The practice of treating new purple clay pots to resemble old ones, which are then sold as genuine antiques for huge profits, is known as “making new look old.” Common methods include:
1. Coating Method. A mixture made from strong tea juice, edible oil, vinegar, soy sauce, Sugar, etc., is applied to the surface of a new pot.
2. Boiling Method. New pots are boiled in concentrated tea broth, dried, and then boiled again repeatedly until they appear dull and aged.
3. Oil Rubbing Method. Shoe polish of a similar color is rubbed onto the surface of a new pot.
4. Earth Burial Method. New pots are buried in Soil to fade their fresh appearance.
How, then, can one distinguish so-called “old pots” or “antique pots”?
Look at the clay color:
Clay used before the mid-Qing Dynasty mostly shows a muddy yellow hue, as people did not yet know how to add iron oxide powder to adjust the color.
Chen Mingyuan's Flat-Footed Square Pot
Look at the shape:
During Shi Dabin's era, pots with ribbed patterns dominated. During the “Man Sheng Pots” craze, geometric shapes were prevalent. For example, Cheng Shouzhen only made three styles – “Duiqiu,” “Fanggu,” and “Hanbian” – in his later years.
Cheng Shouzhen's Duiqiu Pot
Look at the character:
Even the simplest designs and most ordinary materials will come alive with extraordinary spirit when crafted by a master. Counterfeits may surpass the original in technique, but they cannot replicate the spirit and character.
Look at the firing:
Differences in firing include personal habits and era-specific characteristics. Traditional “dragon kilns” had less temperature stability than modern “electric kilns,” resulting in underfired or overfired pieces. Starting from Li Maolin in the Ming dynasty, separate kilns were used for clay and Porcelain items; previously, porcelain glazes could splatter onto the clay pots during firing, leaving “jar and urn glaze tears” on the surface.
Look at the mark:
Carved marks, seal marks, and their placement on the pot vary by era and individual artist. Before Chen Zhongmei, artists often used regular script for carved marks; after Chen Zhongmei, seals became common. Carved marks are the hardest to judge, as some artists would have others inscribe them. The use of computers can correct for shrinkage during firing, making it difficult to authenticate seals. Therefore, marks and seals can only serve as auxiliary means of authentication. (Chen Zhongmei was a Ming Dynasty artisan from the Wanli period.)
Ming Dynasty Chen Zhongmei's Bunched Bamboo Pot
Chen Mingyuan's Four-Footed He Pot
Look at the engraving:
Works adorned with calligraphy and inscriptions often reveal flaws when replicated. Fakers rarely complete the work in a single stroke. Different eras have distinct engraving characteristics: In the Ming Dynasty, characters were usually first written on the pot with a brush, then carved with a double-blade method, resulting in smooth edges on both sides of each stroke. In the Qing Dynasty, a single-blade method was predominantly used, producing one smooth and one rough side per stroke.
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