Ng Ting Kau Antique Shop

Thursday, November 22, 2012

There are many visitors looking for Nyonya porcelain wares and one visitor from Brunei searching for value of Nyonya ware. The value of Nyonya ware is whether the items is 1) Pua Nguar or Nyonya 2) whether the item is Bandung or Jingdezhen made. 3) The time of manufacture.

Visitors to my blog had been informed that collectors must know what they are keeping and now must know what they wanted to buy and not to believe in the words 'genuine' or 'fake'. The details is of great importance.

A visitor from Singapore searching for genuine peranakan ware which is another name for Nyonya ware for sale which makes me wonder whether he has come across Bandung made or Jingdezhen made. Otherwise a genuine peranakan item placed in front of him for sale will be treated as something no good and accused of selling fakes which I had bad experiences in Malaysia.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Late Mr. Ng

The late Mr.Ng Ting Kau has been in antique business for a long time and planned to make Kuala Lumpur an antique trade centre but his plan has failed because there were sayings that imitations from Bandung were made exactly the same as originals in the 70’s which has caused a lot of frictions between my late father and customers. The customers will come back and throw their weight which forced him to take back what he had sold are fakes without having to prove that the items they bought are fakes. I tried to revive the business and the lucky thing was that I am still running this business in sole proprietorship otherwise there will be quarrel among partners over fakes issues from customers and also I will have difficulty in exporting which need to be agreed upon.

After closing down the shop, most of the beautiful items were shipped overseas because they were deemed fakes by local collectors. This blog has helped me by telling collectors terms like “not worth being a collector”, ”rumour buy rumour sell”, ” no genuine no fake”, “wealth never passed three generations”, “all artefacts are imitation unless and until proven genuine” and ultimately in Chinese short story that father and son has to carry the donkey home. A visitor claims that it is hilarious that I am a taxi driver which I found the benefits of being a taxi driver. Here is the list of benefits. 1) when my wife was sick and she passed away in 2007, I have to take care of her and my four sons without having to apply leave from my job. 2) It gets me to know Kuala Lumpur route well. 3) I usually have my lunch at the canteen in the National Museum of Malaysia and after my meal, I will take a rest at the museum’s library and from that museum’s library I learn how to know the values in ancient artefacts and how to protect myself so that wealth can pass three generations in my family and also Asian Art Museum in Kuala Lumpur which has authenticated specimen for me to study.

A visitor from Denmark is searching for Xu bei Hong’s horse painting on plates. As far as I know he only paints on papers and oil painting. The genuineness of paintings need to be inspected and details on how results. The wood block prints of some of Xu bei Hong’s painting is also posted with the front cover of the catalogue. I visited a shop which displayed a few paintings for sale, a Chinese national was looking for Xu Bei Hong’s painting and I took out the book on wood block prints and instead of looking for paintings, he wants to buy the book from me.

A visitor from Longford, Ireland searching for pua nguar teko but he did not make it clear whether he wants pua nguar teko from Bandung or Jingde zhen. Other visitors searching for Nyonya ware, antique shops in Penang, Singapore, Straits Chinese Singapore, Nyonya Ware UK, Kangxi vase colour nyonya ware.

This is the list of searches from visitors to my blog. 1) Taiwanese Antique bowls. 2) auction value “Sung Dynasty Bowls”. 3) Nyonya ware encyclopedia. 4) jokes on collecting antiques. 5) valuation of peranakan porcelain. 6)reproduction nyonya ware. 7) ”ronnie ng” 1980 photographer. 8) where to buy nyonya ware. 9) where to buy nyonya ware in penang. 10) how much commission for antique dealers in Malaysia. 11) fake nyonya ware. 12) fake Chinese antique porcelain. 13) Jingdezhen/nyonya reproduction. 14) antique porcelain opium press and bowls. 15) Kamcheng nyonya ware teapot for sale K.L. 16)Malaysia expert on nyonya ware. 17) Che Mokhtar Che Ali. 18) Chinese ming dynasty pots bowls. 19)kutani made in japan tea cups. 20)straits Chinese plate uk. 21)Cheng Ho Porcelain bowl. 22) where to buy reproduction ware in penang. 22)Che mokhtar magistrate. 23)kangxi vase color nyonya ware. 24)sung ting bowl-singing. 25) where to get cheap nyonya ware in Singapore. 26)Singapore nyonya ware. 27) Yuan vase fake. 28)reproduction peranakan Chinese porcelain manufacturers. 29)antique shop Malaysia-alibaba-lelong. 30)thermoluminicence test for porcelain in Singapore.31)searching for images of fake sung dunasty bowls. 32)searching for fake sung sung bowls. 33) made in Taiwan, republic of china label on spittoon. 34)arahats blue bowls. 35) is there a nyonya ware antique shop in Kajang?.

