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Hi, I would appreciate a lot if somebody could tell where this vase comes from.
It has a metal lid with lock and no seal at the bottom.
Thanks everybody

It would appear this vase is Chinese, based on the iconography used in its design. The horses may be the type called "Qianlima" (千里馬), or a steed capable of running a thousand Li in a day, with "Li" being an old Chinese measure of distance equal to about 360 paces. There is a "Precious Horse" that is a symbol in Tibetan Buddhism, said to move on the clouds and winds and able to travel great distances in an instant. Swirling clouds, as seen on this vase in whorls of iron red, are plentiful in Chinese iconography and considered to be auspicious.

The towering monolith between the horses is a stylized rock formation being inundated by crashing waves. This is a common icon found on the borders of Chinese porcelain. Others in this vase are:

-- Lotus flowers in the bottom border, symbolizing the cycle of life for Buddhists

-- Flurries of plum flowers amidst the swirling clouds, the flowering plum being a symbol of strength in the face of adversity

-- A beribboned ball on the vase's shoulder above the rock formation, perhaps representing the pearl or jewel, a symbol of Buddhist doctrine.

I've included photos showing examples of the cloud and rock symbols as they appear in different examples of antique Chinese porcelain of the late 19th century. Though the lack of a more comprehensive view precludes firm judgment, the jar you've shown here could date as early as the Qing Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hi Bill: Thanks for your clear answer, full of details, I enjoy to learn this way.
About the vase period, I think you are right, on the vase bottom there is a paper attached with "Kang-hi" written on it.
I will try to get more photos to show you the other half of the vase and the bottom.
Thanks again

Luis

Here are pics of a jar with a similar design that was posted on the forum some years ago and thought possibly to be from the late Ming-Transitional period.

Hi Robert;

Thanks for the pictures, incredibly similar! Ming or Qing??

Luis

Hi Bill: I took more photos, that you can see the other part of the vase, also the lid and bottom.

Thanks for your help

Luis

more pics

more pics

more pics

All those photos (20 of them) and not one of the top of the lid!
It may of been nice to see the latch? from the top angle..

Hi Steven: you are right. I am not used with photos uploading, and made the mistake to upload the same pictures twice! (or even more...sorry)
Here comes the lid.

Best regards

Luis

Hi Steven: you are right. I am not used with photos uploading, and made the mistake to upload the same pictures twice! (or even more...sorry)
Here comes the lid.

Best regards

Luis

more pics

more pics

The unglazed bottom of the vase shows circling lines from the potter's wheel, a characteristic also found in jars of the Transitional through Kangxi period.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hi Bill:

I was surfing the net looking for more information,
I´ve found an exhibition running at a museum in Mexico, (Museum of International Folk Art with New World Cuisine: The Histories of Chocolate, Mate Y Más) here is the information:

http://www.abqjournal.com/150411/entertainment/new-world-chocolate-food-of-gods.html

You can see there a celadon vase with iron lid, a "chocolate jar".

Here they say : "Intricately detailed Asian and European spice jars were retrofitted with locking metal lids in Mexico to protect the household’s cacao from thieves.
The beans had become so precious that counterfeit dark brown ceramic or pottery beans were sometimes slipped in with the real thing.
Later, Mexican potters produced chocolateros in the Mexican talavera tradition."

I¨ve found also this site , where they talk also about chocolate jars, there is a photo of a Talavera vase as mentioned on the previous link:

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/10703

I´ve found an additional couple of examples naming this kind of vases with iron lids as "chocolate jars", what do you think about it?

Could they be more "valuable" because of this fact? or just the opposite because they lack the "original" lid?

Best regards,

Luis

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