I am writing this to help those of you who want to collect antique Chinese Doucai porcelain but keep getting sidetracked by others who try to trip you up along the way. Imperial Ming or Qing antique porcelain has lately been the most expensive art at auction and will continue to be well into the future. Perhaps preparing the clay for up to seven years, then throwing several hundred vases only to have a few turn out. Allowing the green-ware to dry for a year or so. Then painting for months and several kiln firings later may contribute to the cost. So when looking at a any porcelain try to understand how many years it took to create that particular item. I have found that at every level of society people have been very uninformed about Chinese art or just outright dishonest. It would be wise to invest in books with large photographs of porcelain along with clear photos of their marks. There is one caveat, everything I am about to write about can have an exception to it. So always try to have 3 to 4 items pointing to the item being new or old. Identification of Antique Doucai Porcelain 1. Over glaze colors containing lead (i.e. yellow, green) should have very small crazing in them only obvious with a 10x loop magnifying glass. a. Red may have crackle and should be pure red not orange colored. b. Newer porcelain will often contain large crackle. c. Over glaze colors will be pure and clean. d. Over glaze colors can have a oily iridescence look, especially green on the surface. 2. Foot rims can have a light brownish red color on unglazed areas (iron foot). 3. Foot rims should be relatively smooth but there are exceptions (tomb porcelains can have a rough foot) a. Foot rims walls can be non-concentric from outside wall to inside wall. Thicker on one side or look off-center which was caused from the kick wheel. b. Ming foot rims are more flat where Qing foot rims are more rounded. c. Although any Imperial porcelain from any period can have a flat foot-rim. 4. The center of bases should have a protrusion (nipple) on the top and on or the bottom of antique porcelain that was made on the kick wheel. Obvious side seams have been faked on many pieces. 5. When seen through a powerful light thin porcelain should look dirty and cloudy, not pure white or transparent. 6. Doucai porcelain should look professionally painted and have soft but vibrant colors. a. Blue should be soft and blue. b. Red should be red not orange. c. Yellow should be yellow. d. Greens can shade several hues. e. Over glaze color should stay close to the underglaze blue outlines. f. Porcelain can be as thin as 1 millimeter thick. 7. Porcelain should be of the highest quality without cracks. a. Chinese porcelain usually chips or breaks and does not normally crack. b. Early porcelain appears glassier at the foot rim from high quartz or silica content. Newer porcelain looks chalky and opaque. 8. Glazes will contain a variety of large and small bubbles easily seen by the under glaze blue areas. a. Ancient glazes will have a large variety of bubble sizes and especially very large solitary bubbles. b. Newer glazes usually have small consistently sized bubbles throughout. 9. Porcelain should have an overall beauty and look of being made by a professional artist. If you think you could make it its not Imperial. a. Any part of the design that looks rushed or poorly painted will point to the poprcelain being new. b. Always look for that part of the design that looks out of place or sloppy. These items are usually new also. 10. Ancient porcelain rings like a bell for a long period of time when tapped. The sound can appear to be running in circles on wheel thrown wares. 11. Most Imperial porcelain will have some type of defect that caused it to be rejected for Imperial use. a. dragons missing toes, missing scales, missing whiskers. b. Firing cracks or massive warping. c. Misfired colors either under-fired or over-fired d. Glaze dripping or running, chipping or unintended crackle. e. Any mark appearing poorly written or flawed in any way. 12. Marks should be compared to similar known examples that exist on pieces in museums a. Archaic marks are usually written on newer porcelains imitating an older style. b. Marks should match the time period, often a mark will have one stroke changed that points to a newer period. It may still be an old porcelain but not of the period. c. Even marks were written by a professional and should look that way. 13. Most of all when you find that piece never ask an auctioneer for an appraisal. Never ask an antique dealer for an appraisal. Appraisers in America do not like to appraise Chinese porcelain older then the 19th century because of their liability and lack of knowledge. One more item, even a high quality brand new hand made and hand painted Chinese porcelain imitating an old one can cost thousands of dollars to purchase because of the time and expertise it took to create it. I would like you all to know that imperial porcelains are for sale on EBAY. thank you, Chris Madonna