Catalog (37)

These roughly potted Jizhou tea bowls embody the Song aesthetic and have always been highly sought after. The body is of conical form and burnt ochre at the foot. The lovely calligraphic design has a lovely freedom to it. It is splashed on in a very painterly way, representing prunus blossom with a sketchily painted moon in the sky above. These Jizhou tea bowls, along with Jian Kiln tea bowls, were of the prized tea ceremony wares among Song literati. Ex. Tse collection, Montreal; Richieâ€...

A stunning piece of Qingbai porcelain like this one is rare to find nowadays. The glaze has a rich bluish green colour which offers a jade like effect. With its impressed lotus motif on the exterior of the body, this bowl is dated to the Yuan dynasty when these floral patterns were common. The incised design is very assured and full of vitality. Diameter: 15.5 cm. Condition: Good. No chips, no repairs. There is a firing crack to the rim, and discolouration to the exposed clay at the base. ...

With a lustrous, light blue glaze all over, this beautiful Qingbai cosmetic box represents the high standard that Qingbai porcelain achieved in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It is in the form of fluted chrysanthemum petals and on the cover there is a single chrysanthemum flower moulded in the centre. Diameter: 8.5 cm Condition: Excellent, no chips, no cracks. A museum inventory number on the interior of the cover. Provenance: Alderfer Auction, 2006. Price: USD $1500; CAD $1960 ...

This lovely, well potted Qingbai saucer dish with light green glaze has a central moulded decoration of two fish, swimming freely through aquatic plants. The pattern around the fish is known as Lei wen or yun lei wen (Cloud or Rolling Thunder/Cloud Pattern), it symbolized life (rain) and good wishes. Diameter: 14 cm. Condition: Good. There is some unevenness and discolouration to the rim where it would have been covered by a metal band. Price: USD $300; CAD $392 (13% HST will be applied on al...

This small but elegant late Qing Geyao vase is in double gourd (Hulu) shape. The green to grey glaze with a pleasing pattern of dark brown crackle lines, covers the whole vase, inside and out, with the exception of the foot rim. Size: Height: 10.7 cm. Condition: Excellent condition, with only light scratches to the glaze. Purchased in Hong Kong in 1995. Price: USD $260; CAD $350 (13% HST will be applied on all sales in Ontario.)

Diameter: 13.97 cm Condition: Good. Two Chinese characters marked at the base: Wu Zhai. Price: USD $120; CAD $160 (13% HST will be applied on all sales in Canada).

A must-have Qingbai porcelain piece. Diameter: 13.8 cm Condition: Good, no chips, no repairs. A small firing crack at the base.Price: USD $100; CAD $135 (13% HST will be applied on all sales in Canada).

Produced in the Kangxi period (1661-1722), this fine plate was intended for the export market and painted in the fashionable Japanese style. Jingdezhen's monopoly on porcelain production was broken in 1616 when Japanese potters at Arita figured out how to produce their own porcelain wares. These were exported to the outside world from the port at Imari, and their dramatic combination of underglaze blue with overglaze red and gold proved an enormous success. The demand for “Imari” wares was s...

A rare and unusual “Ordos” bronze pin from one of the nomadic cultures located on China’s north-western borders in the first millennium BCE. It represents a ferocious animal, possibly a wolf, standing on two orbs. The decorations on its flanks and neck indicate the animal’s hair. It may have been intended as a decorative ornament, or it may have been a tool used for leather-work. Length: 8.7 cm. Condition: Excellent, with a deep patina, and a small patch of verdigris. Purchased in...

The Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 AD- 589 AD) are often considered the most chaotic period of time in Chinese history. However, the cultural diversification of Chinese and Non-Chinese (mainly Nomadic minorities from the north and the west) inspired the arts and cultural creations which influenced the whole of China (Zhongyuan), including the funeral industry. This tomb figure is of a typical foreigner servant or groom, standing with a distinguishing hat that only the non-Han people (Hu...

Han dynasty potters were perhaps the most original and creative in the whole history of Chinese ceramics, and their work is still neglected and undervalued - a marvellous opportunity for the collector. This jar, which was made in the late Western-early Eastern Han period (1st century BCE-1st century CE) in the Jiangsu or Zhejiang area, has a full rounded body and a low cut neck which gives prominence to the mask handles. It is very “potterly” and surprisingly modern in appearance. The ash ...

A rare composite eye bead made during the Warring States Period, circa 481 to 221 BC. The composite type of Warring States bead is made with a thin layer of glass overlaid on a clay or ceramic material core. This one is in especially good condition. From every aspect the frame of rich brown intersecting lines creates an almost mask-like structure for the blue and white, or yellow, raised eyes. This elaborate style of bead was only made during a narrow window of time in Henan province. Dimensi...

A rare composite eye bead made during the Warring States Period, circa 481 to 221 BC. The composite type of Warring States bead is made with a thin layer of glass overlaid on a clay or ceramic material core. There are five small white glass eyes around each of the larger eyes which are made of stratified layers of blue on top of white glass. This elaborate style of bead was only made during a narrow window of time in Henan province and apparently never made again. Dimensions: width, 21mm; hei...

The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is shown standing on a lotus plinth rising from a four-legged platform, his right hand raisedin tribangha and a kamandalu ('holy water' bottle) pendent from the left hand. He is wearing a crown centered by a figure of Amitabha Buddha, and his head is surrounded by an aureole inscribed with flames, at the top of which another image of the Buddha emerges. This figure dates from the Northern Wei dynasty (6th century CE), and it’s remarkabe for the way in which, des...

This small but fine piece belongs to the Maklaiheung's QingBai Collections. About Qingbai Wares: "The special characteristic comes from the body, which is natural porcelain clay, and its glaze, which is made by diluting in water the porcelain body material mixed with lime." "Rims on qingbai bowls and dishes were also sometimes fitted with a silver band in the same manner as the Northern Ding wares, to cover the unglazed rims."- Gotheborg Condition: Good. No sign of repair or restorati...

A small Qingbai brush washer from Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). Dia: 12.7 cm Condition: Good. No scratch or crack on surface.

This is a fine purple-splashed Junyao jar with two small strap handles, Jin or Yuan dynasties, China (C12-13). As expected, it is heavily potted and it has a beautifully thick blue glaze. There is a purple splash to the front with the glaze endling unevenly at the foot and revealing the rich red stoneware body at the base. At the upper rim the glaze has thinned and been altered to a brownish green colour which is also found on the two handles. Ex: I.M. Chait. Size: diameter 13.5 cm, h: 13.8 c...

A rare green-glazed dragon-handled porcelaneous tripod vessel (Jiaodou) from the Yueyao kilns, eastern Jin dynasty. The head of the dragon is carved very expressively This is an extremely rare censer form that probably derives originally from a bronze shape; more examples have been found in bronze than in ceramics. The Yueyao kilns were the first in China to develop a porcellaneous body and glaze. The glaze on this example is typical of Yue production in the Jin period, a beautifully soft greyi...