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Subject:Four Character Mark On Rice Bowl
Posted By: MLong Fri, May 19, 2017 IP: 97.122.98.87

I am hoping someone out there can provide insight regarding the four character mark on this lidded rice bowl. I think it is Chinese, but my father purchased it in either Vietnam or Thailand during the Vietnam War. I have been searching and searching, but it seems like finding a needle in a haystack. Please help if you can. Big Thx!





Subject:Re: Four Character Mark On Rice Bowl
Posted By: Bill H Sat, May 20, 2017

In Mandarin pinyin Romanization, the base mark on your bowl with "Longevity' character motif reads 'Ruo Shen Zhen Cang' (若 深 珍 藏), a Kangxi-period mark meaning 'Precious Collection of the Seemingly Old'. The mark originally was used on high-quality non-imperial porcelains commissioned by princes, aristocrats and rich bureaucrats who otherwise were forbidden to possess wares marked for the emperor's use.

According to Tran Duc Anh Son, author of 'Sino-Vietnamese Porcelains in Nguyen Period', this mark was among those used on porcelains ordered from China during the 19th century for official and private use in Vietnam.

Your bowl appears to have an applied protective metal band around its upper rim, which type of appliance quite often was installed by shops in Bangkok on Chinese export porcelains for the regional market. Whether these Bangkok shops were accommodating Vietnamese buyers is something that might be assumed but that I cannot say with certainty. On the other hand, while keeping in mind that Thailand had a well-developed ceramics industry by the 19th century, Sino-Thai buyers of the time still bought huge amounts of porcelain from China, and your bowl looks a great deal like a late 19th century Chinese-made piece.

If you'd care to read further about Sino-Vietnamese porcelains, check out the link.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :Sino-Vietnamese Porcelains



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