1Earth Antiques & Appraisals Magazine > Asian Works of Art > Feature: Chinese Porcelain: Identification
While some pieces are easily identifiable, the difficulty with identifying Chinese ceramics is that you must know everything that goes into making a particular piece right for its period. Shape, color and design motif, glaze, weight, foot, reign mark — if there is one — all come into play.

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CHINESE PORCELAIN: IDENTIFICATION     Chinese Porcelain: IDENTIFICATION Shapes remained fairly constant over the millennia; the classic Chinese vase, bowl and meiping (plum blossom vase, introduced during the Sung Dynasty) continue to the present day. Still, shape and color can help to identify a piece with a particular period.  Certain colors are highly prized, and some design motifs are known to convey symbolic meaning (such as cranes representing immortality, or bats symbolizing happiness).   While some pieces are easily identifiable, the difficulty with identifying Chinese ceramics is that you must know everything that goes into making a particular piece right for its period.  Shape, color and design motif, glaze, weight, foot, reign mark — if there is one — all come into play.  Other than clues from shape and color, you really have to handle the piece. The weight is an important clue to the educated collector. As for fakes, the Chinese did make things in reverence of earlier emperors, but didn't necessarily go out of their way to fake things.  There aren't a lot of pieces made to deceive... though a novice might unknowingly pass on a reproduction as an authentic piece. Ross Kerr's helpful reference. AVAILABILITY It's quite rare to find good Chinese porcelain in an antique store.  Most collectors deal with the larger auction houses or with individual galleries in the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong.  Though there is a large market for imperial porcelain in China, they don't have the established galleries.   For references, we recommend: Chinese Ceramics: Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911), by Rose Kerr. Chinese Potter: A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics, by Margaret Medley. The Copeland Collection : Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, by William Sargent.

Chinese Export Porcelain, Standard Patterns and Forms, 1780-1880: Standard Patterns and Forms by Herbert Chinese Export Porcelain in the 19th Century: The Canton Famille Rose Porcelains by John Quentin Feller Chinese Potter: A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics by Margaret Medley Mounted Oriental Porcelain in the J. Paul Getty Museum by Gillian Wilson For the Imperial Court: Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art by Rosemary Scott Spode's Willow Pattern by Robert Copeland Special Exhibition of Ch'Ing Dynasty Enameled Porcelain of Imperial Ateliers / Written in English & Chinese The Copeland Collection : Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures by William Sargent The Helen D. Ling Collection of Chinese Ceramics by Jason Kuo Chinese Ceramics: Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 by Rose Kerr Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain Around the World by John Carswell Antique Trader's Pottery & Porcelain Ceramics Price Guide by Kyle Husfloen Collectors Encyclopedia of Nippon Poreclain: Identification & Values by Joan Van Patten Collector's Encyclopedia of Flow Blue China: Values Updated 2000 (Second Series) by Mary Frank Gaston Restaurant China: Identification & Value Guide for Restaurant, Airline, Ship & Railroad Dinnerware by Barbara Conroy