Singapore and Malaysia then.  However I would treat case to case by trying to search for collectors in this not only in Singapore, Malaysia but elsewhere like Hong Kong and China. The saying goes “among the blind, the one with the one eye is the king” with so far no good knowledgeable collector has been found. Another two visitors from Kuala Lumpur with one searching for “nyonya ware prices” and the other searching for “antique Malaysia”. Nyonya ware prices depends on Bandung nyonya ware or Jing dezhen nyonya ware and also the items like saucer, spoons to tell the price and not just guessing. It is easy to give a price without looking at the items anything below Rm5/-. Antique Malaysia may have been there for a long time but no longer existing, failure due to collectors’ attitude. Many claimed to be mighty but doesn’t know how to authenticate their own items and wanted to claim that dealer is selling Bandung copies or fakes which is commonly spread around.

Many collectors have claimed to be good and when question on the judgement in authenticity most of them fail. I do not want to share this kind of action and I have mentioned in my earlier blog about knowledgeable collectors which means any persons who can give good answer or answers to the judgement in genuine or fake artefacts.

Being a dealer is a problem because if you tell customers that this is of this age and straight away got a shout at as bullshit which makes dealers do not know what collectors wanted. The sale condition “Take Notice Goods Sold are not returnable but returnable on the condition that the Goods Mentioned above are proved that they are modern copies. The proofs must be sufficient and must have written remarks from experts.” is to protect the buyers/collectors and dealers from being cheated and also to help collectors to be more knowledgeable in authentication by writing down the characteristics on the artefacts or keeping journals for their items but was totally ignored. Collectors prefer to buy with “rumour buy, rumour sell. The balls are all in the collectors’ court. Antique dealers find this business difficult because profits to cover overheads made it very difficult to sustain. At present collectors from the People’s Republic of China has been searching for reliable dealers and many has been visiting Malaysia with the view to buy good Chinese antique porcelain which was sold out once upon a time to be taken back to China.

 Many years ago I tried to get rid of the genuine and fake problems but was looked down by local collectors and experts. With the long existing problems bringing me down I would not want to burden myself with wanted things anymore. At the food court in Taman Desa, I met a man call Johnny who also sells antiques and I invited him to join me for tea and I told him how to authenticate porcelain and why are old porcelain items worth collecting, he was so happy that in return let me know that somebody told him that I am a proud and arrogant chap, I then told him that why are we talking for hours if I have been arrogant type, he smiled and after all the truth has prevail and I am not interested who that liar is after all I have met up with many liars including collectors and experts who are liars in authenticating Chinese Antique Porcelain. Experts who cannot tell genuineness can only say “imitations can be made exactly the same as originals” which means they are condemning the items in the museum. The word “Ming” character in Chinese was said to be wrongly written in http://www.taimantis.com/chinese/fakes.html#UPD and the wrongly written Chinese character was found in one Ming dynasty piece belonged to Mrs. Alfred Clark and also a piece in a museum in Paris which I do not know whether is the same piece that is ex- Mrs. Alfred Clark. I am yet to find out whether the piece is genuine or fakes because I have my ways to find out instead to jump in wrong conclusion. Artists can paint beautiful motives but may not be good at writing beautiful Chinese characters. This was shown in a book that finely written Chinese characters in reign marks was also copied later or by Japanese potters. 

Expert Datuk Suzuki

I have been a member of the South East Asian Ceramic Society (West Malaysian Chapter) in the early 80’s and my name is listed in one of the back pages of the book “Celadons and other related wares”.  I left the society because I will be listed as a trouble maker who wants to find out more about porcelain which is a wide field but once you know how to handle problems it is no longer a wide field.

Being the second eldest in the family and a total of nine family members, I helped to build this antique shop. The badwill was the attack on my father’s reputation that he is selling fakes. From then on I continue to study further in Chinese Antique Porcelain like Genuine ones, Bandung copies or fakes, Jing dezhen copies or fakes, Genuine Nyonya ware and its fakes, Genuine Peranakan ware and its fakes and leaving unsolved Pua Nguar ware (told by one scholar Mr. Goh at Amcorp Mall that there was no Nyonya ware in the 60’s) and its fakes.

In the earlier years there were many experts and most of the gatherings are held at homes of the members and I know that it would be a waste of time to attend such gatherings because when I raise any questions and the speaker could not answer will leaving me and the speaker disappointed.

One of the important expert that I left out in my earlier posting for this blog is Datuk Suzuki and he was recommended to my father’s place by Puan Sri Eileen Kuok, a close friend of Toh Puan Bunny Suffian and Puan Sri Eileen Kuok is the wife of Tan Sri Philip Kuok a former ambassador to Netherland and later to West Germany. Datin Suzuki has accused my father for selling a fake Yuan dynasty item as genuine and when my father asked for proof, Datin Suzuki claimed that Datuk Suzuki is an expert and I am also very happy that there are grand masters around to help to authenticate so that society will not fail from success.