Visitors searching for fakes should go to People Republic of China, there are Yuan vase fakes and fakes sung dynasty bowls including images which you can even design for them to make. Nyonya ware can also be bought there. I came to know there is an importer for nyonya ware in Kuala Lumpur but I do not have contacts with manufacturers.

Visitors searching for “ronnie ng” 1980 photographer, Che Mokhtar Che Ali and Che mokhtar magistrate should advertise in the newspapers and facebook.

Visitors searching for Taiwanese Antique bowls and made in Taiwan, republic of china label on spittoon should refer to Taiwan trade embassy for assistance because whether the mentioned items are made of jade, marble or other materials is not stated.

Visitors searching for nyonya ware, antique shops, in penang, expert on nyonya ware, Singapore nyonya ware, valuations on nyonya ware, nyonya ware encyclopedia, where to get nyonya ware in Singapore and is there a nyonya ware antique shop in Kajang has created jokes in antique collecting. I state what I know and I take those as a jokes. These visitors should request for nyonya ware shops to be opened in front of their house.

Visitors searching for auction values “Sung dynasty bowls” should find out for yourself because I don’t know whether the prices suits you and also antiques has no fixed market value. As to antique porcelain opium press bowls which I do not know what it is. Cheng Ho Porcelain bowl which I didn’t see Cheng Ho eating with that bowl and as such I cannot confirm that it is Cheng Ho Porcelain bowls. As to arahats blue bowls, sung ting bowl-singing and kangxi vase color nyonya ware which I haven’t come across and I do not have knowledge of what other collectors had.

Visitor searching for kutani made in japan tea cup which I have not come across but I have two sets of kutani sake set comprising of a double gourd bottle and two cups in one set. These sets which are not for sale and I do not like to post the photo for the set but only for one sake cup. Another visitor searching for experts in Chinese Imari for Kang Hsi Emperor. Emperor Kang Hsi is in China and what was found in his possession and who actually knew about Chinese Imari for Kang His Emperor is not known to me but the expert mentioned can only be found in Peoples’ Republic of China today.

Thermoluminescence tests is available at an institute in Bangi, Selangor and please check with specialist for more information. There are tests namely carbon 14, carbon 12 and non destructive scientific test.

Collectors know that there are a lot of fakes sold in the market but there are also genuine antiques in the market. There is a visitor accuses someone being cheat. Why do collectors want to collect items that are so easily faked or imitated? An article that appeared in the Chinese daily, experts has broken thirty genuine artefacts after mistakes made in authentication. Two months ago I bought a genuine Tang Dynasty (AD618-AD960) three colour horse for Rm100/- and I used my experience to authenticate it which I found it to be genuine and made it affordable for me to keep. All artefacts are imitation unless and until proven genuine.

This will be my last reply to visitors because I have antique exhibition to organize. The way that I answered was not clear to visitors and English should not be used. This blog has advised that do not be a collector because treasure can turn rubbish and rubbish can turn treasure. Another thing is when experts claim that imitations can be made exactly the same as originals then we do not need experts to authenticate. Wealth never passed three generations is when collectors with genuine artefact passed to next generation without telling the next generation, how to know that it is genuine will have trouble when the next generation shows to experts with the intention to sell and was told that is a fake. The next generation will scold the ancestor for giving them rubbish. Good collectors make good teachers by able to share the knowledge that tells what is genuine and fake. Good antiques are not judged by its prices but based on willing buyer, willing seller and knowledge.

Why a genuine Tang Dyansty three colour horse is sold for Rm 100 is because collectors could not see the value in the genuine horse thinking that it cannot be genuine. The vendor also have problem selling at that price which browsers couldn’t believe that it is genuine.

