The entire art auction market is flooded with fakes. Rich people shudder at the thought that they've spent millions on fake paintings and antiques, so the problem is more or less suppressed to retain the 'value of investments 😢'
I went to an auction near Paris two years ago and it was full of oriental antiques, all sorts. The prices where quite low surprisingly. I at once spotted a chinese vase converted to a lamp, estimate 60/80 euros so I stayed until it came up almost at the end. Most objects sold for around their estimate but this vase made over 5000 euros, more than any other piece at the auction that day. I had seen a young Chinese guy at the preview sending pictures of the objects with their marks via his phone giving people time to research.
I would never spend more than a couple hundred on a piece of pottery. To me, one of the questions I ask myself when buying antiques, is: "how long would it take a skilled craftsman to make a reproduction of it" and then "how much would the best artisan I know charge for a piece like that". I would never spend 10k on an object I could get an almost perfect reproduction of for 2k, not to speak of spending millions on a piece of pottery like these guys here. The most expensive thing I own is close to being 5 digits, not more.
I was taken to a womans home in a horrible ancient street in Shaoxing (I lived there) to see some 'antiques' to buy. The area had no plumbing and hardly electricity and looked like an area from bygone times. In the house her mother and daughter sat on a bed that was supported on tins containing some product to ward off rats and insects and the floor was dirt. In the second room was 'antiques' stacked up to the ceiling, some incredible mountain scenes in jade type stone with their own silk lined crates. Some of the pieces were massive. I bought a small jade piece and another ceramic piece fully knowing they were modern despite what the woman claimed. The 'real' antiquities I have came from a small town in India where the children found them in the mud when the river was low. They date from around the 14 th century.
The forgers dont make that much but the middle men do. Its obvious. Making copies of artwork is not a crime, selling it as original perhaps is, but its not the artisans fault.
The irony, right? It is only our perceived concept of scarcity that makes the collector feel ripped off. Yet, the fakes are still absolutely beautiful pieces of art and can be enjoyed all the same. For collecting, ignorance is bliss.
Tbh I would pay for these reproductions. As a reenactor, I spend (too) large sums for having the most authentic reproduction of an item, and usually stuff like these is what I always hope to find in museum shops
The video's conclusion regarding the prevalence of fakes in the art market warrants further examination. While the high percentage seems plausible considering the abundance of low-quality artifacts, a more nuanced approach is necessary. An overreliance on connoisseurship and art historical expertise, while valuable, presents limitations. Scientific testing should be a fundamental requirement for sellers and auction houses, along with a return policy for objects failing such tests. For instance, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis can definitively differentiate between nephrite and jadeite, the two primary types of jade. Nephrite dominated Chinese art until the 18th century, when jadeite from Burma became prevalent. Similarly, thermoluminescence (TL) testing by reputable labs can effectively determine the authenticity of porcelain. Likewise, scientific techniques such as elemental analysis, cross-sectioning, and corrosion product crystallographic analysis can be employed to assess the authenticity of bronzes.
There was a village in Hunan province in China That makes the Best imitation ancient bronzes. Their products are been sold for tens of millions outside on Auctions as even professionals can't tell, even museums in China buy from them and make specific orders as the ancient techniques of making and casting Very complex bronzes are thought to have been lost long ago is again resurrected in the hands of those villagers. So If some Body walk in your pawn shop with a ancient bronze statue, it is fake until proven it's real.
The auction houses want to make money anyway possible, but they also do not want to get caught. They are not archeologists, they are in the selling business. “This car was owned by a little old lady that almost never drove it” the fancy accent is cool though isn’t it.
There's a classic antique dealers paradox. If you buy 11 Chipendale chairs and you want to a round dozen, you can in theory take an arm off one, a leg off another etc etc until you have enough parts to make the extra chair. Then you have 12 90% restored Chipendale chairs that will stand up to any expert because 90% of their parts are original. You can then sell them as a set of 12 with minor restorations and get top dollar..
The problem is that "art" has become an investment, status indicator and tax avoidance machine based solely on (perceived) scarcity. Quality reproductions do not threaten art itself, nor enrich the makers. They threaten the financial edifice that "art houses" supports. I don't agree with forgeries, but identified quality reproductions at a reasonable cost would do a lot to educate and inform the public. In 2004, actor Steve Martin purchased a 1915 Heinrich Campendonk from a Paris gallery for $850,000 and had an expert authenticate it. After Martin sold it two years later (at a loss), the painting was discovered to be the work of a massive forgery ring that pulled in $48 million off fake Max Ernsts and others
@@Hannari-xt6nr The Chinese were to embarassed by their own culture that they destroyed so much and the rest they traded or sold off for pennies. Many of these artifacts that you call stolen would not exist if they had not left the country. China is a victim of itself. The same goes for Greece and Egypt who did the same but China beats them hands down. If China wants their antiques back then either pay or fake them as they fake everything these days and 90% of what is in their museums is fake anyway.
