© Ken Yap
1 - The love of money is the root of all evil.
Fabled tropical Chinese export porcelains of the former Straits Settlements of Singapore and Malaya – Chinese Peranakan porcelains, or nyonyaware as referred to by collectors and dealers - may not have universal appeal, but where there is appeal, you can be assured of even more frenzy than there is in acquiring cheap toys from fast-food outlets.
In the past decade or so, Chinese kilns have shown their mastery of the copy by replicating such wares to an extent that I was duped initially, that is until I questioned why reputable museums and respectable collectors have shunned these wares which are now so easily and relatively cheaply available. Absurd dogmas, puffed up narcissism, overzealousness, itching ears, blinkered vision and closed minds are dangerous things to have in the world of collecting.
Why do items in the personal collections of some attract ridicule, but similar pieces owned by famed museums and creditable collectors do not? Why are truthful opinions churlishly dismissed as spite or envy and valid reasons defensively brushed aside, but empty praise is childishly embraced with no questions asked? Why are arguments not consistent, working only one way but not applying across the board? Why blindly accept flattering assessment of Chinese antiques, but not of Chinese milk powder? Are the emperor's sycophants always the best judge of his new clothes? Little wonder then that sense and logic are five-letter words.
The purpose of this article is to document as honestly as possible what has been transpiring in the market and as such I start with a series of photographs. Can you tell which, if any, are the odd ones out?
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