Timeless Artifact

Robert Rieger Family Estate Collection

Chenghua Emperor Covered Bowl Measurements: 6″ Diameter X 3-1/4″ Height

Hongzhi Emperor Rice Bowl Measurements: 6-3/4″ Diameter X 3″ Height

We have been blessed to be able to authenticate and represent these two Imperial Emperor’s bowls for the last two years. They were first legally acquired by Mr Robert Rieger, businessman and former Director of the MBA Program, College of Management, University of Arizona, on one his  more than forty-six long- ago trips to China. Mr. Rieger was not a prolific collector of antiquities, and as such, had very few pieces he purchased in the Orient. Of the several pieces we did authenticate for him and his family, most were newer reproductions that he liked because of their intricacy, and the fact that he has long worked in the industrial porcelain business. The two particular bowls featured above are the result of a distant approach by a old Chinese man offering these bowls for purchase. It was a wise decision he made when he agreed to buy them, and his ‘feel’ for the pieces was perfect, as he loved their delicate construction – especially the exquisite Hongzhi rice bowl that he felt was a piece of perfection. In this microscopic study you will see why these pieces had that ‘special feel’ he described to us when we first saw the bowls.

Both of these bowls initially underwent an intensive, month-long cleaning and extensive study by myself and Dr. Timothy William Jones, PhD, before we first announced their authenticity. In preparation for the composition of this article, I personally re-cleaned the bowls, as initially performed, in acetone and then a strong solution of soap and water, to determine that all remaining deposits were indeed natural to the bowls, and not later replicators’ attempts at deception, nor hiding a repair. In the last cleaning, we even briefly used a solution of oxalic acid to make sure no aliphatic cements or petroleum based glues had been used. Initially these bowls were most likely cleaned in China, in a weak vinegar solution to remove any deposits that were on them (later microscopic photographs will show where this had occurred and the accompanying, minuscule new scratches that are associated with this cleaning).

These two truly Imperial Bowls are Pre-UNESCO Treaty Legal and have been displayed at our last two jade shows, including our Jade Through The Ages Show. We will be showing, with the progressive microscopic photographs throughout this article, authenticating identifiers, in response to which some skeptics might say the usual “Oh, the Chinese replicators can do that” – they cannot! These are authentic Ming Dynasty Imperial Porcelain Bowls and carry the ‘Antiquities, Plus… Guarantee’ as long as they are in our possession to sell. Out of respect to the father of the Emperor Hongzhi, we will be starting this article with the Emperor Chenghua’s Covered bowl, and will be ending it with the Hongzhi Emperor’s rice bowl.

In the three photographs above, we show the top of the Chenghua Emperor’s covered bowl, the bottom of the bowl, and a close-up of the reign mark and part of the foot rim. For those who do not know, the Chenghua Emperor preferred as his reign mark a calligraphy of his own making, done while he was a child; these marks do not have the usual perfection of a ‘typical’ reign mark. The bowl in general is not quite as finely produced as is the Hongzhi Emperor’s bowl, and is a bit heavier in construction, but still is a masterpiece for a porcelain made at the start of the Emperor’s reign in 1465 CE (remembering that this is not just an Imperial factory porcelain, but actually made for Imperial use). Additional research will lead the reader to the many different types and colors of Imperial Family porcelains which were traditionally produced for each Emperor upon his ascension to the throne; however, in this article we will be dealing only with these two bowls and their history of usage, along with their burial conditions. The exact  ’how and why’ particulars of their burial may never be known (unless some record exists in the archives in China), but we suspect these two items may have been among those known objects, which upon retirement from service when the new Emperor took the throne, were appropriated by eunuchs of the Forbidden City and ‘hidden away’ for posterity, or perhaps they were ‘discovered’ when the foreign industrialists routed the old railways through the Ming Dynasty tomb areas. However they were found, they are at least now safe and ready for their possible return home.

