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I halve been trying to identify the mark on this bronze vessel. I offer a photo of the piece & a close up of the mark. Based o0n the natural patina that cannot be removed with solvents we feel it is a correct piece. As always i welcome your thoughts. Size 7" tall & 9" wide.
Thank you,,,bob

Based on your photos I'm not really seeing any "natural patina" on this piece which looks like a representation of an archaic bronze ritual wine vessel(zun). The applied decorations seem rather busy for the form.

If it had a "natural patina", a green or brown film on the surface of the bronze produced by oxidation over a long period of time, the last thing you would want to do is to try to remove it.

What I see is an inordinate amount of mineral concretion, which leads me to believe it has been treated to give the piece a look of having been buried for a long period of time.

It makes me feel like it had a couple more processes to go through before it was ready for sale as a reproduction of an ancient Chinese bronze, which certainly has its uses for decorative purposes, as long as no one is mislead as to its age.

Modern artists have the talent and every modern tool to produce beautiful works of art based on ancient forms and motifs, as well as modern techniques to give their works the look and feel of age and patina and the perfect amount of simulated mineral concretion to give it an authentic look and feel. Their works can fetch high prices in the decorator/collector market.

If a wealthy collector wants something that looks like it's an artifact worth half a million dollars, five or ten thousand dollars is not a bad price to pay to obtain that look.

I was in the antique business for twenty years and we saw all kinds of reproductions, some quite clumsy and some quite amazing in their detail.

I knew a man who reproduced Tiffany lampshades and bronze lamp bases. He spent years refining his techniques for everything from making the glass to reproducing the patinas on the metal of the shades and bases, and even the cloth encased electric cords and period wall plugs had to be perfect.

If you wanted the look of an authentic Tiffany lamp there were only two ways to get that look and one way came with the name Tiffany stamped on it, and the other way did (should) not. Absolutely no one he sold to bought his works thinking they were made by Tiffany. I suppose the problem is that many of his customers may not have been so honest over the years.

If you have distinguished provenance to make you believe this piece is authentic, it would be foolish to allow anyone but an expert conservator to touch it in regards to removing the mineral concretion in order to possibly reveal the "natural patina" and decorative features below without destroying the patina.

I want to express my sincere thanks to you for your amazing expertise on the bronze piece. I was overwhelmed by your thoughts and your insights into examining an artifact and determining what it could be. I also have been in the antiques business for quite sometime, but due to health issues, I have not been able to concentrate on the items that I would like to. Bronze is not my area of expertise and that is why I have reached out to you. Again, I thank you for your knowledge. During the past few years, I became interested in Chinese wares, primarily ancient pottery. I am attaching a few extra photos of the bronze piece in question. I was interested in learning about the figures that encircle the entire piece. Most of the figures are hidden from the buildup. This does intrigue me. With gratitude, Bob

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