"Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and Forgeries is a comprehensive guide to the technical and scientific study of the authenticity of a wide range of antiquities and artworks. It is the first book to provide a full survey of the subject of forgery from a scientific basis, examining a wide range of materials and techniques." "The demand for copies, fakes and forgeries is driven by rising prices in an international marketplace. The book examines the available new technologies and ever more sophisticated forging techniques, looking at production and distribution of fraudulent artworks. The subject is exemplified by numerous internationally based case studies, some turning out not to be as conclusive as is sometimes believed." "The book is aimed at those who need to understand the available approaches to and methods of scientific and technical authentication, be they curator, collector, conservator or scientist." --Book Jacket.
From Anthony J. Allen, the author of four best-selling books on ancient Chinese bronzes, ancient Chinese ceramics, and two others on later Chinese porcelain, "Allen's Antique Chinese Porcelain *** The Detection of Fakes" is his most ambitious project yet. In plain language, he describes tricks of the trade learned over his long experience authenticating genuine antiques and detecting fakes. The minefield that antique Chinese porcelain can become for the uninitiated is described and illustrated in full colour detail with examples dating from the Ming dynasty circa 1500 AD to 2000 AD. There is also brief mention of some of the pottery and stoneware ceramics in this period. This book is aimed at the novice collector, dealer, or museum curator, who largely because of rapidly escalating prices and presence of fakes, is often too frightened to enter the fascinating field of antique Chinese porcelain. Both novice and experienced readers will learn from his authentication techniques, as he describes never before published features to look for, firstly to authenticate genuine antique porcelain, but also to rule out the bane of every collector; the fake made intentionally to deceive. Non-Chinese speaking readers are taught to read reign marks and to distinguish genuine marks from those apocryphal marks which have been added to a later piece. There is even a formula for converting Islamic dates to the Gregorian calendar. Allen's forthright style of writing may upset some of his peers, sections of academia, and the sellers of fakes, for which he has zero tolerance, as he leads readers through Imperial, domestic and export porcelain, then into the sub-branches including shipwrecks and shards recovered from the old kiln sites in Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of China. Underglaze blue, famille rose and verte, monochromes, and pieces of various age, shape and decoration are illustrated, not just with a frontal view, but also of the undersides. Export wares, now the most common type of antique Chinese porcelain still available in the West, get special attention as he focuses on late Ming dynasty wares, underglaze blue, 18th century Chinese Imari, Batavian wares, armorial porcelain and famille rose of the 18th and 19th centuries. Faults, flaws, imperfections, foot rims, glazes, bubbles, are illustrated at length, including those features one expects to find, but also those that should not be present, notably on fakes.
Oriental rugs have become as much a necessity in our beautiful, artistic homes as are the paintings on the walls and the various other works of art. Their admirers are rapidly increasing, and with this increased interest there is naturally an increased demand for more reliable information regarding them. The aim of the present writer has been practical—no such systematized and tabulated information regarding each variety of rug in the market has previously been attempted. The particulars on identification by prominent characteristics and detail of weaving, the detailed chapter on design, illustrated throughout with text cuts, thus enabling the reader to identify the different varieties by their patterns; and the price per square foot at which each variety is held by retail dealers, are features new in rug literature. Instructions are also given for the selection, purchase, care and cleaning of rugs, as well as for the detection of fake antiques, aniline dyes, etc. In furtherance of this practical idea the illustrations are not of museum pieces and priceless specimens in the possession of wealthy collectors, but of fine and attractive examples which with knowledge and care can be bought in the open market to-day. These illustrations will therefore be found of the greatest practical value to modern purchasers. In the chapter on famous rugs some few specimens illustrative of notable pieces have been added. In brief, the author has hoped to provide within reasonable limits and at a reasonable price a volume from which purchasers of Oriental rugs can learn in a short time all that is necessary for their guidance, and from which dealers and connoisseurs can with the greatest ease of reference refresh their knowledge and determine points which may be in question.
The bible for pottery and porcelain collectibles, the third edition is all new from cover to cover. The only price guide of its kind, it features 300 photos, more than 200 categories and more than 10,000 price listings of today's hottest collectibles in the antiques marketplace.
Chinese export porcelains of the late 18th to late 19th centuries are fully discussed in this book. Lists and photography profusely illustrate all of the standard patterns: over 1000 items illustrated in black and white and more than 100 in color. Covers Canton, Fitzhugh, Rose Medallion, Bird and Butterfly, and the other associated patterns.