One last reply for this year to a visitor searching for nyonya furniture of penang. Nyonya furniture is a mixture of Chinese and Western. Mahogany or blackwood furniture, red and gold furniture are the Chinese and the Dutch styled furniture. Mahogany furniture comes in sets of eight chairs and four side tables which come in square or rectangle, there is one type that is without armrest, bench, opium beds, half-moon tables and lower stand, with and without mother of pearls. Red and gold are guilded with goldleaf, single and double posted beds which means that mosquito net could be hung, seven carved panels with flower baskets in the front and a chest of drawers is placed at the back. Dressing table with five drawers with the beveled edge in green and flakes of mother of pearl., cupboards with two drawers and below the drawers are two panels on the left and right and in between the panels are two doors and on top of it is another cupboard with two doors. Washstand and mother- in- law chest. Red and gold doors are of two type main door and side doors, side doors are the slim tall doors.

Western furniture which I came across are cupboards with two doors on the top section, at the lower section are two drawers curved and doors at the lower section. Dining furniture set, with one dining table with eight carved chairs rattan netting at the seat and back and also with arm rest. Side-boardes with beveled edge mirrors and beautifully carved balustrades shelves to put decorative items on the top section and lower section usually Italian marble top with one long drawer and two side drawers, the specials ones has the middle drawer half -moon shaped. Side boards will not fit into modern homes with low ceiling. Balustrades taken from sideboards were modified into legs for piano stools. Another is that I find it difficult to describe is two slim cupboards with a panel of carving on top and in between is a drawer and a base plus a mirror to hold these three items. My late father has a restoration workshop at Old Klang Road in the earlier days.

The look alike paintings of Xu Bei Hong are woodblock prints extracted from the catalogue.

Front cover for the wood block print catalogue.

Kutani Cup from Sake Set. Kutani Plate with four Kanji characters.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

There are a number of visitors who was searching for clarification in this blog.

On 11/2/2012- a visitor from Zurich searching how to find out if a piece of Chinese porcelain is valuable. The valuable porcelain lies with the items with beautiful drawings and other factors that money can hardly buy. If you want something old you can go to the roadside to take a stone which is one of the world's oldest items because stones are formed by earth's movements.

On 15/2/2012- a visitor from Ipoh,Perak searching for Xiu Bei Hong paintings. Xiu Bei Hong painting which is with one horse is easily duplicated even with wood block print.

On 22/3/2012- a visitor from Singapore searching how to define original Nyonya ware. Ask Nyonya ware collectors for more information because there is a difference between the old and new Pua Nguar mention in my blog. e.g. A collector invited me to see alleged Yuan dynasty items and there was a vast difference between mine and the alleged items. The difference was made known to him because there are not many Yuan dynasty items shown by collectors to make comparison. This method goes for Nyonya and Pua Nguar ware.

On 29/2/2012- a visitor from Brooklyn New York searching for celadons, Sung dynasty. Celadons are items resemblance to jade and brown celadons were due to firing temperature. Later period celadons have grey green and pale green.

On 29/2/2012- a visitor from Calgary Alberta searching for Sung dynasty bowls. Sung dynasty has conical bowls, bubble bowls and others.

On 1/3/2012- a visitor from Singapore searching for antique shop Penang. I haven't visited Penang for a long time. In my younger days, my late father (my present antique shop is named after him) took me to Swatow street and Hong Kong Lane to source for antiques and many agents called "Cheng Kao" will take us to see the items in old houses and these Cheng Kao gets commission from both sides when deals are successful.

On 4/3/2012- a visitor from P.J. searching how for authentication Nyonya ware. Please refer answer to visitor 22/3/2012.

On 4/3/2012- a visitor searching for Ng Ting Kau Amcorp Mall Business Hour. I visit Amcorp Mall to do treasure hunt and visit friends who operate stalls at Flea Market when I am free. A few years ago, I learnt a lesson that Malaysia does not have good collectors only based on rumour buy, rumour sell and this compelled me to take some of the items out of Malaysia after my shop at Amcorp mall shifted out.

On 6/3/2012- A visitor from Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest searching for porcelain mandarin che christie's. I haven't heard of what is porcelain mandarin che christie's but guess that Chinese porcelain for European market.

