Rare Chinese Ming Dynasty Blue & White Porcelain Bowl - Dragons & Fish

This rare and unusual "Swatow" (or "Zhangzhou") blue & white porcelain bowl was made during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573 - 1620). The underglaze blue decoration around the outer wall features two dragons. The inner design features four fish around the inner wall and aquatic (?) plants in its centre. It is coated in a thick glaze...

Korean Koryo Dynasty 13th/14th Century Glazed Stoneware Bottle / Jar

This attractively-shaped stoneware bottle was made during the 13th / 14th century. It has a wide round body, a short narrow neck and a cup-shaped mouth. The surface is coated in a finely-crackled olive-green glaze, the colour varying in places according to its thickness. In places where the glaze is particularly thin, it has degraded a little over time and flaked from the surface.

Height 20 cm (8 inches)...

Large Chinese Ming Dynasty Blue & White Porcelain Dish - Binh Thuan Shipwreck - Ex. Christie's

This blue & white "Swatow" porcelain dish was made during the Wanli Reign (1573 - 1620) of the Ming Dynasty. It is coated in a thick crackled glaze and decorated in underglaze cobalt blue that, unusually, due to firing conditions, has fired to a colour more like black than blue...

Chinese Ming Dynasty Glazed Pottery Ridge Tile - Lion Dog

This sturdy ridge tile in the form of a seated lion-dog dates to the latter part of the Ming Dynasty (c. 1600 - 1644). It is coated in a thick and finely-crackled attractive turquoise glaze. The curved underneath of the tile remains unglazed and has the impressions of a finely-woven cloth on which it must have been placed during manufacture.

Height 22 cm...

Swallows hold within their slender, elegant little bodies tender memories of my childhood in Greece - they are considered the most important harbingers of spring and symbolize regeneration, hope and the assurance that sun-filled days will always follow the darkest hours of winter. For the Victorians, they represented faithfulness and the promise of a loved-one's return and as a motif, they were widely used in sentimental jewelry...

Rare Chinese Ming Dynasty Monochrome Blue Porcelain Box

This rare porcelain box was made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) in the mid to late 16th century. The outer surface is coated in a dark blue glaze whilst the inner surface is coated in a white glaze. To the base are thick globules of crawled blue glaze.

Diameter 8.5 cm...

This purse would have had a shoulder strap attached and would have been used by an adult female of the Chinese Yi ethnic minority group. All hand stitched with cross stitching embroidery and other techniques, hand made cording (string) knotted across the bottom. The bag is lined with home spun had woven fabric made from "fireweed" plant. Back is unadorned.

piece is 12.5 inches across. light soiling from use.

Description: A Qingbai box with cover which decorated as a mandarin duck was painted with splashed russet glaze. In pale blue hue, beautiful crackles spread all over the surface. Date: Southern Song (1127-1279) Height: 5.5cm Condition: Touch-ups had been done only on the glaze in two parts separately at the rims of basin and cover.

Descriptions:
A Song Duan Inkstone was well preserved from excavation.

Date :Song Dynasty, 12th century.

Length :14cm, Wider Width:8cm.

Chinese Song / Yuan Dynasty Buddhist Pottery Zodiac Jar

This interesting pottery jar was made during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279), or possibly the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) and has been been excavated from a Buddhist site in Yunnan province. It is made from a relatively highly-fired grey pottery. The reddish-brown surface colour is from the iron-rich burial soil.

The jar has a flat base with marks left showing it was removed from the potter's wheel by a piece of string or wire...

Chinese Ming Dynasty Celadon Glazed Porcelain "Bullet" Jar

This porcelain jar was made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). It is very "heavily-potted": jars of this type are known as "bullet" jars due to their shape. They were made at kilns in Guangdong province as well as, possibly, other kiln sites. Many were exported and this type of jar can be found throughout South-east Asia, widely used for containers of salt and other foodstuffs and liquids...

Fine Chinese Ming Dynasty Blue & White Porcelain Jar

This fine small porcelain jar was made during the Wanli reign (1573 - 1620) of the Ming Dynasty, or possibly a little earlier. It is finely decorated in underglaze blue with a pattern featuring blossoming branches, the pattern having a dark outline.

Height 9 cm...

Rare Chinese Han Dynasty Burnished Pottery Bowl

This attractively-shaped bowl of rare form was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a fine-grained grey pottery and has a small foot and flared rim. The surface has been burnished smooth and its colour varies from pale to dark grey, a result of uneven conditions in the kiln during firing.

Diameter 15 cm...

Chinese Western Han Dynasty Painted Pottery Head (206 BC - AD 8)

This fine pottery head was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It has been "cold painted" in a base coat of white pigment on top of which have been painted pink, red and black pigments to pick out the facial details.

Height 10.5 cm...

Double gourd silk pouch with seed stitched calligraphy. China, c 1900. Height "6 ¼ / 15.5 cm. The inside with a paper label saying No 9 Peking China. Condition: to one side some residue from another label.

A burl wood peach tassel with a glass beaded ornament. The peach is a tremendous Chinese symbol for longevity as well as other auspicious attributes. Size: Peach. L.2.6cm. W. 2.5cm. Glass. L. 5cm.

Description: A toy whistler from Chang-sha kiln of Tang dynasty was kept well only with glaze degradation. It was molded and applied with brownish color and straw-colored glaze. Height: 5 cm

Chinese Song / Yuan Dynasty Buddhist Pottery Zodiac Animal - Horse

This unusual pottery model of a horse, one of the twelve animals of the Chinese calendrical cycle, was made in the 12th - 13th century, during either the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) or the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). It is made from a relatively highly-fired grey pottery with the details having been individually sculpted as opposed to having been formed by a mould...