This piece is nice in any collection

This piece is in my best guess; between 1785 and 1850; and made for the English market for early decoration.

Spectacular Rare Jade Slab On Display | American Museum of Natural History

Spectacular Rare Jade Slab On Display American Museum of Natural History In this article the arguement can be helped along; that I have mad as far as why buying fake jade is to hard to duplicate; I believe that the jade piece in my collecton; is of the finest possible quality.

Edward H.C Graydon

Chinese furious over YSL sale of 'treasures'

Chinese furious over YSL sale of 'treasures'

An eye for fake antiques

An eye for fake antiques Reading these articles is not enough; you have to spend days if not months and years looking threw China;s markets to see; and feel the issue it is amazing.

Fake Chinese ceramics cast shadow over art boom | Reuters

Fake Chinese ceramics cast shadow over art boom Reuters Articles that relate to Chinese imitations are aboundant; it is my duty to weed them out and purchase the real thing;for my own collection ;as it is harder to mimic metals and jades.

Remade in China: the fine art of fakery

Remade in China: the fine art of fakery This is what is the real issue in collecting asian artifacts in China posses; to collectors and museums. I once mentioned to a friend in the bussiness ;" that I believe the beijing museum is one big fake out";so you had better really enjoy your purchase for cosmetic reasons ;and set aside your monetary aspect to the purchase.

Chinese Jade

I believe this to be a beautiful piece of jade; and am pleased it is in my collection

Silk from China

This silk pillow case was one of my favourite items bought in China; it is a silk pillow case that was made in Hangzhou China. Hangzhou is the city known in China for producing the finest silks in the world. This particular item ;was one of maybe ten that were made and although it is relatively new it is rare.

Items that I have brought back from China

Chinese ceramics are by far the most beautiful in the world and if a individual is able to have them in there house to enjoy every day that alone is priceless as to some they are just pieces ; but to me they are priceless and items to hold memories.This item makes a room a beautiful sight

Door knockers from the forbidden city in beijing.

Christies Auction house in New York has come out and told me; that they are not sure?; but they believe that these door knockers are not that old; and not all that New.I think that Christies is looking only at the monetary issue only and does not have the Chinese interests in mind; I say this because ;if these are the real thing they are" priceless" and will more then likely be asked returned under international agreements that pertain to historical pieces; and once returned they can not realize a profit. It is of my opinion that all pieces be authenticated in do process and given back; if found out to be real; but in China what constitutes real . If it can be shown that these door knockers are even 150 to 200 years old; then they are of great value; as they are originals; and constitute true Chinese. I challenge all auction houses;and museums to prove other wise;as the term fake in China is truly a vague term. In the long run items are only enjoyed by all; as you can not stop someone from looking; and to have the real thing can be a insurance nightmare .I believe how; and where I came about purchasing these items ; that they are the real Item; and given that they were in use up until July 2009; how can that be construed as an imitation; of any kind; shape or form.

Edward H.C Graydon

In this photo you can see the brass pieces that were identical to the one that fell on my foot.

The worker that has a tool belt around his waist is the one that sold me these door knockers along with a uniformed guard; after hours at the far end of the palace.

I was the last person to leave the forbidden city on the last day there;I was given a tour at the back of the palace . A once in a life time incident took place;as I was leaving the first inner wall . As the door was closing a piece of the brass door stub fell off hitting me in the foot.I had a chance to look at and examine the brass up close; The photo at the top shows the workers who sold me these knockers after closing of the palace. I do not know if brass is brass; but the brass on the door stubs is exactly the same in appearance as the door knockers

The photo of the police walking down the stairs will show{when you zoom in the brass that had fallen of the door; you can see him holding the brass in his right hand.

This is the back of the Knocker that has not been touched.

The Knocker on the far right is not nearly as dirty as when I bought it,as I had to clean it in order to touch it in any way

When I came across these door knockers; they where filthy from years of expos er to the elements. They came in a set of two; I am currently using one on my front door and I will be sending the other to my families house in the states to be used there. I believe these items are over 500 years old.I can not stress enough how black and oily these door knockers where when I bought them. I purchased these on the far end of the forbidden city; where construction was taking place; and the site was closed off to the public.There is no question that I believe they are the real thing from the original doors of the imperial palace. The back of these knockers are green from decay.

Chinese Art Consultant and Appraiser

Chinese Art Consultant and Appraiser This is a good site to follow if you have an interest in Chinese art

Buying ceramics in China

I purchased this vase in the far back alley way in Beijing;it was purchased on the anniversary of the Tienanmen square uprising;and the police that day where in full force all across the city. The main streets where lined with police ;but the commerce in the ally ways where still going on. Most of the time it is the average citizen setting up shop in the alley ways of Beijing; that to me produce the most interesting pieces.This form of doing business is difficult as there is no paper work or paper receipt with the purchase; so I need to trust my own intuition; and either make a mistake or not.In the end though I have what I wanted from my time in China and these items are in my collection.

When I am browsing in China; and I come across a object that I like it is not uncommon to here statements to the fact that the object that I am going to purchase may only be 200 to 300 years old; these statements are usually from the seller or a bystander at the time of purchase. To me the problem behind there thinking is that time is always moving foreward; and given another 25 years or so; the purchased item may be of some value; given they are no longer in there hands; and the items have left the country. I find that the Chinese are sellers of rare items ;not buyers; and the fear of an error on there part; stops them from moving foreward on possible future gains.

How I started

I have always liked the intricate patterns that are associated with Chinese ceramics from the late 1600;s to the 1920;s and I like blue and white as a personal favourite. I collect certain pieces; when I am in China that I think I would want to have in my personal collection; this makes my purchase easy as I do not look at the price {high or low}; but more of weather the piece to me looks authentic; this is not that easy {as there are fakes everywhere}; but if I will enjoy it in my collection; then I will buy it given that I can afford it; as some ceramics may fetch as high as $27;ooo;ooo at auction; and I do not that kind to spare ; without serious ramifications to my financial well being. The above item is one that was purchased in the city of Tianjin; it is quite heavy; and to this day I have never seen a Chinese ceramic that comes close in appearance; shape or syle.I look foreward to finding out the origin and history behind this paticuar piece; as I can not be sure on its history. I am 80% sure it is of high quality .