On 9/3/2012- A visitor from Bicester Oxfordshire searching for peter clague Singapore, I don't know peter clague Singapore but Peter Clague Malaysia is a famous antique dealer cum auctioneer. He was interviewed by Malaysian business magazine in the 70's. He was a material witness and not called by the parties concern to testify against a Chinese antique dealer who was accused of selling fake antiques. His absence in court ( Civil Action 5934 of 1978 in the Magistrate Court , Kuala Lumpur.) was a great loss and to the down fall for antique dealers and antique collectors. The important facts and information in antique authentication brought up by him during the trial at the court case will be made known to dealers and collectors and would have saved confused dealers and confused collectors. Interested parties can help to find out why this happened and also to retrieve the important facts and information.

A friend of mine brought his friend to see a few items in my antique collection and this person was a bit of self-importance and pointed to me that imitation can be made exactly the same as originals. I then said that in your collection, all can be made today and have no longer of high value. I also mentioned to him that in my blog I never encourage anyone to be antique collector. He is Chinese educated and the subject to scientific tests by drilling samples from given pieces and then process the samples before putting the samples into machines for tests. I then asked him whether he knows of the place in Malaysia which such test was carried out, he was blank. I then told him that I know the place and the accuracy and also the people who handle these machines. My advice to him was " Do not be an antique collector but be a handicraft collector" and this was found in this blog. In Malaysia there are some called antiques which can be easily bought at other countries.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

In collecting antiques, everyone has to learn to know which is the most important. Late last year I bought a beautiful 400 days clock at this Chinese coffee shop opposite Pearl Point Hotel where I frequently have my breakfast and lunch. This kind of clock, I had been sourcing for almost 35 years.

I have good laughs at experts and collectors in porcelain items. The first was a friend who took some samples to the Peoples' Republic of China and shown the experts, whoever they are which I am not bothered and their comments was that the items are "WAI SIAU FOR" which in Mandarin is for outside China's market. I then requested for photographs of what is known to be "NEI SIAU FOR" which in Mandarin is for inside China's market. This matter is still pending because I admitted that what I have is "WAI SIAU FOR" for the reason that if the items in my collection were to be in China, it would be used in rough way, broken and thrown away. The Imperial wares that were brought overseas as gifts to royalties were also well preserved because food containers were not easily available as today like melamine, plastic, aluminium, stainless steel etc.

Second joke is a lady told a friend of mine that I have a lot of plates and my answer is that I have to cross the bridge when I come to it unlike collectors called handicraft items as antiques which can be ordered to make e.g. you want Ming dynasty items, you get it from the factory, you want Sung, you get Sung, want Ching, you get Ching.

Third joke is about Nyonya ware, in the 70's till the 80's "Bandung copies" in antique ceramics was known and "Jingdezhen copies" were not heard of. Nyonya ware were also sold by mail order (I have the brochure and price list) and this was well aware by most collectors themselves.

Fourth joke is about a company in the Peoples' Republic of China authenticates for antique collectors and can sell at a higher price. I had in this blog which I had stated that I have no trust in them. In Malaysia, unwanted bricks from old building were shipped to Japan to build houses and also why do collectors want to collect old porcelain items. ( there must be a reason to it but collectors and expert had known). Old Yi-Hsing teapot must leak in order to be good (when water is kept in the teapot water must seep through the wall of the teapot) and this is known to tea drinkers cum collectors. Makers of imitation porcelain items will put on the most valuable reign mark on the items to attract buyers and this is known to collectors.

Fifth joke was that at Amcorp Mall, dealer asked me whether I have Xi-Bei Hong painting on horses and I said hat Ma-Bei Hong painting is better. The complaint is on the brush strokes in Chinese paintings.

Sixth joke is about a collector from Penang, claim that he will throw away the items in his collection when experts tells him that the items are no good, my answer to him is that you are practicing wealth never pass three generations because old man doesn't teach the son and the son doesn't pass the information to the next generation. A number of collectors were stunned by this statement of mine but I had solved this problem of mine and some of my items are overseas.

