Liao Dynasty Ceramic Identification and Appreciation

Author: Li Hongjun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-05-01
Features:
1. Geographically, the Liao Dynasty, established by the Khitan people, was located in the remote northern regions of China. Ancient times saw sparse population in this area, and transportation was inconvenient compared to the Central Plains and southern regions. As a result, the spread of Khitan culture was hindered. Moreover, the few extant pieces of Liao porcelain made it little-known before the Republic of China.
2. Liao porcelain differs from Song porcelain. Even those who had some knowledge of Liao porcelain recognized its inferiority in variety, craftsmanship, and firing level compared to Song porcelain. Since the Song Dynasty, successive generations have imitated and forged Song porcelain extensively, while Liao porcelain has been left unimitated.
3. Throughout China's millennia of feudal history (excluding the Yuan and Qing dynasties), the central government was dominated by Han rulers, fostering a sense of Han supremacy. Under this ethnic prejudice, people adopted a disdainful attitude toward the culture of ethnic minorities in remote regions, and some collectors even harbored an aversion to it, making imitation rare. After the Republic of China, especially during the puppet Manchukuo period, with Japan's invasion of China, Japanese archaeologists began looting and excavating across Northeast China, including Liao porcelain. As more Liao porcelain pieces were unearthed, their unique Khitan style and rugged aesthetic appeal gained favor with Japanese enthusiasts and Chinese collectors, particularly for tri-color Liao wares, which became highly sought after. This led to fierce competition among Japanese and Chinese dealers, driven by economic interests, to imitate Liao porcelain, sparking a wave of forgeries. In recent years, tomb raiding has surged, with vast quantities of Liao porcelain stolen and scattered to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, as well as some Western countries, where it is cherished by collectors, driving up demand and prices. This situation has not only fueled the rampant tomb raiding by lawbreakers but also revived the forgeries of Liao porcelain. To date, imitations are known to be produced in areas like Chifeng and Wudan in Inner Mongolia, with over a dozen workshops in Chifeng alone, employing local potters and artisans from Henan and Shaanxi who specialize in replicating Tang tri-color wares. These fakes flood the market, making identification of authentic Liao porcelain extremely challenging. Therefore, understanding the methods of forgery and the characteristics of fakes is crucial for authentication.
(II) Characteristics of Liao Porcelain Fakes
Many Liao porcelain fakes (i.e., imitations) bear a striking resemblance to genuine pieces, even to the point of being nearly indistinguishable, especially those from Chifeng. Many of the imitators are skilled potters from Henan and Shaanxi, with extensive experience in replicating ceramics, particularly Tang tri-color wares. They use local porcelain clay and pigments from Chifeng (materials identical to those of Liao porcelain) and employ Liao porcelain production techniques, making their fakes extremely difficult to distinguish. However, despite their similarity to genuine pieces, they remain modern imitations. Compared to Liao porcelain from 800 years ago, there are still noticeable differences. With a thorough understanding of the size, shape, body, glaze, decorative techniques, motifs, style, firing process, and firing temperature of genuine Liao porcelain, and with careful observation, identification is still possible. Below is a brief introduction to common fake characteristics.
The Khitan established their state in 916 and were conquered by the Jurchen in 1125. Liao porcelain production emerged early in the dynasty, with authentic pieces dating back over 800 years since the dynasty's fall. Due to prolonged burial underground, genuine Liao porcelain has suffered varying degrees of surface dullness from soil acid, alkali, and moisture erosion. Water-soluble chemicals or fine clay particles have infiltrated the white slip and exposed body, making the body and slip appear aged. Under a magnifying glass, the surface of the body shows a thin layer of corrosion. Fakes, however, are usually unburied or buried for a very short time, so their glaze remains shiny and glaring, with a fresh body and slip that are immediately recognizable as new. Genuine Liao porcelain has a patina, with a warm, subdued glaze and a pleasant tactile feel. Fakes lack this patina, with a strong, overly smooth glaze that lacks warmth.
Regardless of whether genuine Liao porcelain is excavated or considered "transmitted," the surface suffers from varying degrees of wear during burial, excavation, or use, resulting in scratches of varying depth and direction. These scratches are most prominent on convex areas and edges but absent on concave surfaces, generally appearing natural. Fakes may have no scratches, unnatural scratches, or made marks, or random, illogical scratches, such as on concave surfaces where they shouldn’t exist, defying common sense.
Genuine Liao porcelain typically has a body of moderate thickness and weight, with slight variations among similar pieces but generally consistent. Imitators, however, may produce pieces that are excessively thin or thick due to unfamiliarity with genuine pieces, deviating from the standard.
Genuine Liao porcelain is usually finely textured and smooth, with a level surface. Fakes, due to technical limitations, may have dry, unyielding bodies, resembling un kneaded dough, with wrinkles and cracks due to body shrinkage during firing, resulting in an uneven and rough surface, the opposite of genuine pieces.
The glazes of Liao tri-color wares vary in depth but are generally pure in color. Some fakes, however, have incorrect and faded hues due to inaccurate pigment dosing, resembling the pallor of someone recently recovered from illness, giving them a sickly appearance.
Lead-glazed Liao porcelain (both monochrome and tri-color) features fine, irregular hairline cracks, commonly known as "fly wings," caused by differing expansion and contraction coefficients between the body and glaze. These cracks extend from the glaze inward, sometimes reaching the surface. New fakes, conversely, have large cracks that open from the surface inward, with some stopping short of the body and appearing as irregular diagonal lines, rarely intersecting to form small squares.
Liao tri-color wares were fired at high temperatures, typically around 1150°C, resulting in hard bodies that produce a resonant sound when tapped lightly. Some fakes, however, are fired at excessively high temperatures, producing overly crisp sounds, or at too low temperatures, yielding soft, muffled sounds due to overly loose bodies.
Although Liao tri-color wares have a white slip between the body and glaze, the bond is generally strong. This is because Liao tri-color wares are first shaped into plain bodies (unglazed), coated with slip, fired, then glazed, and finally fired again, strengthening the bond. However, some artisans from Shaanxi and Luoyang, skilled in replicating Tang tri-color wares, are less familiar with Liao porcelain’s firing process. Particularly those from Luoyang, where Tang tri-color wares use high-quality kaolin with no slip, making them unfamiliar with Liao porcelain’s production process. They mistakenly follow a process of firing plain bodies, applying slip, glazing, and then firing at low temperatures (around 880–960°C). This results in a weak bond between the body and slip, which merely coats the surface rather than fusing. Additionally, differing shrinkage coefficients during firing lead to an even weaker bond between the glaze and body, akin to painting over a dusty wooden board—though the appearance may suggest fusion, the surface is prone to peeling and cracking.
Single-glazed Liao porcelain was applied using the dipping method. The process involved holding the bottom of the vessel upside down and dipping it into a glaze vat. During dipping, the force of the hand and atmospheric pressure inevitably caused some glaze to enter the vessel (the amount depended on how deep the vessel was immersed). The glaze inside the mouth matched that outside, but the patina on the exterior was lost.