There was a famous case many years ago of this guy who was in an open prison near me. He spent his time in jail making fake pottery and smuggling it out to auction houses in the area.
Buying fakes is no different that trading on the stock market. If gold prices go up, it has little or no baring on the amount of gold thats actually circulating in the world, it has everything to do with demand which either drives up the price or depresses it. Fake antiques are no different. If there's more demand than someone will fill the gap. Ethics don't come into it, this is capitalism...
GOD WILL JUDGE WHY WE VALUE Material crap over life , health, clean water , shelter and safe quality food. YES GOD WILL ASK YOU ALL. WHY ??? Why was your EGO WORTH MORE THAN LIFE…..
Everything is real and original unless it is declared as an original made during many many years or as an ancient it an art value can be very high don't need it to an antique level 😔😂🤣
The entire art auction market is flooded with fakes. Rich people shudder at the thought that they've spent millions on fake paintings and antiques, so the problem is more or less suppressed to retain the 'value of investments 😢'
I went to an auction near Paris two years ago and it was full of oriental antiques, all sorts. The prices where quite low surprisingly. I at once spotted a chinese vase converted to a lamp, estimate 60/80 euros so I stayed until it came up almost at the end. Most objects sold for around their estimate but this vase made over 5000 euros, more than any other piece at the auction that day. I had seen a young Chinese guy at the preview sending pictures of the objects with their marks via his phone giving people time to research.
I would never spend more than a couple hundred on a piece of pottery. To me, one of the questions I ask myself when buying antiques, is: "how long would it take a skilled craftsman to make a reproduction of it" and then "how much would the best artisan I know charge for a piece like that". I would never spend 10k on an object I could get an almost perfect reproduction of for 2k, not to speak of spending millions on a piece of pottery like these guys here. The most expensive thing I own is close to being 5 digits, not more.
Fascinating documentary. Thx for sharing.
I was taken to a womans home in a horrible ancient street in Shaoxing (I lived there) to see some 'antiques' to buy. The area had no plumbing and hardly electricity and looked like an area from bygone times. In the house her mother and daughter sat on a bed that was supported on tins containing some product to ward off rats and insects and the floor was dirt. In the second room was 'antiques' stacked up to the ceiling, some incredible mountain scenes in jade type stone with their own silk lined crates. Some of the pieces were massive. I bought a small jade piece and another ceramic piece fully knowing they were modern despite what the woman claimed. The 'real' antiquities I have came from a small town in India where the children found them in the mud when the river was low. They date from around the 14 th century.
That's China. They just want the world to believe they are civilized but behind the facade it's a horrible place
Out of curiosity what kind of antiquity you found in India?
@@rawsinc1 I bought an old statue of Hunaman and fertility godess and a couple of small bronzes. Can't remember the rest.
The forgers dont make that much but the middle men do. Its obvious. Making copies of artwork is not a crime, selling it as original perhaps is, but its not the artisans fault.
I am a dealer of over 50 years just shows how careful you have to be. Cheaps dear!
nice documentary, keep up good work..
They maybe fakes but they are works of art in their own right
The irony, right? It is only our perceived concept of scarcity that makes the collector feel ripped off. Yet, the fakes are still absolutely beautiful pieces of art and can be enjoyed all the same. For collecting, ignorance is bliss.
Tbh I would pay for these reproductions. As a reenactor, I spend (too) large sums for having the most authentic reproduction of an item, and usually stuff like these is what I always hope to find in museum shops
The video's conclusion regarding the prevalence of fakes in the art market warrants further examination. While the high percentage seems plausible considering the abundance of low-quality artifacts, a more nuanced approach is necessary.
An overreliance on connoisseurship and art historical expertise, while valuable, presents limitations. Scientific testing should be a fundamental requirement for sellers and auction houses, along with a return policy for objects failing such tests.
For instance, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis can definitively differentiate between nephrite and jadeite, the two primary types of jade. Nephrite dominated Chinese art until the 18th century, when jadeite from Burma became prevalent. Similarly, thermoluminescence (TL) testing by reputable labs can effectively determine the authenticity of porcelain.