All these years there were a lot fun in my research and enjoyment never cease, unlike whistle blowers ended like the fifth joke. Some comments from expert like authentication by weight and shape is not reliable and others need to be checked. Recently there was an article in the Star Newspaper dated 28th Jan,2012 that shows a boy looking at a Ching dynasty (A.D. 1644 -A.D. 1911) plate in China. It is common knowledge that most of the enamel polychrome are from the Ching dynasty which include the early Pua Nguar and Nyonya ware. Famille Noire, Famille Verte, Famille Jaune and Famille Rose are the names given to the coloured enamel wares. With a number of Ching dynasty emperors, the difficult part to identify lies with 3 emperors, the rest has a vast difference in many ways. This is known to experts and was not brought out for lectures leaving next generation lack of knowledge and also making those important artefacts in famous collectors becoming unimportant.

This plate of the Yuan dynasty (1279 A.D to 1368 A.D.) Mohammedan's Blue and the Koranic script are rare.

The pot in Tang dynasty (618 A.D. to 906 A.D.) The three colour pot have fine texture of glaze after come in contact with mud.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Antiques has to genuine in order to be called “Antiques”. There are not many good collectors in porcelain especially Chinese educated because there was no importance for them to find out the values of old porcelain. I have not come across books written about Antique Chinese before 1920’s. In the 60’s Chinese Government sells porcelain treasures which is also authentic specimen to pay Soviet Union the money owed for Korean War tells me that porcelain items are of no importance in China.

I have a good laugh at two old man who are respectable people in Kuala Lumpur. I brought a book written not long ago by a famous Chinese expert to show this old man. In this book a Yuan dynasty Blue & White Jar drawn with a Lohan (Arahat) riding on a carriage powered by a mythical lion. Another jar with the same motif was for sale at a shopping complex. This old man claim that the one in the book is better. I then question him on how he tells that the one in the book is better. I say that both may be the same unless I am able to study the two items. He was at the loss of word.

Another is this old man who claim to be well versed with Penang and Malacca family crockery ware. It started off when I said that my late father bought a Nyonya Ware Kamcheng ( foodpot) from a Indian Muslim dealer in the 60s in the presence of a few collectors. He then objected by saying that in the 60’s got ‘no’ Nyonya ware and it is called ‘Pua’ & ‘Nguar’ in Hokien means plates & bowls and that Nyonya ware came its existence after 1970’s. I then asked for the difference between the Pua Nguar and Nyonya ware. I am still at the puzzle because he has not made it clear. Does it mean that the ones in the 60’s does not have phoenixes and the ones in the 70’s does and which is of better value or the both are cheap stuff? If those item are RM5 to RM10, I wouldn’t bother to ask and but when it comes to above RM100 and above, then knowledge is necessary.

Since he claimed that there is no Nyonya ware in the 60’s, then we have Pua Nguar spitoon, Pua Nguar Kamcheng Pua Nguar tehko(tea pot) etc. and another is, call it what ever you like Nyonya, Straits Chinese or Peranakan spitoon, kamcheng, tehko etc. When I asked further he accuse me of stirring up trouble, so Nyonya ware and Pua Nguar collectors has to know which is which otherwise anyone will be accused of selling the wrong thing with the aim to cheat. This incident happened at Amcorp Mall Flee Market. I am still looking for answers so that I won’t fall into the wrong place.

The painting by Xu Bei Hong with one horse galloping is too easy to copy and with many of it in the market. The one that are with two horses, one horse lifting up legs is difficult to copy (Two photo attached with one alleged copy is mine and the other is from a book telling about Xu Bei Hong’s painting in China) yet it is being copied by unknown artist and the horses in the alleged copy does not looked like cartoon. If master copier like Chang Ta-Chien can copy Xu Bei Hong’s painting, Chi Pai Shih’s painting then copies will be called Chang Bei Hong’s painting, Chang Pai Shih’s painting and further that art students who copy the famous artist will follow like copier with surname Chen will be Chen Bei Hong and so on.

A European lady got a surprise because I told her that every collector must know what they have in their collection like genuine or fake. She told me that scientific ways can imitate porcelain items exactly the same, my reply is that every item in your collection will not fetch good value because money could easily buy the antique items in your pocession from factories. I cited an example that Nyonya ware items can be seen and bought everywhere. After that conversation I came to know why the Chinese proverb says that wealth never passed three generations. To the first generation, the artefacts in their collection are treasures. Second generation keeps them for fun without much knowledge, only by the word that they are treasure from the first generation. Third generation without knowledge to tell that those artefacts are genuine, will throw them away when they see so many copies in the market or after consulting experts who claim that they are fakes thus turning treasures in garbage.

