Antique China Shop

Ling answers:

Henry Gandon - Porcelain Expert

Watch it here for the next 6 days via the BBC IPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b009pdct.shtml?src=ip_potpw

Ling answers:

I would be very concerned that this is not genuine - the wear on the base of the teapot is completely incompatible with an item that purports to be 300 years old. The colour palette does not look 'right' - the colours are too gaudy for Qianlong (the yellow is too sharp, the green too limey and the Qianlong purple was a soft mauve, not a pucey purple). It is crudely painted in a design that does not look traditional Chinese. The dragon handle is quite a common motif and although it is very difficult to judge without seeing the actual item, it looks to me like a 20thC export piece possibly from Macao (although the mark does say Qianlong). I would take it along to a reputable auction house or expert to get it seen properly.

The links below show the colours that you would expect of this period of Chinese porcelain

Ling answers:

It's depends on what the worth of your porcelain is, there have a classification system that came out by Chinese authority. In a general way, the higher the class means the higher worth of a porcelain. But the first class and second class items are severely prohibition of sale in China.

Ling answers:

Check with your local Chamber of Commerce. They have lists of their members and might be able to give you a good lead. Chambers of Commerce are often overlooked, but provide valuable resources for their communities.

Ling answers:

Actually antique chinese decors or relics do not really use bamboo as their medium, chinese usually use porcelain jade, bronze, gold and thing like that, somewhat that it would stand for years, bamboo in chinese are usually used by the commoners as chopstick, but if it is used as a medium it would be questionable.

It might not be chinese who would used puppets made up of bamboo, they would rather use silk cloths and tin in making puppets,usually dragans for dragon dance.

You might having a puppet from thailand. Be careful with some of those puppets especially antique ones, they are very mysterious specifically those use during the days of their old rituals, some of them are death mask usually used for sacrifice.