Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

I have recently come across to this website where I found that some of you has got an experience in Chinese Art.
I would like to share with you an old rare masterpiece which is a classic example of a Tang Dynasty glazed pottery figure. The dimensions are 46 cm (height) x 55 cm (width).
Plz, find attached the photos of the artefact.
I would be interested to see your expert opinions.



Link :Another picture

You should also mention how this horse and rider came into your possession and what were you told about it's history? This information can be relevant in the assessment of artifacts like this.
Without any background information I can only say your horse lack the strength, spirit and majesty of pieces I've seen in museums and private collections. The coloured glazes are pretty static too. Shouldn't they be drippy and free-flowing?

Please don't take my comments as insult but with so many fakes and reproductions out there how can anyone believe this piece is authentic by just looking at three pictures?
Has this piece been TL tested? Even then...there are ways fakers can get around that.
That's why history and provenance of the piece is so vital and valuable.

Hi TD,
While I completely agree with you that history and provenance are vital and valuable, I think it is just impossible, at most times, for any collector to get any certifiable history or provenance whenever he buys something from a dealer. Even then, can the provenance be trusted? I see so many accounts of articles bought from estate sales and these usually belonged to someone's great great grandparents who had travelled or or worked in the exotic east.

Now when you also mention that TL tests can be faked, that leaves me with a serious question : then what or whom can we trust?

I think when it comes down to it, we may just have to defer to the experts; serious folks who have put in many years of studying, analysing, seeing, touching, testing, discussing the artifacts....I think we can find several real experts in this forum here, although I think they would, rightly so, only give qualified opinions based on low resolution photos, which by the way, can also be faked or pulled from other sources.

Come to think about it: this forum may also have some fake experts who provide (dangerously) fake opinions! As readers and posters, I think we need to use our own judgement as to whether the expert who respond has any credibility.

I dont recommend this forum as a place for collectors who want to authenticate or appraise good quality antiques. They should bring them to qualified and reputable auction houses. This forum should be where one comes to for some advice, quick opinions, some exchanges of notes, or simply to show off one's collections.

I tend to agree; while it's pretty easy to dismiss obviously problematic pieces (like this one), no one can authenticate anything definitively from a couple of photos.

the other problem for those who post things here that receive criticism is that it's not always obvious why the judgment people are passing on their object is in/valid. i know i can be impatient about explaining things that seem basic to me to others, but realize this might feel quite frustrating to the person whose object is being critiqued.

but that's what you get for free

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |