Newsletter No. 215

Information in this section can only  be accessed with CWEM password .   若要瀏覽本部分的資料， 請須輸 入 中大校園電子郵件密碼 。 • Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia • Prof. Peter Lam (left) and Prof. Lee Yun-woon (middle) inspecting a painting mo re a d v a n c ed the science, the mo re sophisticated the ways o f beating it. There h a v e b e e n c a s es w h e r e thermoluminescence dating results have been manipulated. The team also use their eyes because i t is the only method o f dating that is non- destructive. I n ceramics, f or e x amp l e, certain forms, textures, decorations, firing techniques, technical defects, and other stylistic features are specific to a certain period. To the trained eye, these 'clues' m a y be e n o u gh to p o i n t i n the r i g h t direction. Identifying Paintings Compared to artefacts like porcelain, the dating o f paintings and c a l l i g r a p hy cannot rely as much on science. A mo d em painter can 一 and this has been done — paint w i t h ancient ink on a piece o f M i n g Dynasty silk in his collection, then claim, w i t h the f u ll backing o f C-14 and mineral dating technologies, the w o rk to be M i n g. This leaves the appraiser little to rely on apart from his familiarity w i th the painters' w o r k s a n d a rt h i s t o r y 一 r e c o r d ed k n o w l e d ge o f the painters, their lives, periods o f turmoil, and most importantly, their brush stroke styles and handwriting. However, as Prof. Lee Y u n - wo on points out, even a good painter has his bad days, and works o f a painter's youth may be very different f r om those nearing the end o f his life. There was also a tradition o f asking famed personalities to write or paint due to their reputation and social status rather than their artistic prowess, and ma ny o f such works might have been done by ghost painters or calligraphers. Even seals can b e u n r e l i a b l e : C h i n e s e p a i n t e r , c a l l i g r a p h e r , a n d s e a l - c u t t er W u Changshuo's (吳昌碩） s o n was said to have stolen his father's seal wh en y o u ng and stamped it on his o wn wo r k. Consultation for CUHK Staff M o s t o f the objects the team have identified for staff members are porcelain and decorative items. To avoid abuse o f the museum's professional expertise for commercial profit, the team provide only verbal o p i n i on on the dating and artistic merits o f the objects. Verbal reports can o n ly serve as a private reference for the o w n e r a nd do n ot h a ve c o mm e r c i al validity. A l l staff members bringing their objects in for identification are required to s i gn an u n d e r t a k i ng b e f o r e h a nd to protect the museum's interest. So far, the team have shattered more dreams than fed them. Mo st o f the items brought in have been fakes, and in most cases, the experienced gaze o f the experts has been sufficient i n d e t e rm i n i ng their authenticity and dates. This has saved a lot o f unnecessary expenses. H a v i ng an item C-14 dated in Florida or TL-dated in H o n g K o n g w o u l d c o st t he o w n e r HK$4,000 to HK$5,000. It is probably not wo r th the effort i f your jade bracelet was cut out f r om a Seven-Up bottle. Piera Chen 3