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Hi all,
I am very new to this forum - but came across a piece while travelling through China that I fell in love with. The issue I have is that I am not well versed in this area, and really am at a loss at what I have in front of me. The seller is asking what I think is an extremely high price (above $100,000 USD) and I am looking to have this head not only authenticated but also identified and appraise.
Do any of you all know a reputable dealer, or service which would be able to help authenticate, identify and appraise this piece?
Thanks all for your help!
William
I would say it would be very difficult to find an appraiser to make a verdict of a stone piece like this from photographs behind glass.
You can always take a chance and send the pictures to Peter Combs himself for a small fee or try a major auction house.
Carl
Hi Carl,
Thank you for the message and information. These photos used were just for reference, although I do have higher quality photos coming to send off to one of the resources you all refer.
Once again thank you very much for the help!
William
Hi William - and welcome to this wonderful forum ...
Carl is spot on - given the asking price it is very difficult to make any type of appraisal from images - no matter how good the resolution!
These stone pieces are a very specialised subject and, as such, would need to be viewed and handled up close by an expert in this field before any conclusions could be reach.
As with all areas of Chinese art, such pieces are been faked now in large numbers - so be very careful .....
Stuart
Hi William,
There is also something else to consider. If this is truly an ancient piece, you will probably not be able to get it out of China. Of course, if you live in China, problem solved 😀
~ Decorative Arts, Antiques and Accessories, at Mollari's ~ www.mollaris.com
I’d imagine that an item of ambiguous origin and high value should come with some form of authentification as part of the deal, provided by the seller? A report from a reputable and recognised specialist in this field that you could contact and ask them to verify their authentification.
If you opt to employ your own expert, I would imagine you’d need to find one that can visit the piece in person.
Nic
Dear William,
first at all, as said by Michael, it is not allowed to export antiques from China.
Second point, what is that? Is it on sale as Chinese? I do not see the Chinese features of ancient statues there.
To me, it is a recent fake. Stay away.
Giovanni
William welcome to the sight. Folks, on first impressions I immediately thought this a bit unusual. From the cheek bones to the prominent chin this looks to be classical Roman work but with an SE Asian face above the cheek. This got me curious, found there is a classification for this style. Greco Buddhist sculpture. Seems this could be old. Here s the Wikipedia link. Interesting I thought.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art
Ron
Hi all,
Thank you very much for the responses and help! It has truly been great reading your posts.
I agree with everyone in that authentication should be given before a purchase - however the dealer would like a deposit before going through this process. I understand why, but felt I should try and do my own outside research before showing any more interest.
I also currently live in China, and eventually plan on taking the piece to the USA upon my departure. I have been told that taking out antiquities is not impossible, but very difficult. Currently I have a few friends who have successfully done this.
Lastly, in a perfect world, I would love to employ my own "Expert" in the field to come view the piece in person. If anyone has a reference, I would love to reach out to them. Most importantly however I would want to show them photography first in case it is easy to identity as fake. As Giovanni pointed out, he believes it is fake.
Giovanni - The seller and I have had difficulty speaking as my Chinese is not perfect, and their English is not either. He told me it is not Asian but was originally found in China. He is still trying to research it himself, but thinks it may be North African.
Ron - Thank you for the Wiki article! I really appreciate it 🙂
William
Can't believe I accidentally deleted my post! ? Basically it was concurring with what Michael said about Greco-Buddhist culture. Apparently 23,000 statues were excavated from Hadda in Afghanistan, I think it was in the 1930s. Even if it is not one of these, it does appear to be of the type, with possibly slightly more Indian (used very loosely) features? I did have a picture only I now can't find the link again!
Dear William,
take my opinion with caution because I am not expert on the matter.
I too considered Gandhara as the closest style for this head. Really don’t see how it could be North-African.
My suggestion was mainly based on the fact that the seller is in China. Who is the seller? An antiquarian? If the head were Chinese and genuine, most probably it was no more in his shop.
The fact that he is asking money for simply letting you inspecting the piece by a professional appraiser, is not a good sign.
The best that you could do is send the pictures to Christie’s or Sotheby’s, in London or Hong Kong.
There you can know if it is worth to go ahead or not.
Regards,
Giovanni
Hi William,
I don’t think you should have to pay a deposit beforehand. Unless it is a very small deposit, say $50, this could be a scam.
Think about it - we’re not talking about $200 for a piece, this is a very large sum of money. No reputable seller would expect to sell something that is notoriously difficult to authenticate, sometimes impossibly so, without some sort of supporting documents. And then to expect you to pay a deposit in order for you to do what he should have done himself is very strange.
There was a video available recently on this site, a lecture by Forrest McGill prominent Asian art expert to the staff at Google on fakes in SE Asia art. It’s well worth a watch before proceeding.
Nic
I have posted the link here but it doesn’t seem to be showing?
Hi William,
The stone structure is very fragile. Nevertheless, it was interesting to me that there was not much darkening and wear on the stone surface. This can be a Greco buddhist art example.
Goxu
goxu
Those are such a good points, Giovanni, in fact I have just been looking at fakes of this type and I would definitely want some good advice before I went any further.
This may be of use in that respect, it is a dealer who offers free consultations on things like this. I can't recommend him as I haven't used him, but have a look and see what you think, it might be somewhere to start.
Hi William -
Giovanni and NicDan have made some very good points.
I am also no expert on this subject but can see no stylistic connection to North-Africa. It may, however, be based on Gandhara style.
Personally, I have never heard of a 'dealer/seller' asking for a deposit before any formal inspection and/or authentication can take place - I find such a request rather 'disturbing' ....!
As mentioned earlier - be 'very careful' ....!!
Stuart
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