How to Look at Burial Artifacts
Collecting antiques are a real challenge nowadays due to the recovery of varieties of unknown burial artifacts coupled with the myriads of fake porcelain. In the early eighties before the opening of China up to mid eighties, collecting antiques was a breeze that any collector with money can never purchase a fake antique as all of the items in the market are genuine. At that time, only the taste of the collector determined the quality of his collection. The fakes started appearing after the opening of China and gather pace after the mid eighties with lots of fake antiques being churned out to cater to the demand.
In the nineties up to today, lots of collectors were deceived into buying fakes antiques and this has dampened the enthusiasm and spirit of lots of collectors. Collectors were wary of fakes and scared to purchase if shown high quality antique porcelain. Collectors were so intimidated by the fakes that many would rather collect the antiques that are ‘one glance genuine” or easy to distinguish antiques of which any new collectors are also able to differentiate.
Do not be intimidated by the fakes as most of the fakes can still be differentiated through some minor differences such as paste and also glaze. There for the knowledge of the collector is very important as this will differentiate The collector from the collector. Knowledge comes from reading lots of reputable and reliable reference books, reputable auction house catalogues, visiting museums to look at the genuine items and most of all; one has to handle lots of genuine porcelain. Handling genuine items is very important as this will enable a collector to sense whether an item is genuine or not. Saying this, one has also need to handle lots of known fake porcelain. Study how the fakes were made, how the glaze look and feel likes, how is the paste, what type of fakes burial signs, decorations etc. By knowing both genuine and fake, one then can immediately differentiate an item if one is shown.
Most of the genuine antiques in the markets are recovered from burial and not many are handed down through the generations. There for one need to know how to look at burial artifacts in order to be able to differentiate.
Burial artifacts are porcelain that were buried either during periods of war, hoping to return to retrieve them when time is more peaceful or as burial artifacts for the deceased. The burial effects from these two are different due to the different environment the artifacts were in. In burial lime powder is used, rotting organic materials, bronze, and cloth which affect the appearance. In saying so, some burial has a small chamber specially build for the sacrificial artifacts and this might protect the item from the ravages of time and elements. While no lime powder is used for artifacts buried during war., they are better protected by putting the artifacts in a jar, cellar which protects the artifacts in a much better condition. It is also important to know where the artifacts were from:
North China
West China
South China
This is important as the soil conditions differ greatly between these regions. As there were different types of earth, with some being red earth, black earth, or sand. The hole the artifacts were in is also important as the holes can be divided into different types of hole:
Fire hole where the conditions are dry
Water hole where it is buried in a water logged hole or under the water
Semi dry and wet hole where some season it is water logged and some season it is dry.
Once a collector knows where the artifacts were from, then one needs to look at other signs.
The important point to look at:
Glaze
As we all know, glaze is a type of glass surface and some glaze just sits on top of the paste without being fused with the paste. (eg Qingbai from Fujian, Hongzhou porcelain). Some glazes were completely fused to the paste such as Hutian qingbai, B/W glaze.
The glaze of burial artifacts will be greatly affected by the environment it is in. So it is important to know what how the glaze should look like:
Glaze shininess
Even though it is buried for hundreds, maybe thousand of year, the surface of the glaze normally does not suffer much in terms of glossiness. Some glaze still look shiny but the shininess is what the Chinese term “without the fire element” which is a subdued glossiness. A newly fired porcelain has the “fire element” still burning inside therefore the glaze is very shiny. Most fakers will try to get rid of this shininess by using chemicals, very fine sand paper. However these methods tend to damage the glaze surface and make it looks dull, dead and sometimes feels rough to the touch. A genuine burial artifact’s glaze looks alive, fat, luster and smooth to the touch.
Glaze Degradation
Glaze degradation will definitely happens after being buried for long periods. Glaze tends to deteriorate if buried in a water logged area compared with a dry area. As glaze surface is a kind of glass, the minerals cannot penetrate through the surface, therefore the minerals will tend to affect via the paste. If we take qingbai from Fujian as an example, one can see via a magnifying glass, whitish spots which is under the glaze surface spread out all over the glaze. These whitish spots looks natural as it practically grows over a long period of time. B/W from Yuan and Ming porcelain also displayed this phenomenon and the whitish spots tend to also cover the blue decoration if it is buried in a wet environment. The fakers also try to mimic this whitish spots by using chemicals but these white spots normally occurs on the surface of the glaze and not under the glaze. The white spots does not looks natural and sometimes tend to have big patches.
