I’ve been an avid fleamarket hunter since I was a college student, shopping in Europe and Japan as well as China, for ceramics, textiles, carpets and furniture. A few years back I wrote a book on Tibetan furniture that grew out of my interest in Tibetan decorative arts. As a collector, I have made many mistakes along the way and I have learned from them. I often look back and think that some basic introduction would have speeded up the learning process for me, so I have put these classes together with the aim of passing on some of my experience and enjoyment. This is not a comprehensive course in Chinese antiques (that would be impossible!) but covers the areas that I know well personally.

Another reason for these courses stems from requests I've received over the last few years from China residents and overseas collectors for comments on objects that they own. A very high proportion of the items I’m asked to look at are fakes or items of very recent vintage. In many cases some basic familiarity could have prevented some mistakes … or at least helped collectors to avoid paying over the odds for reproductions.

These are practical sessions, and we will look at (and handle, where possible) as many examples of objects as possible, drawn from my own collections, which are large. We will look at both genuine examples and modern copies so that we can get to grips with distinguishing real from fake. I cannot make everyone into an expert in a few hours, but I hope I can teach the necessary observation skills that will set you on the right track. I will also bring along examples of books on all the topics and supply brief notes and a reading list with each class.

All the sessions are for beginners. Some of the sessions will be followed up with field trips to the PanJiaYuan flea market on the Saturday or Sunday following so that we can put our skills to the test and have some fun!

Practicalities

Classes take place at my store in Danshui Town (Shunyi area), mornings from 10.30am to 12 pm. All “classroom” sessions will last about an hour, with the final half hour for questions and discussion. Refreshments provided. Fee: 50RMB per session for the classroom sessions (to cover the cost of refreshments).

Field trips will be at PanJiaYuan weekend market on Saturday mornings, 10am – 12ish, unless otherwise stated. Meet at 10am sharp in front of the grey brick wall just inside the main entrance of the market. Priority given to those attending the preceeding class.
Directions: the weekend market is just to the west of the PanJiaYuan bridge on the E 3rd Ring Road. 5 mins walk south from the last stop on subway line 10.

Signing Up: Numbers limited to 12 persons per session, please reserve your place in advance by contacting me (chris@toranahouse.com, or call my mobile 1391 0569358).

You are welcome to bring along items for appraisal and discussion (if you are brave!).

Comments and feedback on session content, timing etc are most welcome.

Chinese ceramics from the Song and Yuan dynasties, including qingbai and Cizhou wares

Fleamarket Ceramics

An introduction to the range and variety of Chinese ceramics, with an emphasis on affordable pieces and hands-on study of examples

Part I: Early Chinese ceramics from Neolithic to Yuan dynasties

Northern versus southern wares
Pottery and porcelain
Glazes and coloring materials
Historical survey: Neolithic – Warring States – Han and Tang – Song and Yuan wares
Fakes and copies
Shopping in the fleamarkets

Field trip to PanJiaYuan weekend market

Comment: I am a fleamarket addict, and I have been buying Chinese ceramics since 1994. My tastes range quite widely, though I am especially fond of Song dynasty pieces and I am something of an expert in the common varieties of these wares. We will look at examples both of genuine and fake pieces of various degrees of quality and convincing-ness.

Ming and Qing dynasty blue and white ceramics

Part II: Later Chinese ceramics: Ming, Qing and modern studio pottery

Blue and white and other technical innovations
Overglaze enamels, Yixing ware
Ming and Qing blue and white from non-Imperial (“folk”) kilns
Fakes and copies
Contemporary ceramics

In Part II I will teach course participants to spot authentic non-Imperial blue and white and other later wares, make estimates of the age of pieces, and to distinguish genuine old pieces from modern copies. We will also take a brief look at contemporary ceramics, since there are some very good creative ceramicists working in China today.

Field trip to PanJiaYuan weekend market and/or Curio City

Tibetan antiques, including gilt bronze, thangkas, jewellery and ritual objects

Introduction to Tibetan Art and Antiques

Purposes of art in Tibet
How Buddhist culture took root in Tibet
Early influences: India, Kashmir and Nepal
Later influences: China
Examples of thangka painting and cast statues, furniture and other arts
Contemporary thangka painting and sculpture

Comment: Tibetan art is my major passion. It’s somewhat harder to “get into” than Chinese decorative arts because the imagery and purposes are often unfamiliar. In this session I will focus on providing some context for understanding and appreciating Tibetan art, with some pictures from Tibet and many examples of arts and crafts.

Field trip to PanJiaYuan weekend market

Chinese and Tibetan carpets 101

Friday 13th November with a repeat session on Saturday 14th November, 10.30am-12 at my Danshui store

A guide to recognizing and appraising the wide range of different rugs that are made in China and Tibet and buying carpets both for decorative use and collecting
Origins of Chinese rug making
Materials: wool and dyes
Northern Chinese rugs
Xinjiang rugs
Tibetan rugs
19th and 20th century rugs compared
Fakes and forgeries

Comment: China is one of the most interesting and also confusing markets in which to buy carpets because of the wide range of different types. There is not one single carpet making tradition here, but several overlapping traditions each with its distinctive style. We will concentrate first on identifying and appraising the quality of each type, and then on spotting the modern copies of old pieces that are increasingly common.

Ethnic textiles and costume from China

An introduction to the variety of ethnic costumes and jewelry within China’s borders, with emphasis on textiles from south-west China.
Ethnic minority groups in China’s border regions: diverse traditions
Group identity through textiles and jewelery
Examples of ethnic textiles from Southwest China, Tibet and Xinjiang
Materials and techniques in textiles from Southwest China
Dating old textiles by looking at color and dyes
Spotting modern copies and “tourist pieces”
Understanding the market

Comment: China has a stunningly diverse tradition of ethnic costumes within its borders, blending Chinese motifs with South-East Asian, Tibetan and Central Asian traditions. This remains a relatively affordable collecting area, but practice is required to distinguish new from old and "made for the tourist market".

Field trip to PanJiaYuan weekend market

Other Classes

I may add other classes if there is a demand for them:

Chinese silk textiles and traditional Chinese motifs

Tibetan painting

Tibetan furniture

etc...