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I have this brush washer bowl with a dragon on one side and calligraphy on the other. The stamp on the bottom is crooked and there is a small crack. On the reverse..which would be the inside of the bowl there is a small hole.
It is old? or a reproduction that is poorly made? It is 6" across.

http://productimages.goantiques.com/96844/433410621_detail.jpg
http://productimages.goantiques.com/96844/433410621_detail.jpg
http://productimages.goantiques.com/96844/433410632_detail.jpg
http://productimages.goantiques.com/96844/433410643_detail.jpg

Can't tell much about your brush washer from the images provided. However, I recollect that your evident source for the washer, goantiques.com, had less than a five-star reputation in their former incarnation as an auctioneer. In 2005, they were subject of much discussion among respectable sellers and advanced collectors for having apparently taken an inventory of high quality Chinese fake porcelains to sell in their live auctions for a discredited and de-registered eBay seller called Antiques-USA.

I took a fresh look at the website where Goantiques is now providing a venue for online sales by others. A quick sampling indicates that while some of the wares offered there are indeed legitimate Chinese antiques, others described as antique are recognizable as contemporary copies.

One of the better-known repros on sale is a group of plates in the pattern shown here, which dishes began appearing in some auction houses and online stores in the early years of the current century. It is made in the style of an 18th century pattern called "Guifei Zui Jiu", depicting a legendary episode where the famed but ill-fated Tang concubine Yang Guifei dipped a bit too deep into the Maotai. The seller has six plates in stock, described as all dating to "1750-1760", regularly $850 but available at the Goantiques discounted price of $450.

Fortunately, among other stylistic clues to the fakery, if you look close, the golden scroll design on the border is recognizable as having been applied by transfer instead of being hand-painted, as was the period practice.

The photo below was obtained from a reputable dealer who got stung when these dishes first hit the market.

Caveat emptor as usual,

Bill H.

I am sorry about the pictures I try to post some better ones tomorrow. The go antiques venue has some great sellers and sometimes a few bad ones. If you see fraud they should be reported. I have been a seller on GOA for 13 years. Like me there are some dealers are not experts in all fields. I try my best to research items before posting for sale. Not only to avoid selling a rare artifact for a song but I don't want to appear as an ignorant fool nor do I wish to fraud any of my customers. I want to build trust in people and have them return to my site. When I see a bad seller I will report them. If I that a seller has made an error I will simply contact them directly.

http://www.goantiques.com/brush-pot-43341065

There's a well established rule for those who would be successful in selling any kind of merchandise, which states "You've got to know the territory!" I believe you made a wise choice in coming here for advice, and you sound like you've already started getting a good appreciation of the territory.

As to the question of identifying transfer wares, it helps immensely to be able to compare two items in the same pattern, because two handpainted dishes inevitably will exhibit small differences in the way the brush builds up pattern details as well as calligraphic character strokes in the base-marks. In the marks, the pressure of hand-applied brush strokes also will reveal differences in the amount of pigment laid down and small variations in the flourishes appearing at the ends of strokes.

As seen on your brush-washer, another problem that occurs sometimes in marks applied by decal (and to a lesser extent those painted on overglaze with a brush), is that the mark tends to float and break apart as the underlying glaze melts in the kiln.

In blue & white transfer-wares or "flow blue" there also is a problem of fingerprints and smudges on the white glaze caused by handling the the piece after applying pigment-laden transfers.

If you don't have two pieces to compare, sometimes transfers are detectable by examining repetitive pattern elements, such a frets, floral sprays, leaf and petal lappets, flaming clouds, etc. If you find two or more without apparent variations, or if you discover obvious overlaps where there shouldn't be any, then you probably are looking at transfer ware. But the people who cut and paste the decals or apply the stamps are quite skilled at "mixing 'em up" to fool the trained and untrained eye alike.

Good luck,

Bill H.

I was wondering how can one tell if something is transfereware vs. Hand painting by looking at a picture on the internet?.

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URL Title : http://productimages.goantiques.com/96844/433440170_detail.jpg

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