PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTING ASIAN CERAMICS: The Story of Fake Chinese Ceramics The Chinese tradition of producing imitations of works of art is ancient � as it is in all civilizations. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was respected practice for Chinese potters to imitate the designs of 14th and 15th centuries as a display of admiration to the great achievements of past ages. At that time, no attempt was made to deceive buyers as the date markings were clear as to when the works were produced. If we move forward to today, China has become the workshop to the world and has also learned to make imitations of luxury hand-bags, clothing, electronic gadgets, drugs and so on. Anyone who has spent time in emerging countries know that much of the �branded� merchandise available are actually knock-offs from China. In so-called advanced countries, fake jeans and bootleg CD�s are less common since brand owners are able to enforce copyright laws and other regulations more effectively than in less developed countries. Given that the Chinese seem able to produce fakes of everyone else�s products, it is reasonable to expect that they can do the same for their own. One of the premier examples of this is high-quality fakes of ancient Chinese ceramics. Certainly, the skills exist to do so. Chinese artisans have been producing some of the world�s finest ceramic works of art for most of the past 2,000 years. The result is a profusion old looking Porcelain and Stoneware available for sale in the major cities of Asia. More and more of these are showing up in North America and Europe, and even in developing countries in Southeast Asia. Sophisticated collectors have long gotten hold of authentic pieces and high-quality fakes are filling the void for ongoing demand. But unlike other products, the sellers of forged antique Porcelain and Stoneware Ceramics do not have to worry about going to jail. No one owns the copyright of a vase design that was created 5 centuries ago. Go to the Chalre Collection of Asian Ceramic Art |