A GOOD JAPANESE IVORY SNUFF BOTTLE FOR THE CHINESE MARKET, 19TH CENTURY.
These larger than usual bottles are based on the Imperial bottles made for the Chinese emperor Qianlong who reigned during the second half of the 18th century. This bottle was made in Japan and is superbly carved, as you would expect, with deep undercutting.
The squat basin covered with a thick blue-green glaze, heavily crackled. The glaze is so highly suffused with bubbles that it appears almost opaque. There is evidence of years of use though nothing detracts from the eye; it has a nice lustrous appearance from years of handling. The porcelain is dense and smooth and this would suggest an 18th century date.
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A LATE MING DEHUA BLANC DE CHINE KU VASE, 17TH CENTURY.
A beaker vase based on the classic ancient bronze ku wine vessel. The vessel is entirely plain except for two raised rings around the waist. The glaze is a mid ivory colour and is present within the flat foot-rim. Donnelly ( Blanc de Chine, Faber & Faber, 1969 ) states that the beaker vases with flat foot-rims date from the later 17th century, by the 18th c ...click for details
A PAIR OF CHINESE PORCELAIN DISHES FOR THE JAPANESE MARKET.
A pair of finely painted blue and white dishes made in China during the late Ming dynasty for export to Japan, specifically for use in the tea ceremony. The dishes have flattened rims that exhibit a little mishigui (insect eaten edge) where the glaze has bubbled and flaked on the sharp edge during the firing. This is normal for wares of this period and was ...click for details
A finely painted blue and white dish made in China during the late Ming dynasty for export to Japan, specifically for use in the tea ceremony. The dish has a flattened rim that exhibits a little mishigui (insect eaten edge) where the glaze has bubbled and flaked on the sharp edge during the firing. This is normal for wares of this period and was admired by Japanese c ...click for details
The vase of ovoid section with deep flutes and vestigial elephantine handles covered overall with a thick pale grey glaze exhibiting the black and rust crackle associated with the fabled Song dynasty Ge ware. Song Geyao was produced on a very dark body and this is imitated in this vase by using a deep brown iron dressing to the exposed foot. The vase dates from the Qianl ...click for details
AN ATTRACTIVE LATE MING BRONZE CENSER, 17TH CENTURY.
The censer is made in two parts, a Lohan, dressed in a rustic grass rain cape, sits in sublime meditation upon a water buffalo. The buffalo has a very expressive head with open mouth and raised tongue. I forgot whilst photographing that he also has the Sanskrit ‘Om’ character on his forehead within a radiating sun. I say ‘him’ for the buffalo as the sculptor has t ...click for details
A RARE CHINESE PATE SUR PATE TREASURE VASE, 19THC.
A scarce Chinese powder blue porcelain vase in the form of a cloth treasure bag partially closed with a drawstring to form the neck. It is decorated with applied white porcelain flowers. This unusual form is more normally encountered decorated in Canton with rose medallion style enamels. Mid nineteenth century.
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A super bowl, the lobed body painted with a flowering prunus tree surrounded by repeating panels of flowers, birds, pine trees and leaping carp. The outside painted with karakusa. Within the foot-rim is a four-character Chenghua mark. The painting is exceptional. Dates from the 2nd half of the 18th century ~ 1st quarter of the 19th.
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An ovoid vase ribbed to look a little like a gourd covered overall with a rich copper red glaze. The vase is heavily potted and in excellent original condition. The thick glaze is lightly crazed all over and has a slightly mottled appearance. The foot-rim shows evidence that the glaze has overrun and has been ground. Within the foot-rim the glaze is bluish white and crac ...click for details