The photos of the item which is Pua Nguar or Nyonya ware is not known to me yet and both photos of Xu Bei Hong’s painting and another ? Bei Hong’s painting with the horse that I mentioned are marked.

There are experts known to me that pluck facts from the air and claim that they are mighty thus leaving collector confused and causing wealth never passed three generations.

Greedy collectors wants museums’ pieces which is not for sale and ends up that in their lifetime not getting anything. Many collectors missed collecting good pieces available at one time but they are not interested to study themselves but to rely on experts’ opinion without getting proper judgement as in precedent found in The STAR World news pg. 43 titled “Forgotten vase sells for RM19 mil” which quote “Her blue and white “dragon” vase had been sitting at the bottom of her wardrobe since the l970s when an expert told her the piece was a copy.” Why do we collect? The answer is in page13 found in book titled “Collecting & Looking After Antiques” by John Fitzmaurice Mills.

Netsuke is well known among collectors compared to Japanese porcelain like Ko-Kutani, Arita Nabeshima, Kakimon, Imari, Satsuma and others.

These two items are they Pua Nguar or Nyonya ware?

This two photos is extracted from a book that talks about Xu Bei Hong’s painting and the horse that I emphasized is marked.

This is the painting that I owned and the horse on the painting which is marked does not looked like cartoon.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sunken Treasure

It is not worth being an antique collector because treasure can turn to rubbish and rubbish to treasure.
Words like fakes or reproductions are easily used and can confuse collectors. As in the case of an English expert, William Willetts who claim that a Ming bowl as a fakes and comparison was made at the museum which he is the curator and he was found to have made mistakes in authentication which also carry doubts in the pieces of the museum.
Experts who doesn’t know to state the facts on items that are fakes, will also not know how to state the facts on the items that are genuine in writing but by stating it orally has no risk.
Provenance in writing is a must and how to prove that the item is from the person or the family who previously owned it is a problem. Example Madame Lopez who rented a unit at Cho Tek flat, Jalan Imbi in the late 60’s and due to rental problem, her things were auctioned off and my late father bought some of the items and a whatever you like to call it Nyonya Ware, Straits Chinese, or Pernakan plate was in that lot and to prove that the plate is from Madame Lopez is a problem. I don’t know it is the fact on the piece or the piece that belongs to Madame Lopez is important.
The items that I am looking for from sunken vessels of the Yuan or Ming dynasty from Admiral Cheng Ho because the items are from Mongol and Chinese government financed barter trade which are finer and can fetch higher price.

31 August 2010

To all antique porcelain collectors' concern.

To collect antique porcelain item has lead to international laughter or joke because experts are misleading.

Most countries are markets with imported antique porcelain items without much historical links but the most important is whether it is genuine or fake.

Experts must be thrown away because thermoluminescence test is used for ceramics and residual traces of cover materials from the casting of bronze objects.

To add further laughter at are the experts in this field and collectors who trusted them.

History tells us that: -

1) In 1975, when a fisherman Ch'oe Hyong-gun snagged several heavily encrusted ceramics vessels in his net while trawling for croakers off Sinan- a district on the south-western coast of the Republic of Korean. His brother, a school teacher examined the finds and suspected their importance. He showed them to the local authorities, who dismissed them as imitation. Finally experts in Seoul confirmed them as genuine antiques, and the Korean Cultural Property Preservation Bureau in South Korea aided by the navy, began systematically excavating the site in October 1976. ( Extract from Reader's Digest August 1980.)

2) In Malaysia, an antique dealer won a case against a couple who bought a Ming bowl for RM600 paid by cash and three pieces of Angkor Wat sandstone panels which was paid by cheque for RM6000 and this cheque was stopped payment for reason that the items were modern copies. ( Article can be found on page 5 of Star dated May 30, 1981.)
This antique dealer has stated that : - "Take Notice Goods Sold are not returnable but returnable on the condition that the Goods Mentioned above are proved they are modern copies. The proofs must be sufficient and must haven written remarks from experts.