The three microscopic photographs above, taken at 10X, 20X and 30X microscopic power (as will be all the microscopic photograph sets in this article), will show much clearer detail than using the three common loupe powers, because we have a much wider field of view under the microscope, and much less shaky hand movement common to loupe usage. The three photos above show only a portion of the Chinese word for ‘Great’ in the reign sign; however, over the entire bottom surface we can see the pitting of the glaze, and glaze loss from extended burial. The main feature to be seen in the photos above, and which will be shown on many following photographs of both bowls, is the track of a tree root just to the right of the word Great in the first photo, and shown at greater detail in the following higher powers (look for a shallow depression in a Y-shape). What is easily discernible, in all three photographs, is the natural degradation and pitting caused by the tree root to this portion of the bowl from the root’s extended time of attachment to the high-fired glaze. The large firing bubbles, which are a natural condition of old wood-fired kiln pieces, will be seen throughout this article (some in clearer detail where the bowls, in some areas, took less damage from degrading conditions, which is exactly what one finds in almost all naturally covered and buried artifacts). Even old Tang Dynasty Sancai items, which have seen extremely degrading conditions, will have some portions of the smaller triangular crazing still shiny and with iridescence, while all around it will be degraded areas with potassium salts and a total lack of the fine outer, glass-like surface (this will be shown in future articles). It is also true that some glazes show more oxidation iridescence than others, due to their various components, burial conditions and associated burial objects, among a myriad of other conditions.

We are looking at the foot rim of the Chenghua bowl in the three above microscopic photographs. The high kaolin content and general quality of porcelain used in the making of this bowl is quite obvious, as is the lack of extensive wear often seen in more utilitarian items from the same period. As different colored sets were made  for each Emperor, one would expect to see less wear than what we find on daily use items; however, the bottom of the foot rim on both bowls are wonderfully smoothed, as they should be, and show the slight reddish tinge of an originally wood-fired Ming Dynasty porcelain of Imperial Factory quality. The trimming and perfection of the foot rim itself is another indicator of Imperial quality.

With the above three microscopic photographs, we find in an area on the side of the bottom of the Chenghua covered bowl many ‘tree-root-eaten’ areas like the example magnified above. This one was taken near the cloud decorations next to one of the celestial dragons. The trail the tree roots took in most portions of the two bowls were in the lower lying areas of the exterior of the Ming Dynasty’s famous ‘orange peel’-textured areas, as they generally took the path of least resistance. In our last article, we showed a root track on an old Indus Valley bead which went over two raised areas and through a shallow area. It does occur; however, on this much younger glazed burial bowl, the tracks seem to have preferred following the lower areas. In all three microscopic photographs above, we can see not only the tracks the roots took but the natural pitting and degradation that has followed  after the root had eaten away at the glazed portions on the exterior. Both of the bowls we are presenting in this article must have been well-covered when buried, as the tree-root track growth occurs only on the exterior of the bowls. The interior of both bowls have deposits remaining from minor soil and water penetration, but do not exhibit these tracks, where the roots were free to roam over the surface in a natural way. The effect we see above can not be equally simulated by using any acids or high alkalis. Acids and alkalis will effect stone and jade items to differing degrees of depth, as they are not as homogenous (having harder and softer areas) as a cleanly-fired-on high-vitrification glaze. They also penetrate the jades to differing depths, which we do not see in the photos above. We have seen many replications of Song Dynasty and later items on which acids were used to produce a more matte finish, and all of the surface, under microscopic analysis, looks exactly the same and never has these natural tree- root patterns eaten through the glaze. We have seen the effects of acids to make an identical reproduction of an original Ming Dynasty porcelain (so as to replace one of a pair), but the one which was aged with acid, and the repaired top of the original, were completely homogenous in nature, and it could be easily discerned which was the original surface and which had been acid-etched. Many other microscopic photos to follow in this article will show other identifiers of natural age, so we start here and work our way through to conclusion.

The three photographs above, taken at 10X, 20X and 30X microscopic power of a minor iron particle (which can be seen inside the Chenghua bowl in the third opening photo of this article), examines the result of a slight imperfection in the initial cleaning of the porcelain, or an iron particle that was imbedded under the glazed portion before final firing of the bowl. Through use wear on the interior, with subsequent cleanings and burial, this slightly raised spot has been worn through to the point where the glaze was sufficiently thin to allow the iron particle to oxide with the moisture it had received over the years. Obviously, this is not an effect of acids or any other treatments, as the glaze next to the particle inside the bowl is in almost perfect condition, as can easily be seen in the large bubble areas around it. Acids or high alkalis would have dulled the entire surface to which they were applied.