Crazing
Crazing occurs due to the expansion and contraction difference between the glaze and paste. As this expansion and contraction occurred over a long period, the crazing tends to have very fine crazing and occurs quite randomly. Qingbai from Fujian, Hongzhou porcelain, B/W from Fujian tends to have these types of crazing. The fakers tried to create crazing too but the crazing tends to occur vertically and not as a naturally occurring crazing. Some fakes have crazing so fine that some might be mistaken as genuine. Do take note that some of the crazing looks quite convincing.
If this is the case, then one needs to have a magnifying glass in order to look deep into the craze.
Earth seepage
This is my own phrase for the minerals which has seeped into the crazing via the capillary effect. This process is quite slow and over a long period and when views via the magnifying glass, it looks quite natural. (Imagine a slow flowing river flowing through a vast flat sand bed). The nooks and crevices look very fine and well spread with minute tentacles. The fakers are able to create this effect but the whitish tends to accumulate on both side of the crazing line and not well spread. Fake qingbai has already has this effect.
Fattiness and lustrous
The glaze of ancient tends to have this fattiness and lustrous feel which is not well copied by the fakers. This is probably due to the raw material and also the recipe used during that period. Although the glaze might be thin but the feelings of fattiness and lustrousness can be felt. A good example is Hutian glaze, Hongzhou, Fujian Qingbai. The fakers tried to emulate this and quite successful in B/W especially imitating Ming Dynasty. Some other fakes are not that successful as the glaze tends to looks quite thin, no fattiness nor luster and quite dead.
Glaze Colour
Most of the major kilns glazes have been recorded and can be used for comparison. It will become difficult if a glaze is from the smaller kilns as sometimes there is no genuine example to compare with especially the color which tends to transmutation. There are bound to be variations in some of the colour due to the varying temperatures in the kiln and the position of the artifacts in the kiln. Also due to the myriads of kilns producing and competing with similar products, colour variations are bound to happen. Do allow some room for colour difference in analyzing any artifacts.
Paste
The porcelain of ancient was turn using the manually operated turning wheel. Due to the sometimes uneven strength being applied, the uneven speed of the turning, the porcelain exhibits certain traits peculiar to this type of turning. The paste material was also prepared using the traditional method which also exhibits certain traits. As ancient China was a period of wars, turmoil, sometimes the raw material used were quite rough, dirty. The porcelain of period of peace also differs in quality of material, design compared with during the war, as during the war lots of kilns kept shifting to a more peaceful area.
In ancient China, there were also lots of kilns competing for the business. Just an example, in Fujian and also Jiangxi, there was probably thousands of kilns competing for the market. Some kilns were well know such as Jizhou Yonghe, Hutian, Jingdezhen and thousands of smaller kilns which the name will never be known.
Density of paste
The paste of pottery, stoneware, and also porcelain of old tends to look less dense and less compact. This is due to the method of throwing and also due to the expansion and contraction over the time. The paste of fake tends to have a more dense and compact looked which is due to the use of motorized throwing wheel. This applies to the mass production fakes and not to the high quality fakes which tend to use the old method. If one were to compare a fake and genuine side by side, the difference can be clearly seen.
Some fakes’ paste were artificially made to looks old by using acid on its surface. The acid will makes the paste looks less dense and less compact. One can test by using one’s finger nail and scratch the paste surface. If it easily scratches and leaves a mark, then it is treated with acid.
Surface of paste
Due to the long period of burial, the surface of the paste tends to smoothen and feels smooth to the touch especially at the feet. Please take note that certain parts will also feels rough to the touch and not smooth. The faker use sand paper to create this smooth appearance and it can be clearly seen via a magnifying glass.
The surface of old porcelain also tends to look more porous compared with fakes which tend to look more closed, compact and dense.
Colour of paste
The color of the paste can be differentiated as the genuine items color looks quite natural, due to the raw material used. Normally the ancient kilns potters will use the readily available raw materials which is nearby or they will set up the kilns near to the readily available raw material. Therefore, the colour of the paste can be quite different in the vicinity as different potters use their own method of preparing the raw material. Do not be put off by the colour if it does not fit into the known paste colour. Some variations are to be expected as long as other signs point to its genuineness.
