Identifying Chinese porcelain.
Dynasty marks, glaze, decoration, based on 30 years of specialisation.
Core specialisation of AntiqBot. Chinese porcelain forms the deepest knowledge base of the platform, built over three decades of Belgian antique dealing.
You read Chinese porcelain through its marks and glaze.
Chinese porcelain spans more than a thousand years of production history. From Tang earthenware to Qing export porcelain, every era has its own characteristics in clay, glaze, decoration and reign mark. That knowledge cannot be learned from a book. It requires years of handling real pieces.
AntiqBot is built around decades of specialisation in Chinese porcelain and ceramics. We recognise dynasty marks, glaze qualities, decoration styles and production methods. From Ming blue-and-white to Qianlong famille rose, the patterns are known. The system learns reign marks: authentic Kangxi stamps (6 characters in regular script), apocryphal Chenghua marks (inscribed on much late Qing and reproduction ware), and unmarked Song/Ming pieces (where absence itself is informative). For glaze analysis, AntiqBot detects characteristic lustre variations, craquelure patterns (natural, fine networks = old; crude artificial cracks = fake), and micro-details in colour transitions that distinguish genuine Kangxi famille verte from 19th-century European copies.
Chinese porcelain is the most forged antique in the world. That is precisely why it demands the most specialised eye. Not every mark that looks old is old.
AntiqBot gives you a first well-founded orientation. Not a definitive verification, but a sharp first look that tells you whether further expertise is worthwhile. The combination of mark analysis, glaze assessment, and decorative comparison across thousands of reference images provides reliable first guidance. That knowledge can save you thousands of euros: is this piece a valuable genuine Kangxi famille rose (€3,000-€25,000) or a 19th-century Meissen-style European reproduction (€400-€2,000)? AntiqBot narrows that uncertainty.
Which periods AntiqBot recognises.
Chinese porcelain is classified by dynasty. Each period has its own characteristics in clay, glaze and decoration.
The great families and decoration traditions.
The most common Qing decoration styles, each with its own colour palette and market value.
The mark reads the age.
Chinese porcelain marks are written in Chinese and indicate dynasty and emperor, but are more often copied than genuine.
The most forged antique in the world.
Chinese porcelain has been copied for centuries, by the Chinese themselves, by European factories, and today by industrial producers. The forgery industry is more sophisticated than ever. Artificial craquelure, chemically aged glaze, imitated cobalt.
AntiqBot analyses visual characteristics: style, decoration, reign mark, glaze quality from photographs. We provide a well-founded first orientation, not definitive verification. For pieces of significant value, physical expertise from a specialised auction house or appraiser is always required. We draw that boundary deliberately.
What AntiqBot gives you: the knowledge to know whether a piece is worth that next step. In most cases, that is precisely what you need.
Base mark and glaze are both key.
The base mark is essential, photograph it as sharply as possible, preferably with a magnifying glass and good lighting. Also take a photograph of the object from the side: glaze thickness, the rim and the foot width tell much about period and production method.
Photograph the decoration in detail. Cobalt blue on blue-and-white pieces: the hue (grey-blue = Ming, bright blue = later) is diagnostic. For famille rose and verte: the colour intensity and the enamel layer. Cracks, chips or restoration work should always be shown.
Other specialisations
AntiqBot analyses are indicative in nature and do not constitute a definitive verification or legally binding valuation report. For pieces of significant value we recommend a specialised auction house or sworn appraiser.