Authenticating Kangxi Originals Requires A Lot Of Looking
Understanding the Age of Chinese Porcelain with your EYES.
The process of authenticating Kangxi originals takes time. It also requires looking at a lot of authentic examples.
Ever since the Kangxi period (1662-1722), endless copies and reproductions have been made with considerable success. This was particularly the case during the later 19thC. and early 20th C. when a revival in demand for these fine porcelains soared due to demand by western collectors. Collectors were anxious to buy and without much knowledge of what they were looking at. So they threw money at any available piece with abandon. Since then many examples inventoried as Kangxi, have been relegated to the later periods. Back then the demand was enormous and of course, the porcelain makers in Jingdezhen were more than happy to accommodate. Not much unlike today where good copies abound in the market.
Kangxi Porcelain Originals
Below is a fairly wide selection of authentic Kangxi examples from Museum and private collections. A number of them have also been sold by us over the years that we've included as well. Authenticating Kangxi originals does take time, but well worth the effort and patience.
Kangxi Porcelain From The Smithsonian Peacock Room
The Peacock Room is well worth the visit, we did a post on it a few years back. Click HERE to view
We hope you'll book mark this page in your journey to understanding in authenticating Kangxi originals from the copies all over the market.
jeffrey stamen says
The very large famille noire vases are 19th century. As far as I know, no known vase over 20 inches has been confidently attributed to the Kangxi period, but rather to the Kangxi revival period starting in the mid-19th century.
brianmccln says
Thank you for this useful info. Can anyone tell me if a double foot rim is a telltale sign of a Kangxi reproduction. None of your authentic examples here have it. By this I do NOT mean the double blue circle–I’m referring to the foot rim base itself. I see double, concentric foot rims on copies sometimes, but so far at never on originals. If this is a reliable guideline, it would make it easier to identify many fakes–no study of the reign mark or decoration required if the double foot rim appears. Thanks in advance!
Peter Lastre says
TY Peter for your tireless work on identification of chinese porcelain,Best..