Likewise, scientific techniques such as elemental analysis, cross-sectioning, and corrosion product crystallographic analysis can be employed to assess the authenticity of bronzes.
There was a village in Hunan province in China That makes the Best imitation ancient bronzes. Their products are been sold for tens of millions outside on Auctions as even professionals can't tell, even museums in China buy from them and make specific
orders as the ancient techniques of making and casting Very complex bronzes are thought to have been lost long ago is again resurrected in the hands of those villagers. So If some Body walk in your pawn shop with a ancient bronze statue, it is fake until proven it's real.
The auction houses want to make money anyway possible, but they also do not want to get caught. They are not archeologists, they are in the selling business. “This car was owned by a little old lady that almost never drove it” the fancy accent is cool though isn’t it.
There's a classic antique dealers paradox. If you buy 11 Chipendale chairs and you want to a round dozen, you can in theory take an arm off one, a leg off another etc etc until you have enough parts to make the extra chair. Then you have 12 90% restored Chipendale chairs that will stand up to any expert because 90% of their parts are original. You can then sell them as a set of 12 with minor restorations and get top dollar..
The problem is that "art" has become an investment, status indicator and tax avoidance machine based solely on (perceived) scarcity. Quality reproductions do not threaten art itself, nor enrich the makers. They threaten the financial edifice that "art houses" supports. I don't agree with forgeries, but identified quality reproductions at a reasonable cost would do a lot to educate and inform the public.
In 2004, actor Steve Martin purchased a 1915 Heinrich Campendonk from a Paris gallery for $850,000 and had an expert authenticate it. After Martin sold it two years later (at a loss), the painting was discovered to be the work of a massive forgery ring that pulled in $48 million off fake Max Ernsts and others
I love the idea of Chinese Billionaires buying fakes !
@@Hannari-xt6nr The Chinese were to embarassed by their own culture that they destroyed so much and the rest they traded or sold off for pennies. Many of these artifacts that you call stolen would not exist if they had not left the country. China is a victim of itself. The same goes for Greece and Egypt who did the same but China beats them hands down. If China wants their antiques back then either pay or fake them as they fake everything these days and 90% of what is in their museums is fake anyway.
4:30 even Hayao Miyazaki is confused lol
I wonder if you know that you're playing music in the background when we're trying to listen to this documentary?
The irony in this can't be ignored. Is this considered karma 🤔
Great to know!
Interesting, had a great uncle who worked at the Yale mission. While there collected many pieces of porcelain are they real??
If there are people who can spend that much on a Vase, let them buy a fake. I don't care at all, that money could have been used bettering society.
There was a famous case many years ago of this guy who was in an open prison near me. He spent his time in jail making fake pottery and smuggling it out to auction houses in the area.
why does most YT channelø use LOUD FUCKING MUSIC but low low low voices??????? FUCK IT!
ingrained in their culture is their "business practices"
I could surely use his insight on my peaces😢
My Family had a 88lbs Giant Fossil Pearl pound by natives fisherman from Philippines, looking to sell in auction like this.
In many places REPRODUCTIONS are made. And soid as such.
I remember i watched this aboht 5- 7 years ago
6:33
Wow
They're making all this money yet still living and working in back-room dives in urban sprawl? Something isn't connecting.
Probably don't want to arouse suspicion
@15:25 is he wearing a fake beard? Is he naturally bald?
If you can part a fool of his money why not hat's off to them.😊
Buying fakes is no different that trading on the stock market. If gold prices go up, it has little or no baring on the amount of gold thats actually circulating in the world, it has everything to do with demand which either drives up the price or depresses it. Fake antiques are no different. If there's more demand than someone will fill the gap. Ethics don't come into it, this is capitalism...
Jade is boringly popular
...real or fake .... sure all are, "...made in china..."
open secret.
洗錢.
不對，大部分是有錢但是對文物知之甚微。
I think the art and antique markets will collapse in 2024
GOD WILL JUDGE WHY WE VALUE Material crap over life , health, clean water , shelter and safe quality food. YES GOD WILL ASK YOU ALL. WHY ??? Why was your EGO WORTH MORE THAN LIFE…..
Everything is real and original unless it is declared as an original made during many many years or as an ancient it an art value can be very high don't need it to an antique level 😔😂🤣
Very, very simply, a fake is made to deceive.
China master copy original