Is the experience reliable or reliable?

In the collection and trading market, it is a fashionable trend to attach an antique certificate to an antique art piece by an inspection agency. However, the results of those tests using advanced scientific instruments sometimes do not necessarily convince people.

The true and false of antique art is the key to antique collection. However, in the collection circle, there are often cases of different opinions about the same porcelain collection. If we say that the eyes of experts are limited by "benevolence beholders and wise men see wisdom", for some collectors lacking expert appraisal channels, taking collections to scientific laboratories for testing is the main way to identify authenticity. In the collection and trading market, it is a fashionable trend to attach an antique certificate to an antique art piece by an inspection agency. However, the results of those tests using advanced scientific instruments sometimes do not necessarily convince people.
Is the experience more reliable or is the instrument more reliable?

Mr. Zhou, a collector of fans, recently bought several paintings and antique porcelain art from an antique market in Guangzhou and showed it to experts. He said that this is true, and some say it is false. For example, there is a landscape painting of the Qing Dynasty. Some practitioners pointed out that the paper and ink used in this painting are all faultless in the Qing Dynasty, but the people who painted it are modern. The counterfeiter only needs to look for collectors who collect ink sticks from the Qing Dynasty, buy ink materials and research them into ink, and then look for paper paintings produced in the Qing Dynasty.

The connoisseur's argument makes Mr. Zhou silly, because theoretically speaking, this fraudulent case is feasible. However, Mr. Zhou’s attitude is relatively peaceful. His view is that the connoisseurs will also look away and cannot rely on experts. Moreover, the level of identification of so-called “connoisseurs” is not necessarily an authority, and even some unscrupulous people The name of the expert confused the market order. The scientific and technological inspection methods are not affected by mood, lighting, and the environment at least, and they can ensure that the appraisal standards are always kept at the same level and avoid deviations. For ordinary collectors, if they buy antique art, they can, like other products, have a reliable “exemption inspection” sign, which will play an active role in promoting the antique collection market.

Mr. Zhou said that in the current collection circle, whether the experience is more reliable or the scientific and technological test methods are more reliable, the dispute between the two does not have an accurate conclusion. This means that both have a certain reference value and cannot absolutely deny one of them.

The use of instrument detection methods is increasingly advanced

At present, there are several kinds of inspection methods for ancient porcelain on the market, such as “thermoluminescence” and “devitrification coefficient”. “Thermoluminescence” can accurately detect the firing age of ceramics with an error of several decades. This method requires sampling to have certain damage to the artwork; “devitrification coefficient” can effectively detect high copy, but its The limitation is that only glazed porcelain can be tested.

Mr. Liu, an antique art collector, once sent his collection of ancient porcelain to foreign countries for testing. Of the five porcelains he submitted for inspection, 3 were affirmed and 2 were rejected. Mr. Liu mentioned that the principle of scientific detection is actually not complicated. The ancient porcelains of different ages and kiln mouths are definitely different in the content of trace elements and proportions of fetal soil and enamel, and they have their own laws. Where By using scientific methods to detect and collect databases, technicians can establish a comparative path to check true and false. "It's like doing a DNA paternity test."

It is reported that there are now more advanced detection methods. An ancient ceramic science inspection laboratory in Yunnan Province uses an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to detect ancient porcelain. It is said that this detection technology was also used on the detector of a lunar rover. It can penetrate the porcelain underglazed to detect the composition of the ceramic carcass. . According to a senior collector, Mr. Tang, this detection method can be applied not only to ancient porcelain, but also to ancient bronze ware, precious metals, and fossil specimens. In 2009, Mr. Tang sent his collection of ancient porcelains to the laboratory in Yunnan for inspection. A considerable number of them were identified as ancient porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. He is convinced by this result.

Mr. Tang mentioned that the production of ceramics is inseparable from raw materials, and the raw materials used are determined based on their chemical composition and process properties. Modern high-tech replicas, no matter how similar the shape, have added modern enamel ingredients. These modern ingredients are difficult to detect with the naked eye, but they can be easily checked by instruments.

