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I recently posted a sancai statue under the heading Tang Funerary Horse. Here are some closeups of the crazing.(all this is new to me, I ask you to pardon my ignorance but I am being a diligent student.) I have several questions concerning these photos.
Am I correct that this subject shows 'secondary' crazing? Is this a reliable indication of age? What about the white lines and specks. What causes this?
The photo of Amber glaze with the pimple is typical of many same pimples on this horse. A white speck surrounded by a darkening of the glaze. What causes this? Is this an indication of age?
The photo of white glaze is the tail piece. Are the dark specks significant? I think I notice the white glaze may have less of the secondary crackle. Is this typical?
How heavily do experts rely on this crazing to judge a piece?
Also this statue has a lot of crud on it. Is it OK to remove this? What is recommended?.
I want to greatly thank you for this fine site and all the feedback I received from my previous post. What a tremendous resource for a rookie like me. Thank you kindly for any info on this crazing feature. Paul
P.S. Sorry about the thumb in the pics, my auto focus seemed to work much better that way.

Paul.
I do not know the answer.
What i do know,is this.
Buy this kind of objects only with a OXFORD AUTHETHETICATION TL ( TEST)
THere are many copies out there.
Wil

Here is an additional picture of the crazing that may look a little clearer under zoom. I wish I could get a real good shot to show what I see with a loupe, it is really quite beautiful to me. (Maybe just because I am new to this.)
Also I gave this statue a good cleaning with warm mildly soapy water and a scouring pad for dishwashing. Now moat of the crud is gone and it really is looking nice.
I had read where you should give the unglazed areas a good wetting with a spray bottle and look for cracks or seams to show up. I was very disappointed to find evidence of what would seem to me to be serious damage to this statue which had been repaired. The base shows a crack from one side to another both top and bottom indicating it had most likely been broken clean in two.
I don't know how this could have happened without breaking a least two of the legs. The only thing I can see is a hairline crack in the rear lower leg/foot that doesn't seem to be a part of the craze pattern. My eyesight is very poor but it seems to me a repair would be more evident. Is it common for repairs to be so good they almost can't be seen? Again please pardon my limited knowledge in these matters. I also found fractures around the belly hole area, a possible repair to an ear, and evidence the seat of the saddle had probably taken an impact at some time.
Although I was quite unhappy to find such damage I guess it's not that suprizing and I am pleased with the improved look after the cleaning. It seems to have brought out the luster or richness of the glaze particularly the green. Thanks to all again. Paul

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