The matter of how much damage and restoration is acceptable varies from item to item, some are more vulnerable to damage by nature of their shape and others by their use or purpose. Each item has to be evaluated according to it's age, rarity and desirability so that the collector or buyer can decide whether to accept the condition of a certain item or wait for a more perfect example to come onto the market. Price is also a consideration, sometimes even a badly damaged but scarce piece can be added to a collection at a sensible price if it fills a gap until a more perfect one can be found.

DESCRIPTIONS OF RESTORATION

The way that damage and restoration are described can vary to a large extent. There are no hard and fast rules about how certain aspects are covered and 'vagueness' seems to be the most prevalent policy. Luckily there are professional bodies such as the BADA, membership of which is only open to dealers with high standards of quaility and integrity.

In my experience the use of the word 'restored' or simply 'R' on the label usually means that the seller is too embarrased to detail the extent of the repairs, knowing that to do so will probably ruin the sale of the item!

A reliable dealer will do his best to list any areas which have had restoration work and write this on the bill of sale, along with an approximate date of maufacture for the item.

In the light of all this it is useful to have some understanding of how to detect restoration for yourself.

DETECTING RESTORATION

There is no restoration technique for pottery and porcelain which is totally undetectable, some may be almost invisable but there is always a way.

Teeth, Tongues,Lips and Cheeks and Noses!

When you watch experts examine a piece of pottery or porcelain for restoration you will see a variety of methods being used, from tapping against teeth, touching with tongue, lips etc' to detect differences in temperature or texture and even occasionally sniffing to detect lingering the smell of solvent's and paints.

Without exception using any of the above methods will only work if you use your own teeth etc' !

Keys and Coins

Very gently tapping with a small metal item such as a key or a coin will often show up an area which has been replaced with a composite material. For example if a figure has lost a hand and part of the arm which has then has been remade, there will be a difference in the sound given off when tapping the area. Start at the shoulder and tapping gently but consistently move slowly down the arm, when the sound changes from a clink to a dullish clunk you have probably found the begining of a repair. If the arm had only been broken and repaired say at the elbow then the clink sound will return as you continue down the arm to the hand.

This method is ideal for figures but can be used on other items as well.

Tranlucency ( porcelain only)

Plates, saucers, vases etc made of porcelain will often be translucent, any cracks or breaks which have been filled or painted over will be visable when the item is held against a very strong light. With some long necked vases it is even possible to hold a small inspection torch down inside the body of the vase, the light will show through and any repairs will be obvious.

Pins and other sharp objects.

It is very easy to detect restoration using a pin or sharp knife which will quickly show the difference between restoration (soft, like a painted surface) and fired porcelain (hard, like glass). To try out this method using a pin touch a painted surface such as a window frame or radiator, this will be soft and the point of the pin will drag on the surface. If you then touch against a piece of glass you will notice that the pin will glance off or glide along the surface. Unfortunately you may not be very popular if you try to use this method on somebody else's china!, but if you are very careful it should not cause any damage.

Ultra Violet Light

This used to be quite a good method of detection, the Ultra Violet Light would show any new paint which has been added, although it could be quite misleading as some restorers tend to over paint the area in order to disguise the begining of the repair and the end of the original, this meant that 'under the lamp' restoration could look much worse that it really was.

Many modern restoration techniques do not show under ultra violet.