In the above three microscopic photographs, we are looking at the only true damage to the Chenghua Emperor’s bowl. It is a slight hairline fracture which extends down from the top rim of the bottom bowl, approximately 1″ in length. We believe this small hairline developed at some date after the piece was first buried. The bottom-third portion of the hairline is ‘fresh’ and has no soil intrusion, and may well have been a minor continuation of the hairline after the item was recovered, as we find the soil-penetration in only the upper portion of the crack. This hairline has been stabilized using low viscosity Paleo Bond glue. On the top portion of the rim, we left an extra little drop of 100 viscosity Paleo Bond (seen in the photos above) for protection, knowing the bowl would be handled and inspected, and we wished to give it a bit of extra insurance while this was occurring. This extra drop can easily be removed by us for the final owner of the bowl, but in the meantime we prefer to keep this delicate piece of important Chinese history better protected. The low viscosity glue has penetrated the hairline, and we know of no finer stabilization solution, other than a re-fire of the porcelain itself, which presents its own set of risks, complications, and drawbacks, and we personally feel this is unnecessary, and would not benefit the item. There are no other chips or hairlines to either of the bowls. With the minor soil penetration seen in the photos above, it is assumed this hairline either occurred late in the burial (as burial for a longer period would have caused more side-to-side penetration), or the bowl may have sustained the fracture when it was exhumed long ago. From the condition of the cleaned surfaces, we expect this bowl has been out of burial conditions for many years now, well cared for, and most likely was sold as an urgent financial necessity rather than an actual attempt to properly market it.

In the three microscopic photographs above (and the three to follow), we are going to show a particular affect which occurs on this type of covered bowl. This style of bowl was used to serve food  (as with the Hongzhi rice bowl); however, the food served in this kind of bowl was not eaten directly from the bowl itself, but rather was scooped into the lid, and then eaten out of the lid, held in the hand. What we see above are old, natural scratches on the top portion of the lid, as it was the part which received the most natural wear from being used and set down again, over and over, while the bottom portion remained more stable as it was used only to bring the food to the dining surface. This type of wear use is to be found all over the top portion of the Chenghua Emperor’s bowl and the sides of the lid. The original wear, pitting and smoothing to the scratches is due to the repeated cleanings after the meal, which smoothed the scratches when washing and drying with cloth, and then again while underground, by natural wear that occurred from minor tectonic activity and degradation while in their burial environment. We have never seen this natural effect duplicated successfully in any of the hundreds of reproductions and restored areas that we have studied under microscopic conditions. Natural wear looks natural, and forced wear scratches always appear to be much more defined, with the look of fresh abrasion, being much more ‘jagged’ in appearance, resembling fresh sanding marks.

The three above photographs are of an area on the side of the lid of the covered bowl. What we are looking at is the same type of scratches we saw on the top portion of the bowl, the only difference being the angle of the photos, and consequently, the lighting is a bit different, causing the bright yellow of the glaze to appear a bit more faded. Again, we can see the natural scratches caused from the heavier use of the lid portion and their further degradation from burial wear, but the main aspect of these photos shows that not all of the scratches are going in the same direction. This is what we find on authentic artifacts – the scratches follow a much more random pattern than on artificially abraded surfaces.The other aspect seen in these photos is best viewed in the last of the three, at 30X power. While this bowl does not quite show the same oxidation iridescence as the Hongzhi Emperor’s rice bowl, we still can see the iridescence in the yellow of the high portions of glaze, above the old, worn, scratched areas. The natural pitting of the scratches shows up extremely well as we reach the higher power photographs, which by far out-perform what can be normally seen using only the usual 10 power loupe.

With this next set of three microscopic photographs, we again find on the top of the lid of the Chenghua Emperor’s bowl an area of the clouds, next to one of the five claws of the Celestial Dragon, which has the same type of naturally-pitted use-scratches, but with the addition of an obvious tree-root track running mostly in the opposite direction to the scratches. We know of absolutely no way this effect can be faked by any replicator, as they have never used microscopic drills and polishing tools, and then naturally aged the artifacts to this extent. Parts of the original glaze also show oxidation iridescence in the photographs above, giving us conclusive evidence of an original burial artifact. The wear and root growth patterns extend to all portions of the exterior of both of the bowls presented in this article – all in the same random patterns we see here, and all with the exact type of natural pitting one finds from almost all long-term burial items. Burial pieces from extremely dry areas of the furthest reaches of the old Chinese Empires will obviously show less root growth tracks, but they are still sometimes found on items even from the driest of regions.

The three microscopic photographs above illuminate an area of high iridescence on the Chenghua bowl lid where the original degradation, potassium salts and detritus still remain. The scratching we find in all three of the microscopic photographs above are from the cleaning of the bowl after it was removed from the burial surroundings. We can easily see the difference in these new cleaning scratches compared to the original, worn and pitted ones we saw above.

