Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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Blue and White Shard With Sail Boat.
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Whenever you find blue and white fine china on the Treasure Coast you might wonder if it is Kang Hsi (also spelled Kangxi). Kang Hsi has been found on the 1715 wrecks and shards associated with the wrecks are mounted as jewelry and sold at good prices. Whole cups, bowls and other intact works are, of course, more valuable, but scarce.
For a general overview of Kang Hsi, here is a good article. Kangxi Chinese Porcelain and its Reign Marks « (antique-marks.com)
So how do you tell if your shard is Kang Hsi or not. I've done a few posts on that in the past. See for example The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 12/29/13 Report 1715 Fleet Kang Hsi Porcelain, European Pot Shard & Native American Shard and The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 5/29/19 Report - Book on 1715 Wrecks. Kang-Hsi Or Not. Couple Odd Finds.
I often revisit topics as new examples come up and I learn a little more every time I research a new find. I add to my knowledge almost everytime I do another post on a topic, and that has definitely been the case with Kang Hsi. I hope you add to your knowledge too.
The shard shown at the top of this post is a new find for me. It isn't as easy to dismiss as many pieces, which are obviously not Kang Hsi.
As they always say, if you want to learn to identify counterfeit bills, study the good bills, so I'll first take a look at the piece that I am certain is Kang Hsi. It was found on a wreck beach, and I've studied it and showed it before. Everything about this piece is right, including the style of the design and the brush strokes.
There are a lot of hints on this small piece. Notice, for example, the blue line along the top edge. That is a common Kang Hsi design feature. Notice also how white broken edge of the shard is. The paste is very white and dense, and the shard is thin. All of those are good signs.
Here is another piece of Kang Hsi showing the same type of border line around the edges.
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| Kang Hsi Example From Internet Sale. |
The divided panels are also a common design feature on Kang Hsi.
Here is the broken edge of the Kang Hsi shard beside another shard, which is not fine china.
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Broken Edge of Common Blue On White Shard (left)
Beside Kang Hsi Shard (right) |
In this example, you can see the obvious difference between the nice dense white past used for the Kang Hsi as compared to common blue on white shard, which is not only less white, but also much thicker and of a much coarser material.
There is another thing you can see on the Kang Hsi edge even though you have to look closely. The paint extends into the paste. The paint on the Kang Hsi shard does not sit on top of the glaze like you will see on most porcelain.
Here is a magnified view of the rim of the new shard with the ship.
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| Rim of New Shard. |
It looks like porcelain here. At first it might even look like the paint penetrates the glaze, but what you actually see paint extending over the glazed rim.
Now looking at the broken edge of the same shard (below), you see that the blue paint sits on top of the glaze. You can also see some crazing
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| Broken Edge of New Shard. |
But just as revealing is the coarseness of the material. It is not nearly as fine as the Kang Hsi piece. It looks darker too, but it could be dirty. Looking at the Kang Hsi edge above where it is shown beside the other non-Kang Hsi shard, you can see the fine-grained very dense white porcelain on the Kang Hsi piece.
According to a Metropolitan Museum of Art article: Porcelain decorated only in blue pigment painted under the glaze dominated the export trade until the very end of the seventeenth century. The popularity of polychrome enameled decoration painted over the glaze seems to be a result of the growing interest in porcelain decorated with coats of arms. The first armorial porcelain was painted in cobalt blue only, and this monochrome palette made it extremely difficult to depict a legible coat of arms. Polychrome enamels allowed for detailed, accurate coats of arms, and the trade in armorial porcelain became the defining aspect of Chinese export porcelain in the eighteenth century...
Here is a link for much more of that great article
East and West: Chinese Export Porcelain | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org)
In conclusion, although the newly found shard is much more like Kang Hsi than most shards you will find, my conclusion is that it is not Kang Hsi. It is a courser paste, and you do not see the skillful brush strokes like on the Kang Hsi. It does not have the same soft transparent 3-D look. I'll have to study it more though. I'm not sure enough to throw it out yet, and I might still learn more from it.
What I can say is that I am now a little better informed and able to better appreciate it.
Kang Hsi can be confusing at first glance. It was much copied by the Europeans and the Chinese adopted European forms for export purposes, and is a complex topic.
Very often, the less you know, the more simple things appear.
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As you know, I don't sell advertising or monetize this blog in any way. In fact, I don't even promote the blog. The readership consists of word of mouth, return readers or those that simply browse or stumble on the site.
If you've noticed, the smart YouTubers collaborate. They know that by sharing with other YouTubers, they get more exposure and increase their audience. They reciprocate and prosper.
On the other hand, some people who want to increase their audience, guard their content so much that they limit their exposure and audience. If I wanted to increase my audience, I would be glad to have others post my content as long as they gave credit and the source. I added my 'for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report" line because one large heavily monetized site was using my posts for years without me knowing it.
When I post information from other sources, I post links and that increase the flow to the source site. I only post excerpts, so you have to go to the source site to get more information. I give credit to those other sources and increase their exposure and audience.
Back a long time ago I asked Sedwick if I could post some of their content. They said, of course, as long as I give their name. They know that when I post something from their auctions or literature, they get additional exposure. In fact, back years ago, they offered to pay for a banner to appear on my site, but I declined, NOT because I didn't want to advertise them, but because I didn't want to monetize my site. And they get exposure when I mention them anyhow, which is often.
Some people think they are guarding their content, by not giving permission to post their content, even when it means they are missing a chance to get additional exposure. They are not as business savy as Sedwick.
On the other end of the spectrum are the low-class thieves who scours the internet and read everything they can to find content they can lift to present as their own without giving any credit for the source. Copyists like that are not deterred by ethics or most intellectual property rights
There is a huge difference between the trust-worthy content providers that give credit and provide a service to other content providers, unlike those who simply steal whatever content they can to present as their own.
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Nothing on the NHC map yet. The Saharan dust seems to be keeping tropical activity in the Atlantic to a minimum.
The surf remains one to two feet on the Treasure Coast.
The salvage season has been good. Lots of good hunting weather and lots of good finds.
Good hunnting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