Recently I visited some of the web sites and discovered that tour studies trips were organized and if the answers were not given to genuine and fakes, the trips will be just an ordinary tour. I also came to know that some of the Chinese experts in Chinese porcelain do not understand very much in authentication.

One friend of mine called Robert told me that one of his friend wanted to buy a tester to confirm antiquity. I then asked him the origin of the machine he replied he doesn’t know and how reliable is this machine he also said he do not know. He wants the convenience to use the machine to confirm the antiquity of the item. He told me that there will be a group of Chinese experts from People’s Republic of China who are ready buyers coming in June 2016 and he will be inviting them to see his collection. These experts had been invited to a friend’s house in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur during their earlier visit.   

 Another Chinese friend told me that he wants to go to Borobudur, Indonesia to check on two Buddha heads and I was curious to find out how the Buddha heads look like and told him to e-mail to me the photos and after he did and one month later I call him to come over to have a look at a temple near my house to see whether the material used to make the dragons and phoenixes are the same and he confirms it is the same because I cannot confirm the materials using the photos.

Toh Puan Bunny Suffian

There are three visitors, two from Singapore and one from Narrabeen, New South Wales, Australia. The two visitors from Singapore with one searching for “peranakan porcelain ware Melaka” and the other searching for “antique for sales in Singapore”. The third visitor from Australia searching for “penang Furnishing antique store”. Peranakan porcelain ware are found in shops in Jonker Street and Heeren Street. Many years ago there were antique sales organized by dealers in Singapore and what happen today I cannot tell because I am only interested to know what are good Chinese antique porcelain and to carry on accumulating my knowledge and not to fail during any challenge (remember wealth never pass one generation if collectors bought the wrong items or if a genuine item in hand is sold off as a copy). I have not heard of penang furnishing antique store because time changes and most of the old furniture are sold by families and it is exhausted leaving those in the families which are not for sale.

I have been collecting items that I love it and study into it. During this Chinese New Year I went to Pasar Seni and bought one set of Parker 75 pen set. This set is one fountain pen and one ball pen and the casing is American sterling silver was sold to me for Rm100/-.  This set of pen needs to be polish because silver to Chinese is the second most expensive metal tarnishes easily. After I recondition them, the next day I was already using them. The fountain can be sold for Rm350/- and the ball pen can be sold for Rm300/-. To know the value, collectors must also know how to recondition items that needs to be reconditioned. Old items always have faults and needs repair or recondition.

 Many years ago, Toh Puan Bunny Suffian , the wife of Tun Mohammed Suffian , the retired Lord President bought a number of antique furniture items from my father and she even design a red and gold stool to match her red and gold dressing table and her furniture was featured in magazines and I kept these magazines as history. These magazines were given to me by Tun Suffian after Toh Puan Bunny Suffian passed on.

I came across a computer site and it offers tips for buying Chinese antiques and in this article it tells us to beware of fakes which are the most important. To make the purchase safe, collectors must consult professionals but this writer has not named any professionals. I do not know whether this writer and collectors will agree with the professional that I have name here 1)Mr.William Young Willetts (Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia). 2)Peter Clague, Malaysia.(Owner of Asia Antiques at Loke House, Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur). 3)Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali (Ex-Magistrate). 4)Mr. Mohammed (an antique dealer). 5)Ku Tong Wong (Ipoh). 6)Cheong Hon Mun (a dealer in Penang). 7)Mr.Lu Yaw(National University of Singapore).8)Roxanna Brown (Thailand). 9)Clarence F. Shangraw  (United States of America). 10)Mr. Peter Lam (Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, Hong Kong) and also not to trust grandfathers and grandmothers stories like the item comes from shipwrecks, burial grounds. Another tip is you must ensure that you get your dollars worth is something very difficult follow and because of this tip I would advise not to become a collector for the reason everything has its beauty and everything has it’s price and how to based on it’s dollar worth which must be studied due to items are without fixed market price. I only know what is worth buying that fit to go into my museum with the characteristics that I can teach my children, grandchildren and friends that these are treasure and not rubbish.

 Many collectors are too greedy wanted to be on the top by using others’ knowledge but when they find an expert whom they think they can trust but this expert who turned out to be unworthy ones then problem lies ahead for the future. The purpose in collecting antiques is to share your knowledge with others and not to tell others that “no genuine, no fake” thus making yourself unimportant. Another greed is to pretend as collectors to buy and sell and if the deal to sell is not successful then blame the seller as a crook for selling fakes or copies which my father has experienced. At present there are not many good dealers because a lot of copies or fakes were produced and also a lot of grandfather and grandmother stories are also produced and that was the reason for me to become a taxi driver. I am happy that I know how to prove the items with me are good and without selling are of no worry to me because “treasure are treasure and rubbish are rubbish”. I believe that some of the visitors to this blog may have seen me asking questions and the answers has put the collectors into risk.

