Chinese Blue Qing Dynasty and modern © Ingrid Booz Morejohn
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Kinesiska symboler
På kinesiskt vis
Resa till Kina
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About Me
- Ingrid Booz Morejohn
- Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- I began traveling to China in 1985 and have lived here since 2006. This blog is meant to be a source of information about China and Asia and at the same time a link between Sweden and the Chinese world. I'm extremely curious, with a wandering mind, so you will find postings about the strangest things. Information is kept relatively timeless, so even earlier postings will be relevant at a later date. Photographs and books are my passion and lifeblood so you will see a lot of them. I welcome input, comments and questions from all visitors, both English and Swedish speakers and will gladly answer queries. NOTE: All text and photographs on this website are © Ingrid Booz Morejohn or as otherwise stated. Please don't use them without permission. Feel free to quote me, or link to this blog if proper credit is given. If you would like to see more photographs kindly visit my website: www.ingridboozmorejohn.com or Flickr Photostream. I have also written and photographed three books on Chinese culture: "Resa till Kina", "Kinesiska symboler" and "På kinesiskt vis".
Love your photos, Ingrid. Is this from your personal collection? They're beautiful. Usually when an antique dealer says "Ming" or "Qing" to me I think it's just a sales pitch. My education in Chinese ceramics has a long way to go. One day at Songxianqiao antiques market, a friend and I saw an old crucifix and he joked, "Qing Dynasty!"
ReplyDeleteHi Roger! Yes they are all mine, all the "old" ones bought at Songxianqiao, other newly produced ones (small sauce cups and teacups) at tea shops etc. Blue batik from Dali of course. I bought all the plates for a photo shoot, but since the earthquake they've all been put away in a cabinet, so many things came crashing to the ground that day and I haven't unpacked a lot of things after the big cleanup. I think that you are correct to assume that most things you see at so-called "antique markets" in China are newly produced. I often joke with the sellers that they are older than what they sell. My personal feeling is that if you find something that is beautiful, interesting, in good condition and speaks to you in a personal way, then by all means buy it if you can afford it. But I don't want to pay "antique" price for something that is new, but I'll gladly buy a reproduction, don't have to own an antique. Songxianqiao has many lovely pieces, mostly in the shops in the back, not by the main road where almost everything is fake. A few good Tibetan stores too with very nice pieces. Remember the Qing Dynasty ended at the beginning of 1912 so these plates don't have to be older than 96-97 years! And Christians have been active in China for several hundred years, maybe the crucifix was old ;-) The Chinese have been making fakes for longer than that though! Happy shopping!
ReplyDeleteSo you share my love of Songxianqiao! I learned an important lesson from 15 years in Los Angeles, especially after the '94 earthquake - stick your breakable objects to surfaces with "Quake Hold" - a kind of putty that keeps them in place. I also once worked in an art museum, where they used a microcrystalline wax to prevent movement or breakage. Don't know if either is commercially available in Chengdu.
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant advice, maybe a new marketing idea here in Chengdu? But "blu tack" will probably do the trick. I wondered about the exhibits at the Jinsha Ruins Museum during the earthquake, they have so many hundreds of small pieces....Songxianqiao, can't go there too often or I won't be able have any money left to feed the kids!
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