A Beginner's Guide To Buying Antiques
It's no surprise that many foreigners calling Shanghai home find the idea of buying Chinese antiques appealing. Not only do they look good, they also give the buyer a sense of bringing a piece of Chinese history into their homes. But investing in antiques can be a tricky business – fakes abound and confusing legislation exists about which pieces can actually be taken out of the country and which can't. The following is a guide to making the process a little easier, and hopefully, a lot more fun.
“Hey, laydee!” the stallholder at Dongtai Antique Market wails in my general direction. “Look, this horse. Tang Dynasty. Very rare. Good price for you lao pengyou!”
Does this sound familiar? If you have ever ventured to Shanghai's most famous “antique market”, it should. It might be the find of a lifetime, but then again, there's no shortage of salespeople prepared to tell a potential customer what they want to hear in order to make a sale.
Marybelle Hu from Hu & Hu Antiques (www.hu-hu.com) has been in the business for 14 years. In that time, according to Hu, she has “seen everything.” Her first piece of advice for potential antique buyers in Shanghai is that they should do some research and decide what they are actually looking for.
“I think people need to be honest with themselves. Do they want to invest the time and expense in real antiques or do they just want something that looks pretty? Because if you want genuine antiques it costs a lot,” Hu says.
As buying antiques in China has become more commonplace, genuine antiquities become harder to source. Hu says a typical kitchen cabinet that she once sold for RMB 2,000 would now be priced somewhere between RMB 10,000 and 12,000.
“A lot of it has to do with looking, a lot, and feeling. Because I buy this stuff all the time, I can tell from many feet away whether a piece is new or old,” Hu said. “Although people are good at making things look antique, it's never the same as real wear and tear. So each time you touch a piece, you learn a little bit more.”
According to the experts, literally getting a feel for antiques is one of the most important parts of the learning process. One common method used to make a new piece look like an antique is to use a hammer or other tools to scratch or dint the furniture. Look out for wear and tear that appears too uniform, the kind of wear accrued over many years appears more random and subtle.
If a deal seems to be too good to be true, the chances are, it probably is. Some cursory research will tell you that an unglazed pottery horse sculpture from the Tang Dynasty sells at auction for anything from USD 10 to 30,000. So why would our friendly Dongtai Lu stallholder sell it to us for USD 50?
“Be smart, don't think you have found the deal of the century because the odds are well against that happening,” Hu said, adding that even if you are given a “certificate of authenticity” it may not mean anything.
“The certificate you might get to prove its authenticity, someone has just printed up and put a stamp on it, and if you bought a genuine Tang Dynasty piece in China, you wouldn't be able to take it out anyway.”
Technically, the law says that anything before 1949 is considered an antique and antiques made prior to 1795 are forbidden for sale or export. Those dated between 1796 and 1949 can usually be taken out of the country as long as they are approved by Shanghai's Relics Bureau, who will mark them with a red seal and give the owner certificates to show Chinese customs.
According to Hu, if your antiques are common objects that are widely available, you should be able to take them home with you, even if their age means they shouldn't be legally exportable.
“The two guiding words they use are 'national treasure' so if it's a 'national treasure' you can't take it out. Domestic, common antiques – so not imperial antiques – make it out of China all the time,” she said.
More than anything else, Hu says people should worry more about finding what they like and less about the age or investment potential of their antique purchases. At the end of the day, if you love the antiques you are buying, the question of whether they are 'real' or 'fake' becomes less important.
Need to Know
Geography
In the world of Chinese antique furniture, people often refer to a 'northern style' and a 'southern style'. The former are known for being heavy, straight, masculine pieces made from heavy woods and finished in dark colors. They come from provinces that have traditionally been northern centers of furniture production, including Shandong, Hebei and Shanxi. Southern style antiques often come from Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and are known to be more delicate in nature.
Minority Culture
Tibetan-style antiques have proven particularly popular in recent years, and thus, have also become particularly popular targets for factories, which mass-produce them. According to Hu, factory-produced Tibetan furniture is made from the lowest possible quality wood and therefore will be very light to pick up.
The Imperial Dynasties
So when people are talking about Ming Dynasty porcelain, or Song Dynasty bronze mirrors, what does that mean? Basically, China's long history was traditionally divided into dynasties, often named in honor of their imperial rulers, these dynastic names are used to identify the style and age of antiquities. Commonly mentioned dynasties include the Tang Dynasty (618–907), Song Dynasty (960–1279), Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).
Where to Go
Hu & Hu Antiques
For a reliable stock of legitimate antiques and reproductions from a dealer who doesn’t mess people around on either quality or price – Marybelle Hu is your lady. With 14 years of experience, Hu has the know how and the connections to source some amazing pieces and her warehouse is a great place to find unique antiques or made to measure reproductions.
Hu & Hu, No. 8, Lane 1885 Cao Bao Lu. Tel: 3431 1212. Web: www.hu-hu.com
Art Deco on Dongtai Lu
One of our all time favorite Shanghai shopping experiences of any kind lives behind Dongtai Lu Antique Market stalls overflowing with mostly kitschy curios. A number of these stores specialize in Shanghai art deco pieces at reasonable and somewhat negotiable prices. Two particularly good ones are called Shanghai Art Deco and Modern Shanghai.
Ze Casa
Another excellent option for top quality Shanghai art deco pieces, made from 1910 to 1950 is Ze Casa. This period of craftsmanship in Shanghai produced distinct pieces, different from the art deco seen elsewhere because of the influence of traditional Chinese motifs such as cranes and flowers. The prices here are higher than at the less carefully curated art deco specialists around town, but they are commensurate with the quality, which is second to none.
558 Feng Hua Gong Lu, near Xin Fu Lu. Tel: 13564380384. Web: http://zejiaju.taobao.com
Green Antiques
A giant 100,000-foot warehouse filled with antiques from a variety of locales and time periods. There really is a huge selection on offer here. Make sure you allow plenty of time for exploration as the sheer amount of stuff can be overwhelming.
This is one of the best known antique markets in Shanghai and has a deservedly positive reputation among its many clients.
4877 Jiasong Zhong Lu. Tel: 13818926863. Web: www.shanghai-antiques.com
Shanghai Mu Lan Hua Ge Jia Ju Li Curio Company
Some people prefer their antique shopping to be a sanitized experience, involving beautiful spaces and carefully curated collections. If you are one of those people, steer clear of this place, which is as messy as its name is long-winded. This giant clearing warehouse has 20-meter high piles of furniture: trunks, chairs, tables, ladders, stools and Buddha statues galore are here for highly negotiable prices. Dig through the multitudes of rubbish to find your dream antique pieces and curios, then get the friendly fellows who staff this place to clean it up (and even repaint it) before delivering it to your home.
1788 Ji Yang Lu, near Shangpu Lu. Tel: 5889 2699