Nyonya Ware Not Known to Collectors

This Chinese New Year 2016 has brought some new knowledge and new experience to me. A visit to Pasar Seni (Central Market) with an Indian friend brought me to know about others knowledge. There was a heritage office, I then enquired about where my foreign friends can get Nyonya ware, the person there was confused. I then said Nyonya porcelain ware, he is still confused. I then said Peranakan porcelain ware, he understood what I wanted. He then replied to look for such items in Malacca and Penang, a friend of his came in to join the conversation. I told them if there are so many names to create confusion. I told them to look for this word “Peranakan “ and then check with Wikipedia to know this word better which only came into use in the 60’s.

 I then told my Indian friend that I learnt how to treat chili come to contact with human eyes from my Nyonya Grandmother(mother’s mother) and told him of an incident which happened to a boy who helps his mother running a food stall opposite Pearl Point at Old Klang Road. At that time I had ordered a bowl of noodles from this boy’s mother and this boy was then cutting chilies for his mother and came to sit beside me suffering with the chili burning eyes. I then laugh and this boy and the people at the coffee shop was thinking I was making fun and told him my Nyonya  grandmother taught her kitchen helpers to solve such problem and he took up the way to treat and he came back happy. I know that Baba Nyonya families have ways of doing many things like preparing kueh (cakes) and many ways cooking delicious food. I am happy to have a Nyonya grandmother and mother who are good at handicraft as well.

I don’t know what Peranakan families can offer and Peranakan is well known but not Nyonya that was why I was told that in the 60’s there was no Nyonya but Pua Nguar families claimed by one Mr. Goh openly in front of others which make me to understand that Nyonya ware are not important but Peranakan and Pua Nguar families are.

I have been flying the flag of NGTING KAU ANTIQUE SHOP alone and for a long time with the help from my sons and there was a Chinese man who is an antique dealer and was said to have studied about Chinese antique porcelain in Peoples’ Republic of China wants to buy this NG TING KAU ANTIQUE SHOP name when I told him I wanted to shift to another country. I also told him NG TING KAU ANTIQUE SHOP name will not be sold because it carry the name of my father who spent his lifetime study and taught me to know treasure. NG TING KAU was said to have been selling fakes or copies in Chinese antique porcelain items and those collectors must have been well known to have proofs that the items in their collections are genuine. These collectors whether under the nutshell or not, I don’t know but when I talk about scientific tests about carbon 14, carbon 12 tests and thermoluminescence test (TL ) they do not know what they are all about and these are the phony collectors.

I agree with the earlier mentioned website quote “there is a sucker born every minute” and this word “sucker” was changed to customer. This shows that customers are actually confirmed “suckers” by this writer. In any part of the world nobody can find good collector or customer when there are too many “suckers” around.

Knowing Treasure

There are a few visitors to this blog who are frogs under the nuts shells 1) From New Delhi searching for “where to buy peranakan ware in Melaka”. 2) From Singapore searching for “where does one buy peranakan porcelain in Kuala Lumpur. 3) From Birmingham searching for “antique Nyonya ware”. 4) From Milan, Umbria searching for “antique shops in Malacca, Malaesia”. Visitors like them should take the trouble to search for the places they had known. The third visitor searching for “antique Nyonya ware” should look for “Nyonya’s settlement” which is not too difficult to find. Nobody would want to share the Ali Baba treasure cave with you, so you have to look for the treasure yourself instead of being the frog. In Malaysia there are not many good collectors and I can’t tell about other countries unless I test them. There were a few proud and arrogant collectors that were brought down making them a fool on the spot. It is difficult for Chinese Antique dealers to run the business when arrogant collectors want to be good at spreading rumors at dealer/dealers for selling fake antiques and not treating case to case.

A friend of mine bought a Yi-Hsing teapot from People’s Republic of China and the seller told him that a good teapot is when you stand on top of it will not break which means that the teapot is too hard. When I told him that a good teapot must be porous and how to know a Yi-Hsing teapot is porous and good 1)When you keep water in a good and porous teapot it leaks slowly. 2) When you pour hot water into the teapot, there will be tea taste because the taste comes from the cavities of the teapot wall. These are the sensible and logical characteristics in authentication which can be experienced.

A Indian friend of mine who knows this doctor and when my friend mention my name Ronnie Ng, he told my friend that out of five items, two are correctly authenticated and three are wrong, this shows that this doctor is a knowledgeable collector because he knows the characteristics to authenticate Chinese antiques better than me so that he is able to tell my faults and this has make way for me to withdraw from authentication after all I am no match with him in authentication. Everybody has to prove his worth and not by mouth say.

