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Subject:Re: ANTIQUE CHINESE VASE
Posted By: Bill H Tue, Aug 29, 2017
The iron-red base-mark, shown upside down, reads Made by Zhou Xiaosong (周筱松造 - Zhou Xiao-song Zuo). The last (left) line of the inscription reads down as the same thing, except using "Zuo" (作) instead of "Zao" for "Made by". The next-to-last line gives the production date as "Summer of 1920", rendered in cyclical form as "Summer of the Gengshen year" (庚申之夏 - Geng-shen zhi xia).
I believe the rest of the inscription, written in a larger hand, may be the same as seen on another vase by Zhou at gotheborg.com and translated there as follows:
"The old ink-stone allows not ink that stays overnight;
The simple vase holds fresh flowers freely placed."
Vases like yours and the verse inscribed on it would seem to be appropriate for use during the Qing Ming Festival in early April, when Chinese traditionally celebrate ancestors by maintaining or sweeping their tombs.
Best regards,
Bill H.
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