Catalog (40)

This molded porcelaneous stoneware figure is covered in yellow, green and aubergine enamels with black underglaze feather details. The base is unglazed. It is in good condition with some soiling from age.

Height: 7 in.

This bowl is glazed in white overall except for the foot and base, save for a small bit of glaze on the base. The fine, white porcelain paste is exposed on the base.

Diameter: 4 ½ in., Height: 2 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.

Probably made in the Longquan kilns, this bowl is of flaring conical form and has incised longitudinal lines on the exterior. The exterior is glazed in pale olive-green celadon and the glaze stops well above the foot. The foot and base are unglazed, exposing the light-gray porcelaneous body. The interior is glazed throughout. There is a small chip to the outer rim. Purchased in Kyoto, Japan around 1975.

Diameter: 6 3/8 in., Height: 2 ½ in.

This bowl is painted overall with a floral design in orange, green, and yellow enamels with black enamel outlines. The interior rim is decorated with a similar motif, and a single flower is painted on the interior base. The foot is encircled with double lines in underglaze cobalt blue and an underglaze cobalt blue design is painted on the base. The bowl has typical rim-fritting, and there is a small chip to the interior of the foot that has been repaired, and there is some expected wear to the enamels. Acquired in Washington, DC at Kenny and Higgins Antiques, around 1980.

Diameter: 5 7/8 in., Height: 3 in.

This jar is well-potted pinkish-orange earthenware that is covered in a deep green glaze that has degraded in places and developed iridescence from burial. The base is unglazed, as is the interior, revealing the place orange earthenware clay body. There are three spur marks on the rim from stacking in the firing. There are no cracks or restorations.

Height: 5 7/8 in., Diameter: 6 ¼ in.

These cups all have slightly flaring sides and are well-potted with thin rims. The sides are decorated with a repeating floral design in underglaze cobalt blue. The bases are glazed and the narrow footrings are unglazed, exposing the fine, white porcelain body. A hairline crack can be seen on the one of the cups, approximately one inch long, otherwise they are in good condition.

Height: 2 ¾ in.. Diameter: 3 1/8 in.

This melon-form biscuit porcelain pot is mostly covered in rich yellow enamel glaze with green enamel used to pick out the leaves and stem. A low foot with dark enamel glaze supports the melon on its side, and an opening is carved in the top to receive the water and brush. There is an old hairline crack that runs from the opening down the side for about an inch and there is a small chip on the side of the opening, but it is still completely usable as a brush washer.

Height: 2 in., Length: 2 5/8 in.,Width: 2 in.

This vase is painted in green, yellow, turquoise and black enamel on a pale aubergine background, depicting various dignitary figures in a garden setting. The interior is fully glazed white, having some minor pitting and small iron specks in the glaze. The base is unglazed with areas of light orange re-oxidation from the firing, and the fine white paste is visible around the perimeter. There is a spurious Zhengde mark in black enamel on the shoulder. Overall, the condition is very good having only some general soiling from age and use. There are no repairs or restorations. Acquired from a private collection in the early 1990s.

Height: 14 1/2 in., Width: 8 ½ in.

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 firing. The center of the interior base is painted with a seal in a double square. There is an old hairline crack from the rim extending down approximately 1 ¾ inches and also a small chip to the interior rim. Among bowls of this type, this one is comparatively large. Acquired in Indonesia in the 1960s.

Diameter: 10 in., Height: 5 1/8 in.

This shallow form bowl is decorated in a famille rose palette with vibrant overglaze enamels in the standard pattern known in the West as pseudo tobacco leaf. The form and paste of the dish is that of the Qianlong Period. There are some small nicks to the rim from use and a tiny rim nick infill. A small oval glaze crack shows on the front rim with a tiny associated restored chip. Otherwise, it is in good condition with only minor wear to the enamels. Acquired from an heir of the Ira and Nancy Koger collection.

Diameter: 8 ¾ in., Height: 1 ½ 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.

The slightly tapering form is sturdily potted and is enameled in grisaille with a bird perched on a wisteria branch amid roses toward the base. The scene, repeated on the broad sides, is reserved in a ground of yellow enamel. The narrow ends show two wisteria branches. This composition is known on other porcelains, all of which were commissioned for the Empress Dowager. The interior as well as the base are glazed white and a scrolling design in thin red enamel is painted on the four sides of the rim. The edge of the rim is gilded, but it has mostly rubbed to a pinkish tint. A key fret design in two tones of blue enamel surrounds the rim and base. The foot is unglazed and it was fired upon four tiny stilts, the remnants of which show neatly on the base. It is undamaged and in overall very good condition.

Length: 8 5/8 in., Width: 6 in., Height: 6 in.

This model of a granary, molded in two parts, has a removable lid that represents the thatched roof over the cup-like base. It is covered overall in a clear greenish glaze with areas of fine crackle and evidence of burial. The interior is unglazed, and the underside of the lid is also unglazed. This piece was used as an item of internment as an offering to the deceased for use in the afterlife. It is in very good condition overall, having small areas of red staining from burial. Acquired in Kyoto, Japan in 1974.

Height: 3 ½ in., Diameter: 3 ½ in.; Body Height: 2 ¾ in., Diameter: 2 7/8 in.

This small jar is decorated with auspicious symbols hastily painted in underglaze cobalt blue and covered with a thick transparent glaze of whitish tone. The base is recessed with the clear glaze partially covering it. There are two small chips on the mouthrim, some glaze crawling and loss to the shoulder as a result of the firing. A small lump of unglazed material can be seen on one side below the shoulder which is the result of another jarlet adhering to it during the firing.

Height: 3 5/8 in., Diameter: 3 1/8 in.

This molded earthenware vase is glazed turquoise and amber over the upper portion, leaving the lower portion and base unglazed exposing the biscuit with auspicious symbols of animals and various other elements. The glaze stops at the mouth rim and the interior is unglazed. The turquoise glaze covers various floral designs while the one panel of amber glaze on the flaring upper body reveals a human form, probably a scholar official. There are some old chips from use around the foot and some small glaze flakes overall typical of age, but generally in good condition having no repairs or cracks.

Height: 8 ½ in., Width: 4 in.

This figure of a guardian foo dog is of a natural rich brown unglazed ceramic with white glazed eyes, eyebrows, teeth, claws, and a line of spots on the spine. It is very well-modeled by hand with a highly expressive face and jaws. The chocolate-colored body is also offset by a black glazed mane and tail. The modeling represents an anatomically correct male. There is a loss to the tip of one ear, as well as the tip of the tail. The left foreleg has a clean break and has been restruck. Acquired from a dealer in California in the early 1980s.

Height: 9 ¼ in., Length 7 in., Width: 4 in.

This jar is incised all around the body with a bird and floral scene. A vine design encircles the shoulder, bordered by double incised lines. There is a small flower sprig on two sides of the neck with a single incised line encircling just below the mouth. The jar is covered inside and out with a pale blue-green clear glaze, stopping just above the footring. The interior glaze stops about one half inch below the mouth rim leaving the pure smooth white paste exposed, though now somewhat soiled from age and use. The base is glazed and the footring is neatly trimmed inside and out, leaving the dense white porcelain paste exposed. There is a small white drip from the kiln on the neck as seen in the photo. Some tool marks show up on the body as small divots under the glaze. A few pinpricks are also present from the firing. A very tiny nick on the rim appears to be a firing flaw rather than a chip. There are no cracks or restorations.

Height: 5 ¾ in., Diameter: 4 ¼ in.