Many years ago, I tried to use Chinese paper media to tell collectors to be careful of fake Chinese antiques and how to tell whether the items are genuine or not. The reporter came with this friend of mine who is a part time writer with the press but the materials were taken and not publish. The press may think that collecting antiques are mere rubbish and unimportant. Chinese educated collectors do not know much about Chinese antiques because many children of the rich families smoke opium in China in the earlier years and doesn’t pay good attention to the values of Chinese antiques which makes poor education in collecting Chinese Antiques. Till today when I question the Chinese Educated experts not many can give me proper answers and I have not met with English or of Western educated experts in Chinese Antiques.

There was a visitor to this blog e-mail me searching for pens and watches and these two items are my passions and easily kept without taking much storage space. I then told him that my late father’s shop was not far from a shop that sells pens and when I am free, I will go there to see the good items to collect and most of the pens I bought are new pens old stock. For pen collectors will know Parker Vaccumatic fountain pens which is very costly and high demand before World War Two and it was phased out and replaced by Parker 51 and Parker 21 after World War Two because American army generals used Parker 51 to sign peace treaties and for those who could not afford to own Parker 51 can buy Parker 21 which is the cheaper model and have a similar look. This shop sold to me some good quality Japanese pens of the 60’s at a very cheap price and what makes these fountain pens difficult to sell was because there was no demand for Japanese goods in the 60’s no matter how good the quality is. An Indian fountain pen collector brought some of his pen collection of 1910’s and 1920’s as sample that he is searching for. I told him to go back to India to look for such pens because importer in Malaya at that time will not be able to sell fountain pens because very few user and Chinese use Chinese brush to write and even if fountain pens were to be given to them, they will not know how to use.

Most of my father’s customers has bad behavior, they wanted something that they can sell to make profits and when their sale fail then they complain that the items are fakes or copies which means that they are profit motivated and not wanting to be  proper collectors with the intention not to keep the treasure for the next generation and further waging war against him in this antique business that he has to go to police station to settle matters which is actually a laughing matter because to inconvenienced him and furthermore police do not know how authentication is done and later I have to join him to go to court to fight a case for four years the cruel part was that they spy on what are the items my father has in stock and start to talk around that this fake and that fake. When my father died, someone known to my family was sent to celebrate his death, now that I discover the actions by collectors is only water off the ducks  back and leaving  the problems for collectors which is actually a laughter and one of the world best medicine for me.  A check with http://www.taimantis.com/chinese/fakes.html#UPD tells me, I quote “there is a sucker born every minute” and later this word sucker was replaced by the word “customer” so the answer to the truth. This war has been going on for a long time which is actually bad for collectors, not for me and it will not affect knowledgeable collectors whom I have not met.

 I am very happy with what I am keeping and spending happy hours in knowing treasures.  

New Delhi Peranakan Expert

One visitor from New Delhi, Delhi India searching for “Fake Peranakan Ceramics wareat the alley beside the museum”. Congratulations to this visitor because he has known this place and was able to confirm the “Peranakan Ceramics ware” were fakes. There was no mention which museum was having the “Fake Peranakan Ceramics ware at the alley” as such I cannot comment or check on your words to agree or not to agree with you without knowing the truth.

 Many years ago, a Professor from Jing dezhen, China who specialized in making porcelain items and he gave a talk in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and during his talk, he showed some of the call it what you like Peranakan, Nyonya, Pua Nguar, or Straits Chinese Porcelain ware items recently made at that time and also there was a recently made vase with a old bottom or base from a broken vase and the top is new which means “new vase with old bottom or base”.  During this talk a good piece of advice is that do not throw away any bottom or base of old items which may fall into wrong hands for making fakes, copies or imitations.

After this talk I have a good laugh, the specialist in Jing dezhen, China has to look for old bottom or bases of items to make fakes, copies or imitations call it whatever you like, but the specialist in Bandung was able to make fakes, copies or imitations call it whatever you like without having to search and make use of old base or bottom which shows that the skill in Jing dezhen is poor and that is why “Bandung fakes, Bandung copies or Bandung imitations” are well known from the late 60’s.There are many frogs under the nutshell and recently I met a chap who read my blogs and claimed that the expert’ name that I mentioned has died, does it mean that all the students that followed the these experts in studies or research has all died leaving no collectors, students and researchers in this field.

Recently there was a warning to art buyers which I saw at a vertical digital board at Old Klang Road telling to be careful. This advice should be issued some 30 years ago so that many will not want to be collectors to follow their friends who have a few items to show off which will not be “monkey see, monkey do”. I have to advise not to become a collector wherever and whenever possible.