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I recently bought a bronze off Ebay stating it was Ming but as I got it cheaply I took it to a local auction house to authenticate. They said it was unlikely to be Ming. HOw do you tell?



Link :Ming dynasty bronze buddha

Your Buddha is an image of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy to Buddhists in China, as well as Japan, where known as Kannon. Guanyin is the manifestation of the mortal Buddha or Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

A well-versed dealer probably would have been familiar with the aforementioned details as well as that the casting looks to be of a more recent sort that most auctioneers call "Xuande mark but of a later period". Unfortunately, yours lacks even the natural patina that I would associate with 19th century Chinese bronzes.

In the image included herewith, the principal bronze is an 18th century version of the Xuande-period Sakyamuni image in the inset. These are sculpted in more typical Ming proportions.

Best regards,

Bill H.

That is very useful. Thank you

Looks more modern to me!!
Ming bronze casting could be fairly crude

I don't buy any antiques on Ebay that come from China. Chinese are a smart and private culture. They don't sell their museum quality pieces online. Only modern reproductions. They sure do make the listings sound like you're getting a real period piece though.
I don't know if your piece is a repro or not, but I do think it's modern. Just wanted to leave some advice about shopping from China on Ebay.

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