Two Englishmen:

I) Peter Clague, an antique dealer whose business place was Loke House, Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur who gave a valuation report of fakes and was not called to testify.

II) William Young Willetts who sworn in an affidavit stating his degrees and diplomas: -
a) Bachelor of Science (Bristol University) 1940.
b) Academic Diploma in Chinese Art And Archeology (London University) 1945.
c) M.A. Chinese Archeology (London University) 1946.
d) Bachelor of Arts in Classical Chinese (Oxford University) 1950.

He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1971) and a curator of the Art Museum (University Of Singapore) from 1964 to 1973 and curator of Muzium Seni Asia (University Malaya) from then to the present time (30th July 1980, the date of affidavit sworn).
He also had studied on the spot in the six week long visits made between 1964 and 1968 and had written a book named "Angkor Roundabout" which is only a tourist guide and not a book on the antiquity of Angkor Wat.

Later it was discovered that he is the founder of the South East Asian Ceramic Society in Singapore and Malaysia. (Sunday Mail Weekend Extra dated 26th June 1994.)

On 17/10/80 Mr. Willetts gave evidence and comparison was made on the same day at Muzium Seni Asia. He also retracted certain statements, he made earlier. The Learned Magistrate, Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali who did not record the retraction of the statements by Mr. Willetts and on May 29,1981 when plaintiff's counsel was cross-examining Mr. Willetts who is defence witness number three concerning the retract statements, The Learned Magistrate Che Mokhtar Bin Che Ali disappear from the courtroom leaving everybody in the courtroom in suspense. (Extracted from Civil Action 5934 of 1978 in the Magistrate court Kuala Lumpur.)

During the trial Mr. Willetts had tendered two letters of correspondence between him and Sotheby's to let the court know that he had corrected an error for Sotheby's that piece of Chinese Ceramic items was actually put up for sale as Iranian.

3) New Straits Times World news section by Associated Press dated Friday 22/12/1995 titled "Malaysians convicted of RM1.6m vase scam" tells us that a couple sold 45 pieces of fake Ming and Yuan Dynasty porcelain vases to five San Francisco Victims for US$640,000 and it was discovered to be fakes by featured expert of art appraisers from Christie's Fine Art Auctioneers in New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Sheffler said among other thing I quote". "If they had been real, the 45 rare and extremely valuable vases would have been worth approximately US$20 million" and also that certificates of authenticity had failed in its performance in this press statement.

Example:
a) Saturday Star World News section by Reuters dated Nov.9,1994 titled "Liberace's Cadillac fails to thrill bidders" which claim that 1931 V8 Roadster, used by the flamboyant pianist in his stage show, was expected to fetch 100,000 sterling pounds, attracted only a 55,000 bit when it was auctioned.
b) Thursday Star World News, October 8,1998 titled "No Takers for possible early Lincoln photo" tells that a daguerreo- type claim to be the earliest known photograph of Abraham Lincoln failed to sell at an auction on Tuesday when bidding petered out at US$150,000 and this items was put up for sale by Christie in New York.
c) Miller's antique price guide tells that "The never-ending problem of fixing prices for antiques."

For the 2 example, Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Sheffler is implying that Liberace's Cadillac and Lincoln's photo are no good otherwise it would have been sold at a higher price.

4) Sunday Mail 28th July 1996 titled "Royal Fakes". It turned out that a pair of Chinese Porcelain 'Famille-verte' caches pots of the Kangxi period, on loan from the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen's mother are reproductions done in factory in Paris and was placed at Grosvenor House Art and Fair. Who was expert or experts who verified the cache pots to be Kangxi period is not known which creating embarrassment.

5) NST World News Thursday Aug. 15 1996 titled " Malaysian couple jailed for selling fake Chinese Porcelain". I do not know whether it is the same or different subject. If it were to be same subject then we are having 2 stories to be one subject. Assistant US Attorney Ross Nader in this press statement said "The couple told buyers that 45 porcelains dated from the Ming and Yuan dynasties in China. All were actually manufactured in the last 25 years. Before sale, the couple asked Clarence Shangraw, then chief curator of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, to verify the porcelain's authenticity and recommend that the museum buy some, but he said they were fakes." I do not know what degree or degrees Clarence Shangraw posses but compared to Mr. Willetts professional reputation is recognised by as prestigious as Encyclopedia Brittanica. Mr. Willetts was caught making mistakes when comparison was made in the museum. (Sarkar on Evidence (12th edition) Value of Expert Evidence in General verified genuineness by making comparisons with the exhibits in the museum against the fakes)

There are so much to laugh at that it is about to be a laughing subject than a collecting subjects.