In these last three microscopic photographs of the Chenghua Emperor’s covered bowl, we are looking into the interior of the lid, which was the portion which was actually used for eating. What are seeing is very hard to see with the highly fired, blue-white glaze, and even harder to photograph because of the illumination from the florescent light around the microscope, but with an additional light we managed to capture enough shadows to show the very shallow scratching from the eating surface of the bowl. These scratches would be from both the utensils used while eating and from abrasion during the  cleaning process, after the bowl was used. While this last process is rarely considered from a layman’s viewpoint, it is a valid authentication method, as not all water used in the cleaning process of old porcelains was totally free of abrasive materials. It is also good to mention the difference in the depths of the outside scratches to those we see in the interior of the bowl. We would not expect to see the depth of scratches inside as we would on the outside of the bowl (and eating utensils such as bamboo or wooden chopsticks would abrade much less than metal, despite the high silica content in bamboo, although porcelain spoons were also known at this time), since it was the exterior that would have been subject to the heaviest abrasion from use, tectonic activity, tree root growth, water penetration and mineralization.

In these first three photographs of the Hongzhi Emperor’s rice bowl (on the viewer’s right in the first photo above), we can see the advances that had been made by the Imperial Factory in the brighter yellow (which almost matches the lemon yellows of the Kangxi to those of the Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasties), the more thinly-constructed walls of the bowl, and the finer incising of the designs (the discussion of which we will save for the final three photographs of this article). Also, very apparent is the much more common Imperial reign mark on the bottom of the bowl. Perfectly centered, exquisite calligraphy are the hallmarks of a true Hongzhi Emperor Imperial reign mark. The slightly cloudy areas seen in the reign mark (and are also on the sides in the green Celestial Dragons, fire and clouds) on the last photo above are only slight degradation from burial and original mineral deposits left from its cleaning. The microscopic photos to follow will leave no doubt as to the original burial condition this bowl had endured, the same as the Chenghua Imperial bowl addressed in the first portion of this article.

In the first three microscopic photographs above, taken on top of the Chinese word for Ming, we are looking at the glaze wear, degradation, pitting, and natural soil and detritus inside of the glaze loss. The obviously larger wood- firing bubbles of the period piece can also easily be discerned (under higher powers the microscope will actually penetrate the glaze all the way to the high-kaolin-content porcelain below).The glazing on the Hongzhi Emperor’s bowl was superior to that of the Chenghua bowl glaze, as many strides had been made during the numerous periods of advancement, throughout the entire illustrious Chinese history of ceramics and glazes; relatively speaking, significant advancements occurred in amazingly short period of times. The Chenghua Imperial pieces used by the father would have been made in approximately the year 1465 CE, and the Hongzhi Emperor’s Imperial pieces, used by the son, would have been made during approximately the year 1488 CE. In the following microscopic photos we will all be able to see the differences, despite the degradation due to natural burial conditions, made by some of these historic advances. [But for all the advances, which tend to cluster in times of peace and prosperity, there also come times of regression during war, invasion, and unrest; the arts are later brought back to life by the Chinese in their never ending attempts at perfection].

In this next set of microscopic photographs, we see at 10X, 20X and 30X the foot rim of an Imperial Factory bowl.The perfect trimming is much like the one we examined in the Chenghua bowl; in this case, the rim on the rice bowl is thinner and more exquisite in every detail. This bowl saw less use-wear than the covered bowl, yet it is still smoothed from slight wear and cleaning, with no artificial colorings added (the same as with the covered bowl above). In the last two photos above we can see an area where old dark red lacquer had gotten into the minuscule pores of the foot rim, and has remained there ever since. We believe these lacquer spots are original to the era and have been on the bowl since before burial, as they will not come off even with a high pressure water- gun blasting. Most likely they became attached through their use on an old red lacquer table and have now become a portion of the rim through adhesion. Under higher powers, the red lacquer becomes much more obvious, and at 90X you can view the lacquer all by itself.

Believing these two bowls may well have been from the exact same burial conditions, and may have been appropriated by the Palace eunuchs some 500-plus years ago (it is just too hard to believe that one man ended up with these two bowls from two different Emperors’ tombs), we see in the above microscopic photographs the start of what we believe were the same exacting conditions working on two different glazes. In the first photograph above (taken at an incised area of the Celestial Clouds), we see that minor scratching has occurred to the viewer’s left side of the photograph, with a tree root track crossing over, and then around it. In the following higher magnification photos, we can see the effect the tree root had on eroding the finer, shinier glaze finish of the Hongzhi Emperor’s bowl. The apparently more glassy finish to the bowl will be seen in many of the following photographs. The fine crazing to the thinner and glassier surface also shows the effect of long-term burial pressures (as this bowl was never intentionally crazed when produced). The iridescence we see on this bowl is also much higher on the remaining glassy surface where glaze loss, degradation and trailings of the same type of tree roots have removed portions naturally.

