This very rare and unusual fine quality moulded "kraak" porcelain dish was made toward the end of the Wanli reign (1573 - 1620) of the Ming Dynasty at the famous Jingdezhen kilns. It has a scalloped cavetto and the underglaze pattern is a deep blue. The central design features a butterfly and a grasshopper on a rock within an attractive landscape. The pattern surrounding the cavetto is most unusual and dishes with such a bord...
This unusual blue & white porcelain bowl was made during the mid to late 16th century c.1560-1580. The outer surface remains undecorated whereas the inner surface is particularly elaborately decorated. In the centre is a standing bird, most likely a crane (a symbol of longevity), together with various plants and blossoms. The surrounding wall is decorated with a pattern featuring lotus leaf panels and tassels.
This is...
This attractive porcelain dish, or shallow bowl, was made during the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1127 - 1279). It is coated in a finely-crackled pale greenish translucent qingbai glaze, save for the rim and flat base that remain intentionally unglazed. To the small flat base is a Chinese character in fired-on black pigment that most likely represents a name.
The upper surface is decor...
This fine and attractive deep porcelain bowl was made in the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1127 - 1279). The inner surface is decorated with an unusual moulded floral pattern whilst the underside is decorated with a repeating carved leaf pattern. It is unusual for both upper and lower surfaces of a qingbai bowl to be decorated. It is coated in a delicate and finely-crackled pale green qingbai glaze, save for...
This very rare and fascinating pottery jar was made around the 13th - 14th century during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) or possibly the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) and has been excavated from a Buddhist site in Yunnan province, at the time a particularly isolated part of China. It is made from a relatively highly-fired grey pottery the surface colour varying in places from pale to dark grey although much of t...
This fine, impressive and very rare pair of pottery vases was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8) or possibly a little earlier. They are of a particularly pleasing and elegant form, the wide bodies rising up from the flat bases, then constricting into long slender necks and finally opening up into fairly wide mouths. They are quite "heavily-potted" and made from a dense fine-grained dark grey pottery, the surface o...
This deep bowl is stoutly potted, being rather heavy toward the base, with the wall thinning gradually to the slightly flaring rim. It rests on a tall, thick footring, with a deep base that is glazed down to the dense, white porcelain paste that is exposed with some kiln grit adhering. The design in underglaze cobalt blue is of chrysanthemums, grasses and three stylized bats. The interior has a broad unglazed ring around the bottom to allow it to be stacked during ...
This fine and impressive pottery jar (hu) was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a fairly high-fired reddish pottery and coated in a particularly attractive glossy thick streaky green and finely-crackled glaze, the colour of which varies according to its thickness. Interestingly, the drips of glaze to the mouth rim and the pooling of glaze to the flat base show that this jar was fired upsid...
This fine example of a painted pottery ding was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is a large example of its type, made from a fine-grained grey pottery and relatively highly-fired, having a distinct ring when tapped. The lower part stands on three long curved legs and has two curved square-cup handles on opposing sides. The upper part is adorned with three moulded appliqués (horses with ...
This very rare pottery model of a duck was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is "heavily-potted" and made from quite a high-fired grey pottery. The duck stands with its neck and wings stretched, as if in the act of preparing to fly. Note the detail, especially to the wings, with the tiger heads. The style and decoration suggest this model was based on a bronze example. On the surface in places are the ...
This impressive pottery model of a warrior was made over 2,000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is made from a dense grey pottery and quite highly-fired. He stands alert with his right hand raised. The pack on his back, a container for arrows, shows that he is an archer. In the hands would originally have been placed a miniature wooden shield and weapon, now long since rotted away and lost....