1. Introduction
- Main idea: Porcelain forgery. What makes something counterfeit about porcelain: artisan, process, intent, raw materials, quality, all the above, etc.?
2. Distinctions between skilled porcelain potters and unskilled laborers (multiple paragraphs under this topic, specifically knowledge and ability).
There are specific steps that a true porcelain artisan must perfect to create a fine piece of porcelain. He knows whether the clay is suitable and well-prepared for the final product in mind through touch. His hands work in tandem to throw the clay, mold the clay, and give it life. After shaping the mound into a smooth, identifiable object, the potter showcases his keen eye for complimentary colors and selects the types of pigments and glazes. His stable hands then decorate; he knows which colors to use first, where along the object to paint, and how to carefully draw the fine designs. Following the glazing, firing the near-finished product in the kiln requires knowledge about firewood (type, amount, arrangement) to achieve and safely maintain the oven temperature.[1] If the kiln is used incorrectly, then the object might not be fully fired or might explode and shatter inside the kiln. Mastering and combining these skills result in a desired final product from start to finish.
There were also different levels of ability. It required more skill to make large pots and vases than smaller bowls because it was hard manage larger pieces of clay. In addition, a piece with a traditional, symmetrical shape is usually simpler to make, especially when there are pre-made moulds to make the porcelain pieces, than that with a peculiar shape.[2] Sculpting the clay is less dependent on the artisan’s hands when using the moulds, so less experienced and less skilled craftsmen can still successfully create a final product.
There was also complementary/auxiliary knowledge that porcelain-making experts naturally absorbed from working in this field.
- e.g. raw material preparation, sagger (kiln) construction.[3]
Today, one aspect of forgery is the fact the believed artist of the work is not the actual artist. The value and power associated with the artist is bestowed onto the artwork. However, in early China, many artisans and craftsmen, including potters were not well-known. Like other art pieces, porcelain had a rich history, materials and designs unique to each region and each “reign period”,[4] but the name of the potter did not affect the price of the porcelain structure. This idea brings up the main question again, so what was considered porcelain forgery, if it was not built on the deception of the potter’s name?
3. Insight into counterfeit porcelain and porcelain forgery in early China.
- Historical review.
- Frequency of occurrence (successful and unsuccessful fraudulent events).
- Difficulty for frauds to achieve porcelain forgery and con others.
- Difficulty for porcelain experts (in early China) to correctly distinguish between authentic and fake porcelain.
- What is fake porcelain?
4. Conclusion
- Meaning of counterfeit porcelain and porcelain forgery in early China.
Notes
[1] Anne Gerritsen, “Skilled Hands: Managing Human Resources and Skill in the Sixteenth-Century Imperial Kilns,” in The City of Blue and White : Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 182.
[2] Ibid., 183.
[3] Ibid., 182.
[4] Craig Clunas, “Things of the past: Uses of the antique in Ming material culture,” in Superfluous Things : Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China, (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, 2004), 101.
References
- Clunas, Craig. “Things of the past: Uses of the antique in Ming material culture.” In Superfluous Things : Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China, 91-115. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, 2004.
- Gerritsen, Anne. “Skilled Hands: Managing Human Resources and Skill in the Sixteenth-Century Imperial Kilns.” In The City of Blue and White : Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World, 175-194. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
- Gillete, Maris. “Copying, Counterfeiting, and Capitalism in Contemporary China : Jingdezhen’s Porcelain Industry.” Modern China 36, no. 4 (July 2010): 367-403. doi: 10.1177/0097700410369880.
- Leung, P. L., Luo Hongjie. “A Study of Provenance and Dating of Ancient Chinese Porcelain by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry.” X-Ray Spectrometry 29, no. 1 (January 28, 2000): 34-38. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4539(200001/02)29:1<34::AID-XRS399>3.0.CO;2-9.
- Pierson, Stacey. “True or False? Defining the Fake in Chinese Porcelain.” Les Cahiers de Framespa. Nouveaux champs de l’histoire sociale 31, (June 1, 2019). doi: 10.4000/framespa.6168.
- Polikreti, Kyriaki. “Detection of Ancient Marble Forgery : Techniques and Limitations.” Archaeometry 49, no. 4 (September 6, 2007): 603-619. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00325.x.