The modern fakers do not have access to the ancient raw material and even if they have access, they do not have the luxury of preparing the material according to ancient recipe. Therefore, the paste will never be similar to the ancient paste.
applied an iron solution to the surface before firing and this always create a very strong and unnatural color...
Turning spiral
Sometimes the turning spiral can be clearly seen and sometime cannot be seen, depending on the potter’s expertise. The spiral looks uneven and quite natural flowed following the rhythm of the potter’s hand. The turning wheel is not as fast and smooth as a modern electric wheel used by the fakers. For the fakes, sometimes after being molded, the fakers used hand to mimic the spiral and this tends to look unnatural and not smooth flowing.
Wet Look
I am not sure what causes this phenomena but some genuine porcelain exhibits a wet look paste. This is probably due to some causes which I do not know of. Most fake’s paste has a very dry look.
Earth Encrustation
After long periods of being buried, there are lots of tell tale sign left behind such as earth encrustation, water mark, earth seepage, roots marks, crawlies tracks etc and some very minute sign. These can be differentiated if one knows how to look at them... Fakers also mimic this earth encrustation, sometime by using rice mixed with earth and then fired in the kiln, sometimes using adhesive. Extra care must be taken when looking at the signs as they are quite convincing but never the less it can still be differentiated.
Most genuine encrustation can be easily washed off using water and if one finds that the encrustation is very hard to remove, extra care must be taken. as this might indicate that adhesives mixed with earth might have been used. Immersion in warm to hot water might soften the adhesives if not use turpentine to soften the adhesive.
Water and Earth marks
Another point to look at is the water and earth mark inside the porcelain. As the water filed up and dried, probably thousand of time over the long period, this leaves behind a tell tale sign. The water marks left behind looks quite natural with naturally occurred patches, some dark and some lighter. The marks left behind are uneven in shade appearance, some with tiny black spots. Some of the water marks and earth marks can also be seen on the glaze and also on the unglazed portion.
The faker is unable to totally replicate this effect and sometimes ended up too reddish/orange, or too dark brown and sometimes it covers the whole inside or sometimes half. Looking at the shape, colour, and one can see if it is genuine or purposely created.
Shape
The shape of porcelain in ancient China can be clearly distinguished between each dynasty as each dynasty has particular shapes... There for, one needs to know about the shape of dynasty’s porcelain one is collecting. During the transition period between one dynasty and the other there might be some common shapes used. There are however some variations to the shapes as there are countless of small kiln which is not recorded. As China is a very big country and most kilns tend to imitate other kilns, some variations of the shapes are to be expected.
Decorations
The decorations can also be distinguished between each dynasty as each dynasty has one’s own particular decorations. There for, one needs to know about the decoration style of the dynasty’s porcelain one is collecting. During the transition period between one dynasty and the other there might be some common decorations used. There are however some variations to the decorations as there are countless of small kiln which is not recorded. As China is a very big country and most kilns tend to imitate other kilns, some variations of the decorations are to be expected as the kilns tried to outdo the other kilns in capturing the market.
Knife marks are marks left behind as potters repaired the biscuit after turning. This repairing
is necessary as manual turning on wheels produced a rough shape. The repairing using knife
be it bamboo, bronze or iron leaves a mark on the biscuits.
Conclusion
For authenticating of ancient porcelain, one needs to look at the above points raised. The most important aspect is the glaze must be right and the paste must be correct. One must make sure there are no signs of man made acid wash to the glaze and also paste, glossiness and luster is correct, burial signs are correct. Once the glaze and paste are determined to be correct and genuine, the shapes and decorations are secondary. There are collectors who deem an item fake if the decorations are slightly thinner or thicker than known design, or the leaves bigger or smaller than known examples. Some also deem an item fake if the shape is slightly different from known example e.g. slightly bulbous, slightly thinner or sloppier. These arguments does not hold water as there are bound to be differences as there were thousand of kilns employing different artisans. This is a totally wrong perception. As long as the decorations and shapes conform to the known particular dynasty’s decorations and shapes, any slight differences are acceptable.
I hope the above points can be of help to the collectors in collecting ancient Chinese burial porcelain.
