| Original Message: Re: "Friends of Jade" Hongshan link - Nice pictures, but.... |
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....I doubt the authenticity of almost all of them. On stylistic grounds alone, I would question 70 or 80% of them, and probably any close inspection would reveal an even greater percentage to be doubtful for technical reasons. These are not so much fakes as modern fantasy pieces. But the effect is the same, because they get sold as the real thing; people collect them and become "experts" and write books on the basis of their collections. It's pathetic and alarming, and it has become a common phenomenon in China in the past fifteen years, not just with jade but in ceramics and bronze as well. There's nothing inherently bad about such objects individually, but as a phenomenon they tell us a lot about a culture that is acquisitive rather than genuinely appreciative. In the end there's much more reality, much more mystery in RM's lovely fragment than in any of these seductive fakes. Sorry I can't go into more detail. I'm passing through Bangkok and have a very doubtful wifi connection. I just got cut off once, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this gets through. The wonders of modern technology - they'll drive us all crazy! All the best, Will All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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