In the three photographs above, we are looking at an incised area on the Celestial Dragon in which the green glaze can be seen as being much thicker in depth inside the incised line (best seen in the first photo). This thicker area seems to have held its original shine and integrity more than the surrounding thinner areas of glaze. While there is still some crazing to this area, it is in remarkable condition considering its having been through burial conditions for such a long period of time. The section of yellow to the right of the incised line bears the marks of tree root tracks in the deeper ‘eaten away’ areas, and these appear to be very fine ‘feeder’ root tracks. The natural crazing to this yellow area between the root tracks can be best seen in the second photograph above. With their incredible natural oxidation iridescence, these photographs show just how beautiful an original burial porcelain can appear. Even with the degradation, mineralization, and natural wear, these items have a special power of their own, not to mention the important historical aspects of both of these exquisite bowls from the famous Imperial Kilns of Jiangdezhen, made exclusively for Imperial use.

Even though these wonderful bowls, when gazed upon with the naked eye, show high glazing and wonderful shine, it is in these types of microscopic photographs that we can view them in their true conditions. As this is a microscopic study, this is what you truly see on old burial artifacts when viewing under clear, higher powers. In all three of the microscopic powers above, all the true iridescence, crazing to the glaze, root tracks, original burial soil, and detritus can be well discerned. Even the minute flaking of the exterior glassy portions of the glaze can be easily seen in the second and third photos above. These effects show aspects of authentication of old porcelain artifacts that have not been duplicatable by the replicators of any age.

In the above three photographs, we are looking into the interior of the Hongzhi Emperor’s rice bowl. As with the inside of the Chenghua Emperor’s covered bowl, we would expect to see use-wear on the inside. The surprising aspect of this particular bowl is that  it does not show as much extensive use-wear as his father’s covered bowl; however, it does have ample wear to verify the bowl. As seen in the photographs above, it was either more gently used, or not used as frequently during the Hongzhi Emperor’s reign. Whether the Emperor preferred the other colors of his sets more, or as suggested before, more gently used in this period, we do not know. However, the scratches found inside the bowl are original to its period, as can be determined by the obvious iridescence which can be seen best in the last photo above at 30X power. In the first photograph above, we can also see one of the incised decoration lines, just above the scratching, which will be highlighted in the final photographs of this article.

In these final three microscopic photographs of this article, we are looking at a portion on the rim of the Hongzhi Emperor’s bowl (just found after many viewings, while I was taking these photographs) which shows what we would most definitely consider an utter impossibility to fake. It is an area which can be viewed best directly under the microscope, as the field of view is larger than those taken in the photos, and the bowl can be rotated slightly to take in the entire original, worn fingerprint, which can still be well discerned in the three photographs above. The natural curving lines of the fingerprint can still be seen, as can all the subsequent wearing away of the depressions left on the bowl more than 500 years ago. These lines are most definitely not scratch marks that have been worn away, as under the microscope they have all the characteristics that are to be found with original fingerprints, which occur on artifact pottery throughout the ages. It was truly a wonderful discovery, and a very exciting one for any verifier of artifacts to discover. It is doubtful this fingerprint has ever really been seen, even in the past, as it lies so subtly on the rim of the Hongzhi Emperor’s bowl. The three following photographs will not be microscopic, but are taken with our regular camera and lens and will be the last three of this article.

With these last three photographs, we show with back-lighting the exquisite incising on the Hongzhi Emperor’s rice bowl. While the same type of incising was used in the making of the Chenghua Emperor’s bowl, the extreme fineness and magnificent workmanship of original Ming Dynasty Imperial Jiangdezhen porcelain, made especially for the Hongzhi Emperor, shows the advancements made in such a short period of time, as mentioned before.

In closing, it has been our extreme pleasure to be chosen to verify and authenticate these marvelous two pieces of truly Imperial Porcelain, and also to be chosen to represent them. It has been our further grace to have met a man such as Mr. Rieger who placed so much trust in us, not only for the authentication, but for just being the kind man he truly is – unassuming and gracious to a fault.

All regular photos taken with Canon EOS XSi using Canon EF 24-70mm f/2,8L Lens

All microscopic photos taken with Canon EOS XSi under microscopic power

David Fredericks — Yulongwei

Timeless Jade

Timeless Artifact