Garuda
When shopping for Asian antiques at auctions, you need to know what you are looking for. This is because if you rely on what the sellers tell you the chances are you might end up with fake antiques that only look like the real thing. For example, if you are in the market for snuff bottles, you might want to do some research and see what the marks or patterns are for authentic bottles. This way, you will be knowledgeable enough to buy the real thing.
It is not always easy to find genuine Asian antiques especially if you are a newbie. What you need to keep in mind is that no matter how much someone at an auction or a sale claims that antiques are authentic, you need to do your own research and find out the patterns or marks that are proof of authenticity. If you lack the necessary skills in purchasing authentic antiques, chances are you may become a rip-off victim and this is to be avoided at all costs. It will literally also pay off for you to be knowledgeable about import and export laws regarding Asian antiques. This is because it is no longer legal for anyone in China, Taiwan or Hong Kong to export antiques.
Asian Urn
What does this tell you? This tells you that anyone claiming that their imported authentic Asian antiques are not telling you the truth. Also, in June of the year two thousand and nine, exporting anything that is made earlier than the Qing dynasty which is the year nineteen eleven from the People’s Republic of China is forbidden strictly. Besides this, there was an executive order signed by President Bush before leaving office which prevents the importing of antiques from China which are over two hundred years old.
Chinese Guardian Lion male
There are some items from the early twentieth century that can be exported legally from China and these have an inspection seal made out of red wax called a ‘jianding.’ These antiques are genuine and are sold from ‘friendship stores’ which are officially from the government. Items can also be put under inspection by tourists if they find any of these locally in China. The customs department of China can put a seal on this to indicated their authenticity. In China, smuggling ‘relics of culture’ is penalized severely and long term imprisonment and execution are the consequences.
Another thing to remember is that antique prices tend to be high. They can even be as much as five times what they were last year, and rising. For this reason, anything you will be able to get your hands on will most likely be a bargain. For those who buy at auctions or online auctions, remember that you will want to stop bidding when the prices get too high due to the fact that the antique you are buying won’t have provenance. What is provenance? This is history of ownership that can be proved. No matter how authentic the Asian antique you find it, you might have a difficult time selling it again with no provenance.