I think I might be concerned about that bright green - assuming the colours are accurate, of course.  That is what catches my eye. I don't think it is Kangxi but am happy to be told I am barking up the wrong tree. ? 

Posted by: Julia

I think I might be concerned about that bright green - assuming the colours are accurate, of course.  That is what catches my eye. I don't think it is Kangxi but am happy to be told I am barking up the wrong tree. ? 

Hi Julia, I tried to adjust the colors on the original pictures and that is how it turned out (I should probably have avoided that, but too late now!). I think it is supposed to be yellow. ? I've included the original below.

P.S. I'm also fairly sure that the red background is making matters worse!

I don't think I've seen a red enamel artimisia leaf signature before. Is that common? I'm used to seeing Kangxi signatures in underglaze blue. 

Posted by: JohnHenry

I don't think I've seen a red enamel artimisia leaf signature before. Is that common? I'm used to seeing Kangxi signatures in underglaze blue. 

Hi Henry, I hadn't considered the yellow color that Julia indirectly led me to think about. If the color of the yellow is accurate, there is no way that it can be kangxi, so it has to be later.

From what I've read, I think on the "chinese porcelain" site, it is rare that the marks are other colors than blue on kangxi pieces, but it does occur.

I see now and I am not sure I like that yellow any better. ? I also find the leaf jarring, especially as other things disturb me, too.  I don't think this is Kangxi.  I am not entirely convinced by the shape either, the round bit is often a little more droopy, bottom heavy, I think, on genuine items.  I may be wrong.

Two photos are not much to go by, has someone offered you this? Do they say it is Kangxi?  I don't think I would risk it.

Posted by: Julia

I see now and I am not sure I like that yellow any better. ? I also find the leaf jarring, especially as other things disturb me, too.  I don't think this is Kangxi.  I am not entirely convinced by the shape either, the round bit is often a little more droopy, bottom heavy, I think, on genuine items.  I may be wrong.

Two photos are not much to go by, has someone offered you this? Do they say it is Kangxi?  I don't think I would risk it.

Hi Julia,

I agree, the yellow doesn't look like a kangxi yellow, it is probably later.

I found it on ebay, it was only listed as 'vase' with no description to speak off. I guess I took a chance, since it was a new seller with all sorts of items that he didn't describe all that well. I guess I will find out what I got once I receive it. ? 

There are so many listings with poor descriptions and poor photographs: hazy, limited in number, no photo of the bottom etc. I’m starting to think they do it deliberately. It creates an impression of naivety which may not be genuine?

Hi NicDan,

Always a perilous course buying thru eBay and other formats.

Dodgy, vague descriptions along with blurred pictures. It can be very frustrating.

I have found that if I find such a listing all one can do is ask many different questions and not all in the same email.

Depending on how your questions are structured you will normally be able to gauge by the answers provided to you that the seller is a novice and or that the items on offer are not authentic.

Also the amount of items in the listing. Is it just one or are there a number of items on offer that look the same or similar. Is this ebayer a private seller or is it a business?

Star ratings are helpful. But many so-called antique dealers have 100% feedback, even though their listings are reproductions. So not that helpful.

If you ask for further details and better pictures they will either comply with your request or advise you other.

I recently was looking at a listing that stated some damage. Picture was not clear so I asked for further pictures. They forwarded the same pictures back to me. When I questioned why they sent same back all they replied was that was it and sorry for not clear pictures etc. Other items on offer were very clear pictures. A warning sign.

Mark

Posted by: NicDan

There are so many listings with poor descriptions and poor photographs: hazy, limited in number, no photo of the bottom etc. I’m starting to think they do it deliberately. It creates an impression of naivety which may not be genuine?

There are a large number of sellers that do not fall into the age bracket that know much about how to use technology, including taking good digital photos and editing them, creating good descriptions, etc., who just want to list as many items as possible in the shortest amount of time.

I agree that some do take shaky and hazy pictures as a deliberate tactic to deceive, but I have no reason to think that this was the case in this particular instance (you would likely agree if you had seen the other items this seller had listed, looked like someone emptied a loft and just wanted to get rid of the items without too much work).

I wanted to add that I purchased a beautiful Qing hand carved bamboo honey colored libation Cup from a UK dealer with 100 Percent customer satisfaction rating for about $700.00. The web photos were just fantastic with great detail, all the natural bamboo characteristics showing.  Problem is  that it is made of molded plastic and looks nothing like the Ebay sellers web photos; I demanded and received full refund & shipping costs; and of course, the fake now sits on top of a commode in a guest bath.  The Seller is still selling and I'm sure still "sticking people with his faked up photos. I think this person could make the criminal award for best trick photography. This is not to pick on Ebay; I can find more fakes listed on Invaluable/Live Auctioneers Auction Platforms any day than I ever find on Ebay.  I seem to find more genuine items with condition issues on Ebay than elsewhere however. 

Massive difference between seller listing fake or reproduction items with vague descriptions etc. This seller that Ben had the misfortune in dealing with is just a outright crook and should be removed from eBay.

Misleading and deceptive conduct. Shame!

I hope this reptile has not appeared via the forum.

Condition is also a very big issue that can be easily disguised and or other like different angles and vague statement like had a tiny dent or other.

Mark

Hi Michael,

I didn’t mean to imply that the seller had employed these ‘tricks’ in your case. Apologies if that’s how it came across. Naturally, one has to look at other factors. If the photos are poor, the description quite generic and, say, every item has a starting price of 99p, it is possible the seller is just emptying the attic.

However, I have seen many listing where the photos are terrible but the description suggests some knowledge/research and the price, although not high, suggests the seller thinks what they have is special - or is trying to give that impression at least. I think it is a darn cheek to try and sell something as being of a particular reign and dynasty and to expect to get the market value without providing photos of sufficient quality and/or number for the buyer to assess these claims. This causes alarm bells in my head.

The other thing I would say is that it is surprising how many items I’ve seen on another forum, the owner asking for information etc. Prior to it being listed on eBay. Nothing wrong with this, of course, but it does give cause to think that perhaps the sellers out there aren’t as clueless as they sometimes try to make out. In one case a few weeks back, the seller had been told on the forum that his item was modern when he thought it was 18th century. When it then appeared on eBay, his description read thus: “I’m not sure how old it is” and was accompanied by hazy photos and no clear photo of the base.

I think his motives for doing this are quite clear? Of course, I’m not suggesting that is what happened in this instance, but the direction this thread is heading seems to be an appropriate place to mention these observations.

Nic

Just from the picture I think it's 19th c, not Kangxi. The glaze and the shape don't match.

Hello folks, I ended up winning the vase, but it took some time before I got around to taking pictures. The purple looks wrong for both kangxi revival and kangxi, but could it be somewhere in between, or is it much later? More pictures in the next post.

Forgot to add that the vase is 22cm tall.