When people want to collect a piece of art, the most important consideration is usually whether they ‘like’ the work. However, for collectors, the main concern is whether it is an authentic piece.

Dr. Ye Guo-Shin is the first Chinese PhD in art authentication and the first in Taiwan to have a British academic background. He is one of the few to have earned a doctorate in ‘Art Authentication/Creative Methodology’ and has also bridged the academic and practical sectors.

Due to his role as an authentication consultant for over ten global auction houses, he has seen and uncovered many art fraud schemes. The “forgery groups” are indeed real.

Having seen and solved many cases of forgery, Yeh has discovered a rule: when a piece is forged, the fake copies will flood the art market. When the number of forgeries increases, it signals that the art market is doing well.

The better the art market, the more concerned collectors become. He says, “Collectors are not afraid to spend money; they are afraid of buying fake goods!”

As a PhD in authentication, Yeh naturally has methods to identify forgeries. He uses the example of a common forgery method used by many galleries, where ‘inkjet’ works are created using an advanced ‘sensitive inkjet printer.’ By using period-specific paper, it is almost possible to fully replicate an artwork. If framed, it can easily pass as a real piece.

However, with the inkjet work, Yeh says, “if you use a 100x magnifying glass, you can easily spot the ‘red, yellow, and green primary colors.’ Ink wash paintings should not have these primary colors, and the ink diffusion is also unnatural.”

Based on this criterion, Ye points out that “woodblock watermarks” are harder to distinguish. Even with a microscope, you can’t see the primary colors because they are created with woodcut and then inked. However, just because it’s harder to distinguish doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Yeh says that since woodblock watermarks are not brush-painted but printed, they don’t have brushstrokes. Also, the quickly painted strokes, under a microscope, are not linear but granular. What’s more important is that the ink printed work will not show the gradual ink diffusion seen in calligraphy.

Another type of forgery is “authentic, yet fake,” he explains. This type of fake is most commonly seen in Zhang Daqian’s works. These forgeries are often paintings by Zhang Daqian’s students, passed off as his own. So, while the painting itself might be authentic, it bears Zhang Daqian’s seal, making it a forgery.

Using a student’s work is the best way to counterfeit, says Ye, because the technique, materials, and even the era are all the same. In fact, he knows a father and daughter, both famous for ink wash painting. After the father’s death, many people who sought paintings from the daughter insisted that no signature or seal be used. Later, it was discovered that her works were stamped with her father’s seal…

Ye believes that ink wash works are harder to forge due to the brushwork and ink diffusion. The harder it is to forge, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish, especially for ancient pieces like Ming Dynasty replicas of Song Dynasty works or Song Dynasty imitations of Tang Dynasty art. These forgeries are old, but such replicas still have collectible value today, “because the age is indeed long, and the works are genuinely good.”

Due to the high difficulty of forging such works, Ye says that collectors are more motivated to collect authentic pieces. From an authentication perspective, Ye naturally values whether a work is genuine. However, from the collector’s standpoint, while authenticity is essential, “liking the work is even more important!”

(Commercial Times [Tan Shuzhen])

Original news source: Politics, Business, Witchcraft—True! Fake? True…