Posted by
hkkm
20 yrs ago
My husband and I ae interested in buying some Chinese antiques. Not wanting to spend immense amounts of money, but we want something nice for the money.
Two problems:
1) I know zilch about Chinese antiques. I can't tell Tang dynasty pottery from somthing made last week in a factory in Guangzhou. Same with furniture (especially given the number of factories that manufacture 'antique' furniture).
2) I have some question about the possibility of antique pottery etc having been stolen from tombs and smuggled out of China illegally. One dealer in a large antique shop in Hollywood Rd told me that the stuff he has comes from tombs. I didn't question him as to how it got out of China, nor would I know whether or not to trust his answer.
Given the above, does anyone have any recommendations as to good reliable antique dealers for furniture and/or pottery/porcelain/jade?
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lace
20 yrs ago
hkkm - We have been collecting Chinese Antiques for a number of years - mainly pottery and antique jade. Try to get hold of some auction catalogues and read as much as you can about the periods you are interested in - there are a lot of books around. Re. the smuggling issue - most antiques sold in Hong Kong were smuggled out at some point from the mainland..... some earlier, some later. There was a lot of digging going on in the Three Gorges area - to resque at least a bit before the flooding. It is illegal to export any antiques from China (or basically anything) that are over 50 years old. There are a lot of honest dealers on Hollywood Road but unfortunately also a lot of black sheep. Whether pottery is real is easy to establish with an Oxford Test. You have to pay for it (HK$ 3000) when it turns out to be consistent with the age claimed and an honest dealer will offer to pay for it if it turns out not to be - as he has nothing to fear. Feel free to pm me for recommendations on dealers...
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lace
20 yrs ago
PS: I don't really trust the authencity tests of the local universities - I have seen them on too many fakes in Cat Street.
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hkkm
20 yrs ago
So lace, you're saying that basically all antiques in HK were illegally exported from China? That doesn't make me feel too good about buying anything. I'm really against supporting the illegal trade of antiquities.
Is it legal to export these things from HK (ie when I go back to Australia)?
I might pm you for dealer recommendations. I'm not looking to become a serious collector, just get a couple of nice things. I wouldn't even mind getting some reproduction things as well (especially furniture), as long as I knew that's what it was and was charged accordingly.
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Book: Collecting Chinese Antiquities in Hong Kong by Victor Choi
HK Library did a copy at one time.
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lace
20 yrs ago
Ted - If you want to export antiques from China you need the so called red seal (approval from the relevant authorities). I went through that process several years ago and it was a major nightmare. As for the museums, I have been in many museums in China and none of them sold antiques - they sell reproductions of the items they have on display (bronce, pottery). You can order terracotta soldiers in Xian for example, any size you like, they even bring you to the factory that makes them. Porcellan might be a different issue, also to an extend paintings and Qing jade.
Victor Choi, who is mentioned above, has a gallery on Hollywood Raod as well. He is a lovely guy and we learned a lot from him - he sometimes works for the Tourism Board and used to do workshops on antiques.
hkkm - Yes, most of the antiques you'll find in Hong Kong came/were smuggled at some point from China. It is perfectly legal to export them from Hong Kong and even auction them here...
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hkkm
20 yrs ago
Thanks all. I will think about the smuggling issue, and look up the book by Victor Choi. Are there galleries in HK that sell antiques with the "red seal"?
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