"Antiques" offered online from China

[peterp]

Please do not compare with Ebay or other online items sold from China. They are all fakes. The rules for the sale/export of cultural relics/antiques from China are now stricter than even a few years ago.

China seems to be really clamping down. Now only items less than 50 years old can be legally exported. There may be a few exceptions, but generally said, China does only allow heritage items out that are of little importance, low quality, or still plenty. Punishments can be severe for those trying, so virtually all is fake now that comes out.
Many antiques in private ownership in China need now be registered. If one is found without registration, it may be confiscated. Grave robbers can get the ultimate punishment, it appears.

At the same time faking quality is at its best now, so that even top experts are often not sure if an item is authentic or not.
Some fakers are trying now a new trick to appease the authorities; they attach clay to the bottom of fired ceramics and add their seal or mark. But this is removable...

<i>For trading antiques within China the general rule seems to be:</i>
- Excavated items cannot be traded at all (this includes items from archaeological excavations as well as from graves)
- Items handed down from ancestors, etc. may be traded.