An antique specialist who allegedly sold a fake relic he claimed was 900 years old is being sued for almost 6 million yuan.

Collector Liu Jian, who has filed a lawsuit with Fengtai district court, is demanding compensation after discovering that his rare Ru ware is a crude counterfeit knocked up in a workshop.

Mao Xiaohu, 60, who runs the Beijing Huaxia Ancient Ceramics Appraisal Institute, sold him the piece for 3.87 million yuan in March 2004 after being introduced by a mutual friend.

According to documents he provided, the relic had been jointly authenticated by the Chinese Relic Appraisal Center and Chinese Ancient Ceramics Appraisal Center. METRO could not find any details about these companies on Tuesday.

"After I bought it, many people told me the bowl wasn't the right style and I began to worry," Liu said in a telephone interview. He hired five ceramic experts from the National Palace Museum to evaluate the so-called relic in 2005. Liu said they pointed out Mao had previously approached them with two similar bowls, which they had told him were counterfeit.

After receiving no response from the police, Liu hired State-level experts to write a report on the forgery, which prompted authorities to detain Mao for 15 days in August 2008, according to court documents.

Zhao, an employee at Mao's company who did not give her full name, said the firm had "no knowledge" of the lawsuit and had received no citation from the court.

"We are an appraisal company and never thrust our hand into the relic business as an agent, just as a referee never plays the game," she added.

Ru ware is considered the most rare Chinese ceramic and is highly regarded for its quality, subtle colors and simple forms. It was the first made for the Chinese imperial court and was produced for just 30 years until 1127, when the Song Dynasty (960-1279) fled to Hangzhou, now capital of Zhejiang province.

Until recently it was believed only about 40 pieces remained in existence, with almost half in British collections.

Collector Liu said his case highlights the "chaos" in appraising relics in China.

Zhou Yongmei, an associate director at the China Association of Collectors, an NGO, said it is hard to set a standard in his field.

"Some experts give appraisals for profit, which may explain why some fakes are being authenticated," she added.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/08/2011)