What You Are Buying

What they are

• Works of art in traditional styles. Bronzes in the classic censer forms, a gilt-bronze figure in the Himalayan manner, carvings in pale and green hardstone, scholar's objects, and paintings and calligraphy on paper mounted as frames and scrolls.
• Offered as decorative. Every piece on this site is sold as a decorative work of art. We think they are good pieces for real rooms, and we describe them as exactly that.
• One of a kind. Each is a single object; sets are described as sets. There are no editions.
• Sold as photographed. Each piece arrives with the frame, mount, box, wrapper or stand shown in its photograph, and nothing else unless we say so.

What we do not claim

• Age. We do not assign a date, a dynasty or a reign to any piece, and none should be inferred from its style, surface, wear, patina, mounting or box.
• Maker or authorship. We do not name a maker, a workshop or an artist for any piece. Signatures, seals and inscriptions on the paintings and calligraphy are described as they appear; they are part of the object, and we do not offer them as a record of who made it.
• Reign marks and labels. Several bronzes carry cast marks, for example a six-character mark reading Da Ming Xuande nian zhi, and one box carries a paper label reading Qianqing gong cang. Marks and labels of this kind are common on pieces made in the traditional manner, and we describe them as marks and labels only. They are not offered as evidence of date, origin or provenance, and we make no claim that any piece was made in the reign or kept in the place they name.
• Material grade. We describe materials as they appear to us: bronze, gilt bronze, pale hardstone, green hardstone, lacquer, ink and color on paper. We do not certify a stone as nephrite or jadeite, an alloy, or a lacquer's composition. If a material matters to you, have it tested before you buy; we will cooperate.
• Provenance. We do not offer a history of ownership for any piece.
• Certificates. No certificate of authenticity is supplied, because there is nothing to certify beyond what is written here. Your invoice describes the piece in the same terms as this page.

Measurements, color and condition

Measurements are given on request, in centimeters and inches, and are accurate to within about a centimeter. Colors on screen depend on your display; if a particular tone matters, ask for a photograph in daylight next to something of known color. Wear, patina, small chips, earlier repairs and irregularities of surface are part of pieces of this kind; anything we would call a fault beyond that is described to you before you pay.

If we have got something wrong

If a piece arrives and is not as described here and on its page, tell us within fourteen days and we will collect it at our cost and refund you in full. That applies whatever the reason, and it applies to trade buyers too.