All the press records are extracted from Malaysia's newspaper.

Earlier this year, a Chinese magazine and Nanyang Siang Pau dated 2/6/2002 featuring the same topic that Taiwanese get specialists to make imitation porcelain to cheat Taiwanese collectors. When imitations can be made exactly the same as originals, then museums and university of antiquity subject is not required anymore. Collectors who do learn about weathering process are idiots. Let idiots be idiots forever.

Porcelain items.

Porcelain items are made for household use and after production changes it become antiques. This add higher value because the texture change and material used from one era to another are different. Blue and White Chinese porcelain has imported and local material for decoration and these two materials give two different blue. Secondly the drawing tells the time. An English expert taught that the best way is by comparing with authenticated specimen. Many dealers, collectors and overseas expert went to look for antique porcelain wares in China but they didn't know that most of the good pieces are no longer there because :

1) Manufacturer do not keep every piece they make and if they make every piece and keep other parts of the world will not know what Chinese porcelain is?
2) Fine house ware and family heirloom were cheaply sold by opium addicts over century.
3) In the 60's Chinese government sold antique porcelain items to pay Soviet Union for the loan taken to fight Korean War.
4) Cultural revolution demonstrators don't believe in dragons and phoenixes destroyed a lot of treasures that was left after the three incidents.

Collectors, dealers and experts always say that there are a lot of imitations. Paintings are copied by other painters. Jade can be old but carving can be new. Bronze ware using acid to etch it slowly makes it look very old. Collectors must know what they have been keeping so that it will not bring a problem to the next generation. A knowledgeable collector will not base on rumour buy , rumour sell. Many collectors don't even have a tool and some doesn't know how to use the tool. Experts always say that imitation can be made exactly the same as originals then we don't need experts to authenticate because we can find makers making genuine artefacts, which is not worth collecting anymore. It is difficult to trust experts who authenticate the items and give oral remarks without producing genuine items and explain how conclusion is arrived. This will lead to confusion and owner will not learn anything.

A discovery that scientific testing done in Hong Kong with certificate of authenticity is not reliable.
In 2003, Thesaurus Fine Arts sold a ceramic teapot purportedly from the Tang Dynasty and a pottery tile supposedly from the Ming Dynasty and both pieces came with ' certificate of authenticity' from scientific testing laboratories in Hong Kong and further tests by two laboratories showed each less than 100 years old and possibly new and another no more than 130 years old and might even be new. ( Extracted from Associated Press)
In 2005, Thesaurus Fine Arts has to pay US$350,000 in penalties and cost. This case happened in Seattle in U.S.A.

All ceramic and pottery artefacts are fakes unless and until proven genuine.

In collecting antiques, the proverbs says among the blind, the one with one eye is the king. The rules are :-

1) There are items that I have, the museum doesn't have.

2) There are items that the museum have, that I don't.

3) There are items that I have, the museum also have.

4) There are item that I don't have, the museum don't have but another person have.

5) There are items that museum have, another person have and I don't have.

6)There are items that museum have, another person have and I have.

There is a need to know how to conclude that the items in the collection is genuine unless experts declare that imitations can be made exactly the same as originals, then museum pieces and items in private collections can be easily ordered from factories making the genuine items causing "No genuine and no fakes". There are no good collectible item of high value anymore in this case because genuine items can be easily produced. It is the item that tells the genuineness and not the stories because stories can be made wherever and whenever necessary.

The ball is now in the collectors court and vendors has to prove the items in the trade are genuine.There are many dishonest collectors who cheats themselves and blame it on others. They usually claim that their collections are good but without knowledge of the fact to support what they claim.They may even go to jail when the facts of genuineness are not laid for the next generation or buyers. Even a million dollar piece is put in front of them will be useless because they don't know how to tell the value involving the piece. It turn out to be their problem when they claim copies and ended up that their collection are copies as well caused by illteracy.

03 August 2010.