Chinese Kangxi blue/white five Dragons porcelain Vase, mark and period. Height: 6.5 inches = 16.6 cm; Width: 5.6 inches = 14 cm; Weight: 1 lb. 0.8 oz. = 475 g. Authenticity: According to the shape, fading colors, tender network of craquelures, hand-painted dragons and 6 characters of seal mark, we can confirm authenticity of the vase. Very important were microscopic research at x50 magnification: we could see gas bubbles of different diameter. Provenance: Private collection in Sarasota, Florida, USA. General Information on Microscopic Identification. For a long time since the beginning, identification of ancient ceramics are only using traditional eye view method. But in recent years, with the help of science and technology, porcelain imitation level rise at an alarming level, and the traditional identification method is facing severe challenges. Today, to catch up with the rise of imitation, there are many methods surfaced for dating authenticity, and mostly are done in laboratory. All have different advantages and disadvantages. One of the cheapest method and can be done instantly and easily is through microscopic identification of bubbles. With just a good portable microscope with 60x magnification (recommended) or 200x magnification if you want to pin point, the world of microscopic phenomena reveals. Porcelain, after hundreds of years, changes occur and will certainly leave marks/traces on the inside of the glaze, and these marks/traces that we can perceive, can not be copied. Make up can only conceal the external. However, no matter how good the makeup artist is, still powerless if comes for internal substantive. It is known that varies of bubble size, layer, number, layout and color intensity, not only can give a good assistance to distinguish a genuine artifact from revival copy or a modern, but also can roughly determine various periods. Like for example, generally accepted conclusions, most Yongle (1403-1424) porcelain is characterized by 'large, medium and small bubbles in mixed layout' or Ru (1086-1106) is characterized by ‘very few bubbles’. Bubbles are present in all antique Chinese porcelain and the size, layout and number of the bubble varied greatly depending on the period the item was produced. It is correlated with the composition of the paste and glaze, moreover, composition of the paste usually has microscopic minerals in it like copper or iron which will oxidized further in the prolong of time and this morphing sometimes can be seen inside the glaze too. It is also correlated with pigments used for the decoration and the thickness of it. However, the different forms of fuel affecting bubble the most.
