In order to protect its national cultural heritage, it is illegal in China since 2009 to export any Pre-1900 Chinese antiques. Assume any vase, work of art or other artifact sold directly from China is from after 1900. It is, however, legal to export from China Chinese items from 1900 and after and these items sometime come with red export seals. The seal is not authentication of the item, just marking that a government inspector deemed the item not to be Pre-20th century and it was exported legally . . . Any items legally exported before 2009, including antiquities, can be legally bought and sold.  And there is much Pre-1900 Chinese artifacts that were exported from China before 2009.