Gotheborg.com

FAQ about Gotheborg.com

  1. What is the Gotheborg.com?
  2. How much does it cost to use the gotheborg.com website?
  3. Can I ask you for help regarding things I am considering buying or selling?
  4. I use this site a lot, can I sponsor it in some way?
  5. What is the Gotheborg Discussion Board?
  6. Can I email you questions about porcelain?
  7. How do you know if something is genuine or a fake?
  8. Is it possibly to advertise on the gotheborg.com web pages
  9. How about copyright on things I send to the gotheborg.com web page or list?
  10. Copyright and legal disclaimer on service provided
  11. How do I get in contact with you?

1. What is the Gotheborg.com

Gotheborg.com is a private help and information page set in motion by the Swedish collector Jan-Erik Nilsson, inspired by his mentor Professor Bo Gyllensvärd (1916–2004), active in Sweden from the 1940s until his passing in 2004, and many others who selflessly have shared their knowledge and promoted scholarly interest in Asian Ceramic history and culture for its own sake.

Its purpose is to be an unbiased help and information page for collectors of Antique Chinese and Japanese porcelain and by this keeping alive a vast amount of tacit knowledge in this most difficult area of collecting.

The Public Gotheborg.com Main Site is managed solely by its owner, while the Discussion Board is run on a voluntary basis by and for its own members, while the technical costs are financed by a membership fee. The Discussion Board is commercially independent. No advertising is allowed. No user data is collected, used or secretly sold to anyone. The site is run on a single, dedicated and professionally maintained server of our own, located in Sweden.

It consists of a Public Part, and a members only Discussion Board (Forum).

  1. The Public Part features several thousand pages of information on antique Chinese and Japanese porcelain including a section with translated and dated Japanese and Chinese porcelain marks, a glossary of porcelain terms, a section on Chinese porcelain history, Chinese and Asian travelogues, Question & Answer pages, etc. The public part also outlines the history of the Swedish East India Company (1731-1813) and the excavation and rebuilding of the Swedish East Indiaman (ship) Gotheborg and her new successful round trip to China and back.

  2. The second part is a Discussion Board which by comparison dwarfs the public part, with currently some 360,000 pictures and supporting comments under about 100 different topics.

2. How much does it cost to use the gotheborg.com website

It depends.

  1. The public Part with its 1,000+ pages on Q&A, history, travels, visits to China, marks and Dictionary/Glossary etc. are completely free and open for public access. Knock yourself out. You can spend years here. Try our Search Engine - or Google - to find the best page.
  2. To access, upload questions to and participate in the Discussion Board you need to be a member.
    See the Membership Page for more info.
  3. To ask for private advice and ask commercial questions before buying or selling anything,etc., private consultation is available at a fee, use the quick email consultation form at Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain Quick e-mail consultation page..

3. Can I ask you for help regarding things I am considering buying or selling?

Yes. Use the quick email consultation form at Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain Quick e-mail consultation page.

4. I use this site a lot, can I sponsor it in some way?

Yes. One good idea is that you become a member of the Discussion Board. In this way you help keep the entire site on-line and you also get to know a lot of nice people with similar interests as you have. A number of different membership levels provide an opportunity to sponsor this site if you like to. More info here at our Sponsors page.

5. What is the Gotheborg Discussion Board?

The Gotheborg Discussion Board is a members forum, where all questions, answers and pictures are saved "forever" in a database. Right now (in 2023) there are 360,000+ pictures and commenting messages available for anyone wanting to just look up something of particular interest.

6. Can I email you questions about porcelain?

Yes, you can send email questions directly to me via the Ask A Question page.

7. How do you know if something is genuine or a fake?

It is only experience that counts. Any expert is only as good as the number of genuine pieces he has seen.

Every period has its particular history, aesthetics and technology. Usually anyone with enough experience can tell if a piece feels 'wrong' and does not follow and understand the technology and aesthetics of the period. Most people who make fake porcelain also don't try that hard. Usually it is enough for them to be able to fool tourists and amateur bargain hunters.

I don't know everything, but I have been around for quite some time, and if I am not sure, I will say so.

8. Is it possibly to advertise on the gotheborg.com web pages

No. Sorry but, no. To be able to give unbiased advice we have decided to not put ourself in a situation where we are depending on the financial support from any commercial entity, even if this is unfair to a lot of very serious actors. We just think that from an ethical point of view, we just need to be completely independent.

9. How about copyright on texts and pictures I send to the gotheborg.com web page or list?

If it is yours, the copyright remains with you. However, don't submit anything to the Discussion Board or site if you don't own it, if the pictures are not yours, if you are not comfortable with having the item at hand discussed inside and out, and if you don't want your text or pictures appearing in the list archive or at the gotheborg.com web site or in any derivate form that might occur. As the owner of this site, I must assume that I can publish and use whatever you submit even if the copyright is and remain yours.

10. Copyright and legal disclaimer on service provided

The sole purpose of all information found on Gotheborg.com list or web page are for entertainment or educational purposes only.

By accessing the information offered at the gotheborg.com list or web page you expressly agree that any use of the gotheborg.com list or web page is at your own risk. Gotheborg.com expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind. Nor does gotheborg.com make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of Gotheborg.com or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the Gotheborg.com discussion list or web page. Any user must evaluate and bear the risk associated with the accuracy or lack thereof of any content published on the gotheborg.com list or web page.

You also agree that you will not upload or transmit any content to the gotheborg.com list or web page that infringes any copyright or other proprietary rights of any party.

By submitting content in any form you automatically grant or warrant that the owner of the content has expressly granted gotheborg.com the royalty-free right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute and display such content in whole or part worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content.

Gotheborg.com is not responsible for any messages or their attachments intentionally or unintentionally violating any applicable local, state, national or international law, including but not limited to any regulations having the force of law.

How do I get in contact with you?

E-mail me at