Should I Buy These Old Jade Antiques?

Hello Arthur

I hope you can give me some advice on old antique jade.  I am thinking seriously of buying some for my own collection but I am not too sure whether they are genuine or fake stuff.

Last month an old friend introduced me to a Chinese antique jade dealer.  We went to his house where he stored all his old jade.  The dealer really has a very big collection of old vase, antique jade cravings, terra cotta soldiers, old copper ritual bells used by the Imperial Palace, paintings, copper furniture and a whole lot of Chinese antiques.  I was really impressed as I have not seen such a collection in a house before.

The Chinese dealer told me that these were all the collections from his grandfather when he was based in Nanking, where he served under General Chiang Kai Shek. The  General was driven to Taiwan by the communist and when he left mainland China he took with him a lot of Chinese antique collection.  His grandfather had the foresight to keep some for himself and shipped them out from Taiwan in the early 70s to East Malaysia.

Now the Chinese dealer wanted to sell some of his wares.  Some of his asking price was very high, but I think I can bargain it down if these are genuine articles.

I have sent some pictures for you to see.

I am a strong follower of your website as there are many things to learn.  I am sure you will be able to give me your valuable advice with your vast experience in jade.

I hope to hear from you soon.  Thank you

Albert Tee.

Hello Albert

I am not an expert in the collection of ‘Old Jade’, meaning those Neolithic Jade dating back 3,000 to 5,000 years.  I am also not familiar with the antique market of China, where wares were made of copper, brass or iron, stones, wood, tree roots, lacquer, porcelain and other material.  But in my line of business, I would invariably be exposed to all these wares.

Loosely defined, an antique article is more than 100 years from the count of current year.  Jewelry, wares, carvings or any other ornamental works which are less than 100 years are termed as estate.  Vintage is a much loved term by sellers, but it is a descriptive adjective which has no real significant meaning other than to portray the article for sale as something ‘antique’ and to romanticize the folklore behind the seller’s products.  All these are loosely used terms by sellers and dealers and when you are buying such articles do not let these terms confused you.

It would be difficult to judge whether all the wares in your pictures are what the seller represented.  Even if you show the actual article to me I would not be able to tell you whether there are genuine antique articles.

So I will share my experience with you on your question and you have to judge the situation for yourself.

I enclosed a few pictures which I have taken in a city in China.  The whole street was full of antique articles for sale.  Each shop lot was just a small one and the wares were stacked closely to each other.  There were also a large number of vendors who placed their wares on top of a large tarpaulin sheet on the pavement.  They were just simply strewn on the floor.  Some of these stores were not even attended to by anybody.  No price tags were adhered to any articles and if you were interested you just asked.

Now would you say that these articles are genuine antiques?

I am not saying that the wares you shown me are fakes.  Some maybe genuine articles while most can be acquired easily from back street stores in China.

So Albert, think about it.

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Tags: Antique Jade, jade museum, jadeite jade, Neolithic Jade

Category: Should I Buy These Old Jade Antiques?