The future of porcelain appraising

[peterp]

Evaluating Chinese Ceramics Using Instruments

In the future the purely ocular inspection of Chinese ceramics may lose importance, and that is best, because the subjective opinions of "experts" will not be so important anymore to establish authenticity. "Experts" includes those working at or for museums and auction houses, etc. Experience is a good thing, but it is not all that reliable in a field that it so wide and old as Chinese ceramics.
Peripheral knowledge* is often also important with an evaluation, but not everyone has some; it may be easier to obtain for those living inside the Chinese cultural and language area than elsewhere.

Scientific authentication will become more important. Currently, in the Far East bubbles and glaze aging phenoma are increasingly receiving more attention. Anyone who has a cellphone, computer or tablet can connect an electronic microscope and look at the material with 500x or 1000x magnification. Understanding what one sees is another matter, but that is what is currently going on. Those using it are learning how different glazes from different kilns and ages look. Not a simple matter with the vast number of styles and long time of pottery manufacturing.

This is also a kind of ocular inspection, but using instruments. Glaze ageing in deeper layers is more reliable than just a patina and usage signs on the surface. It has the potential of standardisation in the future, allowing instruments to discover the sizes and distribution of bubbles and assigning these to possible kiln candidates. Together with the existing scientific identification methods more objective placing of ceramics in view to age and kiln which made an item will be possible.
Experience will not go away though, the use of instruments will increase the objectivity of dating and authentication.



* 'Peripheral knowledge' refers to any information that is circumstantial, like production techniques, decoration content, shapes, availability of materials, Chinese history, etc.