Encaustic painting is a ancient wax-based painting technique that has been revived in recent years. Using hot bees wax as the material to hold the color pigments, an encaustic painting is easy to identify at a museum or gallery because it has a distinct waxy appearance. It was used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians … Continue reading Ancient wax paintings

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 … Continue reading Chinese antiques export laws

To the Ancient Chinese, jade was more valuable than gold and called the stone of heaven. They considered jade to have special powers and symbolic meaning. Though commonly thought of as green, jade can be found in different colors including white and red, and can be transparent to opaque. Jade is be one of two … Continue reading Identifying jade

Jet is a black fossilized material prized for its gem-like use in jewelry, including necklaces, brooches, pins and earrings. The term jet black, meaning as black as black can get, comes from jet. When Prince Albert died in 1861, his wife Queen Victoria famously wore jet mourning jewelry and jet was popularly used in general … Continue reading Jet black jet

A microscope is often used by an authentication expert to date the kind of printing used to make both photographs and ink-and-printing-press prints. Modern reprints and counterfeits are often identified because the microscope shows the printing is too modern. An 1870 print couldn't have been made with a printing technology invented in 1985. For an … Continue reading Miscroscopy in prints authentication

Some prints, photographs and other types of art and collectibles are limited edition numbered: say, 1/50 (1 of 50 made), 2/50, 3/50 .... 50/50. Some collectors feel that the first print or photograph or figurine 'off the presses,' is the most valuable, and, as one might expect, pick one that is numbered 1/50. The thing … Continue reading A common misperception about limited edition prints

A forgery is an item that was made to fool others into believing it is something it is not. This includes counterfeits, but also made up items like a ‘newly discovered’ Rembrandt painting.On the other hand, a fake is an item that is seriously misidentified or who's identity is seriously misrepresented. This includes forgeries and … Continue reading The difference between a fake and a forgery

An inexpensive and easy to use longwave black light is a great tool for quickly identifying reprints and fakes of Pre World War II paper material. This includes trading cards, photographs, programs, posters, postcards, tickets and anything made of paper. A black light is effective in identifying of many, though not all, modern paper stocks. … Continue reading Using a black light to identify many fakes

Art, artifacts, collectibles and other valuables are often security marked in case of theft, loss, dipsute or other later need to identify the item and/or owners. The markers range from overt holograms and serial numbered stickers to invisible tags, and allow the marked items, and often the rightful owners, to be identified. An interesting covert … Continue reading Tagging art microscopically