China is a great nation with a brilliant culture spanning five hundred years. Among its legacy is a vast repertory of exceedingly beautiful cultural relics dearly cherished by both domestic and overseas collectors. However, the flooding of fakes in the market has long been a problem. Inexhaustible ways have been employed to conceal their fraudulence. Technological advancement in recent decades has brought the fake even closer to the genuine in many aspects, making the two hardly distinguishable. Shortly after its establishment, the Hong Kong Art Craft Merchants Association, Ltd. was aware of this problem. In response to the demand of fellow traders and both local and overseas buyers, and to strengthen the customers' confidence, the Association decided to set up the Authentication Committee (hereafter referred to as "The Committee") to provide antique authentication service exclusively for its members. Reputable veterans of the field were engaged to act as authenticators. Over the past thirty years, with their extensive experience and expertise in antiquities as well as their conscientiousness, members of the Committee have authenticated more than one million pieces of antiques, of which some were even found to be absolute rarities fetching extremely high prices. In recent years, this service has been extended to non-members in response to demand from the public. The Certificate of Antiquity issued by the Committee enjoys a high reputation worldwide with recognized professionalism and authority among numerous customs and I/E departments around the world. In short, the Committee has made significant contributions to the development of the art and craft industry, the prosperity of the antique market and the propagation of Chinese culture.

I truly hope the public will continue to lend us their generous support and valuable opinions, such that we can perfect our expertise in antique authentication and raise the standard of our service to fulfill the demand and wish of our customers.

Authentication of Chinese Antiquities
Antiques are not only objects of great cultural and artistic significance, but also merchandises of immense commercial value. Thus numerous replicas and fakes have appeared throughout the ages. Antique dealers and collectors should therefore arm themselves with knowledge of antiquities in order to tell the fake from the genuine. The vast variety of Chinese antiquities, the diversity of authentication methods and the lack of genuine expertise in dating have unavoidably resulted in numerous incorrect judgments. In view of this, I feel obliged to discuss briefly some basic approaches and principles in authentication. Valuable comments and opinions from our readers would be most appreciated.

Works of art of different periods invariably display distinct historical features and artistic styles, the latter covering a number of factors including shapes, decorative motifs, inscriptions and marks. For example, meiping shaped vases of the Yuan Dynasty differ considerably in shape from those of the Song Dynasty, the former being distinguishable by a more well-rounded body with greater sinuosity. Decorative motifs reveal even more obvious period traits. For instance, figures of immortals were popular Ming Dynasty motifs due to the prevalence of Taoism during the time. Poetic and literary inscriptions and calligraphy predominated during the mid Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The distinct style in which base marks were rendered is also one of the most decisive criteria in dating antiques.

In addition, we need to look into the technical aspects such as body material, color, glaze and carving technique. For example, Tang Dynasty sancai pottery sculptures usually have a finer, smoother and softer body than the fakes. Cloisonn? wares lavishly decorated with enamels are objects of great value. The enamel on the genuine ones has a glasslike texture with great translucency and luster while that on the fakes is merely colored glaze. The difference is clearly discernible when the two are placed side by side. Han Dynasty jade carvings of cicadas produced by the technique of hanbadao (only eight cuts were required to shape the piece) well demonstrate how minimal work could be boldly and precisely rendered to result in a vivid image, a feat that fakes could hardly reproduce. Bamboo carvings, ivory carvings, cinnabar lacquer wares and filigree works that flourished during the Ming and Qing Dynasties are identifiable by their superb artistry and distinct individuality. The experienced eye can always distinguish the fake from the genuine by their craftsmanship.

Thanks to continuous advances in technology, scientific methods have become increasingly popular in authenticating antiques, particularly for objects that cannot be readily dated by the naked eye. Dates yielded by Carbon 14 and thermoluminescence (TL) tests have been proved to be very accurate. These authentication services are now available at the University of Hong Kong, C & C Authentication Laboratory Ltd. (formerly called Yeung Shui Sang Laboratory for Thermoluminescence of Ancient Ceramics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong), the City University of Hong Kong and the Oxford Authentication Limited in UK.

The above-mentioned approaches and principles are interrelated and interdependent. Flexible applications of these basic principles help in authenticating antiquities of all types and ages. To conclude, the more profound the authenticator's knowledge is in historical background, period trait, evolution pattern, artistic style, crafting process and methods of forging, the more accurate and less erroneous will be his judgement. Therefore, I sincerely wish that all fellow traders and art lovers would join hands to increase our knowledge of authentication and endeavour to promote our culture.

Comments and opinions from veterans in the trade and the public are most welcome.

Leung Chung Kong
Director of Authentication Committee
Hong Kong Art Craft Merchants Association Limited