Chu Chen explained, "To determine whether a piece is cowpea-red, you mainly look at its shape and glaze color. Cowpea-red pieces were never large. Any large piece could not possibly be cowpea-red. Moreover, cowpea-red had a distinctive color unlike that of any other porcelain. Even if you weren't an expert, it wasn't difficult to tell after taking a look. That alone could eliminate many fakes."
"Next, you have to determine the age of the cowpea-red porcelain—whether it was made during the Kangxi reign, during the Guangxu or Republic of China periods, or whether it was a modern imitation. There's a lot to pay attention to, and forgers have racked their brains to plant 'land mines' here."
"Generally speaking, there are several key points when authenticating cowpea-red porcelain. First, you judge its age from details such as the degree of oxidation in the base glaze. Second, you examine the period characteristics of the porcelain body. Third, you look at the mark. But the person who made this General jar was quite skilled. All three points were made almost indistinguishable from the genuine article, and at first glance, the glaze color also matched the real thing..."
At this point, Chu Junfeng interrupted Chu Chen and asked, "If that's the case, how did you tell that this thing was fake?"
Chu Chen smiled faintly. "I said it looked almost the same. There were still subtle differences from the genuine article. The glaze color was the same way: at a glance, it seemed genuine, but under closer inspection, it wasn't. Besides, its biggest flaw was that it weighed too much."
"Too much?" Chu Junfeng looked incredulous. "It should be impossible for porcelain to be made to exactly the same weight, right? Can its weight really be used to determine whether it's genuine?"
"What I