In this regard, some experts believe that when there is controversy in their own collections, it is advisable to spend a test fee on scientific and technological means only when experts are not able to grasp their eyes.

"Vision" is the tradition of collection

However, the results obtained by this scientific and technological means are not necessarily acceptable to the majority of collectors. The author has learned that some collectors had thought about introducing scientific instruments to operate the art appraisal business from outside the country. When the market survey was conducted, the situation approved by collectors was not satisfactory. Then, what are the considerations of the collectors who identify the authenticity of the antique artworks identified by the “eyesight” of the collection of the three elements “financial power, courage, and eyesight”?

“Collectors distinguish their authenticity through their own experience and knowledge, which is one of the traditions of antique collections.” A senior collector said that collecting activities have a long history in China and require collectors to learn and understand history first. Knowledge began to gradually increase the level of appreciation of oneself through more exposure and more observation of antique art. In other words, the experts' experience is actually a database. They can combine historical, cultural, allusional and other factors to make comprehensive judgments on antique artworks. The detection instruments of scientific and technological means are, first, difficult to sample all ancient porcelain one by one, and second, it is difficult to be a criterion for judging right from wrong when data is incomplete.

Another senior collector, Mr. Lei, also tends to judge by experience. He believes that in practical tests, the use of trace element analysis techniques has been a successful case for the identification of antique works of art. For example, in the mid-1990s, a group of exquisite excavated from the tomb of Tang Qiuguan, the official book of Tang Qiuguan, near Xi’an. Tang Sancai’s products were analyzed by trace elements between the relevant units and through database comparisons, it was concluded that Tang Sancai unearthed from Li Yu’s tomb used kaolin as a raw material for making the tires, which is close to that of Huangye’s Tang Sancai, and inferred that it did not exist. Other kiln sites with similar composition of elements, then Tang Sancai in the tomb of Li Yu was made in Henan Huangye Kiln. Mr. Lei said that he does not deny the advanced nature of scientific detection, but the key lies in whether or not the reference object is scientific. For example, the detection of blue and white porcelain, as we all know, the number of unearthed, unearthed blue and white porcelain, debris is relatively small, it is not easy to establish a complete, systematic database of Yuan blue and white porcelain.

Another expert believes that merely relying on scientific detection methods to conduct ancient porcelain appraisal, it is too one-sided to refer only to the similarity of the data and to neglect whether the artifact itself meets the aesthetic and artistic characteristics of contemporary artifacts.

Comprehensive judgment on the authenticity of the collection

Today, science and technology are increasingly applied to various social activities. How to identify antique collections, one of them is not how to treat, people's attention.

A cultural relic said that experts and experts who are judged by naked eyes are actually scientific tests. The reason why this is said is because the eyes of experts are also based on the knowledge of history, art, archeology, and other aspects, and come from an evaluation standard. This standard is not invented by a certain expert. It is condensation. The wisdom and experience of a generation. The person mentioned that the accurate method of scientific instrument inspection method should be called "instrumental test method". The former and the latter do not oppose each other, but complement each other. In today’s archeological activities, a large number of scientific instruments are also used, and the data detected by scientific instruments are used to supplement and demonstrate expert analysis. The two are well-matched.

The person also said that for collectors, the problem of appraising ancient art objects should be modest and cautious, consult experts and experts, and pay attention to “finding the right person”. For example, if you ask a wood expert to show yourself jade, it is inevitable that the conclusions will be biased. In fact, some collectors like to communicate with different people when they get a collection. When the parties give contradictory results, they are dizzy because they are not good at analysis. In fact, collectors should consult the appropriate person for the age and material characteristics of their collections. In addition, for the appraisal of scientific instruments, it is also necessary to analyze the authority and scientific nature of the appraisal institutions.

In general, for various effective identification methods, it may be appropriate to adopt an attitude that is not exclusive or superstitious. For the identification of antique works of art, it is still necessary to grasp comprehensively the factors such as history, humanities, and art.