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Anthropology/"Porcelain Chinese White Effigy"

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Expert: - 2/28/2009


Question

Kwan?"
I bought 2 brass swords from China on EBay. Because of the language impossibility, the seller and I struck up sort of a friendship (the transaction took about 2 weeks to complete).
Long story short, along with the 2 swords I purchased, he sent me a "Buddah" made out of white porcelain. I have photos I can mail to you and a pottery mark which I drew.
My Chinese friend and my Vietnamese friends say that a Buddah is never standing up. It has a lot of caked sand inside of it and I am curious to know more about him/her.
I think it is very old. It has its hands up in a praying position with a sword balanced on top. It has a pagoda hat and a "Foo" on its chest.
Please help me figure this out. Sincerely, Barb  

Answer
Hi Barbara,

I am afraid this is not an area of expertise for me but I do have colleagues that specialize in these kinds of materials.  I do want to provide the following warnings:

China has very strong and strict antiquities laws and get very upset if their cultural materials are sold out of China via any method, ebay included.  The seller can get into very deep water.  

The US is cooperating with the govt of China to limit this kind of trade and have imposed significant fines and even jail time for violators of antiquities trade.

If, as I suspect, these are "tourist" trade items, then they are ok but there is a fair amount of forgery and some  times only an expert can determine the validity of an artifact.

Materials on eBay are to be held as suspect and provanance is critical.  Be careful.

If you would like me to forward the pics to one of my colleagues, please let me know.  My email is rsalier@hotmail.com
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Ralph Salier

Expertise

Business Anthropologist. Business negotiations in multiple cultures and working with multiple cultures in the business arena. Broad understanding of business practices and business "ethics" in different parts of the world.

Experience

25+ years in international procurement and negotiations.

Organizations
ISM

Education/Credentials
MA Anthropology, Proximics

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