Chats on Oriental China

Step into the glittering world of Edwardian collectors, where a single piece of Chinese porcelain could represent a year's salary and the hunt for authentic pieces bordered on obsession. J.F. Blacker, himself a dealer in orientalia, pulls back the curtain on the secretive trade in Ming dynasty vases, famille rose bowls, and dragon-decorated bowls that captivated British society at the height of the empire. This is no dry catalog but a passionate education in reading the subtle signs of authenticity: the weight of a piece, the particular blue of cobalt pigment, the way imperial kiln glaze differs from commercial workshop output. Blacker writes with the urgency of a man who has seen fortunes lost to clever forgeries and wants to save you from the same fate. Beyond the practical advice lies a genuine love for the symbolic language of Chinese decoration, where bats signify happiness, dragons represent imperial power, and the five-clawed imperial dragon marks a piece for the emperor alone. A window into a vanished world of disciplined taste and serious money.