Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Chinese (180)

This is a pair of glass bowls with saucers that are of a deep, even amethyst tone with high translucency. The pieces are molded, then turned, having highly polished interiors. The two bowls have well-carved pronounced footrings. The backs of the saucers retain the mold shapes, but with a glossy polish.

Bowls: Height: 2 ¼ in., Diameter: 4 ½ in.
Saucers: Diameter: 5 ¾ in.

This box is molded to resemble lacquered basketry—the cartouches on the sides representing finely woven panels separated by what would have been lacquer work. The top of the lid is molded with a design of a crane in flight among stylized clouds. The box is glazed overall, including the interior and the base, with an even-toned white glaze with a faint bluish tint. The glaze has a silky, flat sheen, almost having the appearance of marble. This piece was likely recovered from an underwater shipwreck site in the southern Philippines. Being many years underwater has contributed to the glaze texture and also to the preservation. Completely intact and in good condition. Purchased twenty years ago from a California collection.

Height: 2 ¾ in.; Width: 4 ¾ in.

This horse is carved in a very energetic pose with open mouth and neck twisted back over the left shoulder. The stone is a golden-brown tiger eye displaying the characteristic chatoyancy and having a few small whitish opal-like areas. The piece is well-carved overall with clear facial features and a very active pose with a high and even polish overall. The fitted stand is carved from jichimu (chicken wing wood) and was painted or lacquered black originally- with much of the pigment remaining. Both horse and stand are in very good condition.

Height: 2 7/8 in., Length: 4 ¼ in. Horse on stand: 4 1/8 in., 5 in.

Jar or bottle vase has a low neck with a flaring mouth and a spherical body supported on a footring. The mouth’s edge is clear glazed, showing the buff-white body. Glazed with a russet-brown rust glaze suffused with silvery-black flecks, that depending on the light, can yield tones from a metallic red-brown to silvery-purple. The footring is unglazed revealing a warm, buff-white porcelain body. Good condition, with no damages. Small flaw in the trimming on the foot is visible on the inside of the footring.

Ceramic articles with glazes imitating other materials and various special effects, such as the well-known tea dust glaze were popular in the 1700s. Rust glaze monochromes fit in this category though perhaps not seen as often as tea dust glaze pieces.

Height: 4 ½ in.; Diameter: 4 3/8 in.

Painted in thick blue enamels surrounding an overall floral pattern in pale green and turquoise. A cartouche with a design of a bird among flowers is painted in famille rose pallet on the two large sides. A hanging tassel design is on the two narrow sides. The lid rests on top of the mouth and is painted with a single open flower. The base is unglazed. There are two glaze chips on the shoulder and a crack to the interior collar of the lid. Otherwise good condition.

Width: 3 ¾ in.; Height: 4 7/8 in.; Depth: 2 3/8 in.

This miniature vase has a whitish / buff stoneware body that is covered in a clear glaze that has areas of discoloration from pale gray to an attractive yellowish tone, likely a result from long-term burial. Three comma-shaped decorations were swiftly brushed onto the shoulder. The bottom third of the vase remains unglazed, exposing the strong stoneware body. The footring and base are likewise unglazed, and an old sticker from the early 20th Century remains attached to the base. There is a small chip to the underside of the mouthrim. Purchased in 1985 from the estate of a Chapel Hill, NC university professor.

Height: 3 3/8 in., Diameter: 1 7/8 in.

This white jade is of an even pale celadon-white tone with a few small veins of light russet. It is carved in the form of a six-lobed melon standing upright and supported by four large leaves that emanate from a vine that runs beneath it. The vine is carved all the way through and flattened on the bottom to provide a stable surface for the stone to stand vertically. This white jade has an overall soft, even polish and is in good condition. Acquired in Charleston, South Carolina in the mid 1980s.

Height: 2 in., Width: 1 ¼ in.

This orange-brown pottery brush pot, possibly produced at the Yixing Kilns, is hand-sculpted to simulate an old gnarled tree trunk with various crevices, stumps of limbs and peeling bark. It is incised with two Chinese characters, one in archaistic style, the other in cursive script. On the base, there is an impressed Guangxu sealmark. Though unglazed, it has an old patina from use and possibly remnants of colorless lacquer. The interior has somewhat darkened with age and use. The base is carved with three low feet, all unglazed and showing evidence of age and use. Very good overall condition.

Height: 4 ¼ in.; Diameter: 3 ½ in.

With an unusual European form, this oblong bowl with lid is decorated overall with a flower and butterfly design in shaded enamels on a white ground with an ultra marine blue secondary ground, as a banding around the lid and as a surround for the two flower cartouches on the bowl's exterior. A small turquoise band encircles the base of the bowl which rests on a flared foot. The interiors of both the lid and bowl are covered in a speckled, medium green enamel. The exposed metals rims are all gilded, though the exterior rims are somewhat rubbed and dulled. The interior metal retains its brilliant gold surface. The base is enameled white. Very good condition.

Length: 4 5/8 in., Height with lid: 2 7/8 in.

The stone is of a mottled celadon to a pale creamy tone. The interior well appears to have originally been covered in lacquer, with some remnants still visible. The stone retains a soft polish and patina from handling. The round base is slightly raised and the piece fits very very nicely in the hand. Good condition, no chips or cracks.

Diameter: 2 ½ in., Height: 1 ½ in.

This slender, attenuated brush pot (or possibly tool vase) of medium brown tone, displays a visible wood grain pattern on the exterior. The mouthrim and interior appear to retain the original surface. The base is worn fairly smooth from use. The exterior was probably refinished at a later time. The overall condition is very good with no repairs.

Height: 5 in., Diameter: 2 ¾ in.

This jade pendant is well-carved with a design of peony flowers and leaves in low relief. The carving extends to the back, though simpler and flatter. It is a deep green with areas of lighter mottling, but when held to the light, it shows a brilliant translucent apple-green. It has an old probably 14k gold jump ring for attachment.

Length: 1 ½ in., Width: ¾ in., Thickness: 1/16 in.

This tea pot is inscribed with Chinese characters on one side, and has a bamboo motif incised on the opposite side. The handle and spout are sculpted to represent knotty tree limbs, and the lid is carved with leaves and stems. The maker's seal is impressed on the interior of the lid. It is in good condition and was acquired from my grandmother's antique shop in the mid 1960s.

Across spout and handle: 7 ¾ in., Height: 4 ¾ in.

This semi-translucent turquoise cup has a flaring rim and a very slightly recessed base. It is unmarked and in very good condition. Acquired in Japan in 1975.

Height: 2 3/8 in., Width: 2 7/8 in.

Even, whitish celadon tone, intricately pierced and carved on both sides with a scene of a daoist immortal rowing his log craft over the waves. A crane flies overhead symbolizing wishes for longevity. The raft terminates in a pine tree. The pine tree along with a flower basket in the center, are symbols of one of the eight immortals, Lan Caihe. This plaque was original intended to be used as a pendant ornament. There are two small holes in both the top and bottom edges to permit a fine silk cord to be inserted for suspension. One side of the carving retains an old collector’s inventory label. The plaque was fitted at a later date with a carved hardwood display stand permitting it to be used as a miniature table screen.

Stone height: 2 3/8 in.; width: 3 in. Height with stand: 3 ½ in.

This semi-translucent stone is carved in high relief on the bottom in the form of a lotus leaf with pods and buds and stems. It is jade-green in areas and almost clear in others and it shows the numerous flaws running through the stone typical of so-called green quartz (actually fluorite). There are numerous chips and losses around the rim edges. It is accompanied by a fitted carved hardwood stand that has losses to two of its feet.

Length 7 in., Width: 4 ¾ in., Height: 1 3/8 in.

Carved on one side is an old gnarled pine tree growing out of a rocky outcrop. The vase is of a flattened ovoid shape with a rectangular foot that is hollowed to the base. The stone has a white jade-like quality, but is probably a type of serpentine. The tree is carved in high relief with some under-carving, giving it a feeling of being carved almost in the round. The stone is flecked with silvery inclusions and very light brownish veining in a few places. It retains its soft, even polish. There are a couple of very tiny, thought not very noticeable chips and wear to the mouth rim from use and age. Otherwise, it is in very good condition.

Height: 4 ¾ in., Width: 3 ½ in., Thickness: 1 ½ in.

This celadon jade cup has two handles, a slightly pronounced rim, and is set on a raised foot. The body is carved with three lines of raised knobs along the sides, with two straight, vertical handles on opposite sides. The stone is of a very light translucent celadon tone with a whitish patch that has a reddish-brown outline near the foot. The base of one handle has an indented and polished area, and a carved line under the overhang of the handle. The other handle has a more squared base, with no carved line under the overhang. A small dark inclusion can be seen on the interior well of the bowl. Overall, it is in good condition. Acquired from a Virginia estate around 1990.

Length across handles: 4 ¼ in., Diameter of bowl: 2 5/8 in., Height: 1 3/8 in.