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The mark on the vase seems to say Ming Xuande but I doubt it would be. It is a good looking vase with foxing over the mountain scene. Thank you for any pointer.

I checked the Mainland China-published "Compendium of Marks on Historical Chinese Porcelains" and found on the approximately 12 pages of Xuande base-markings illustrated only three arranged in two stacks of three characters, like the mark shown here, that were not within double circles. Two were from Jiajing-period reproductions, and the other a Yongzheng piece. All were noticeably different in the characteristics of the calligraphy compared to the mark on your yen yen vase.

The foregoing admittedly doesn't do much to resolve your query, but another point of concern I have is the crackle in the glaze on your vase. If it results from the piece being low-fired pottery and not high-fired porcelain, as often is the case with modern fakes, perhaps you should do a weight comparison with another vase of about the same dimensions that you're certain is porcelain. A pottery vase will weigh considerably more than the porcelain, which is stronger and less bulky.

FYI, what you describe as foxing may be plain old ordinary filth that has been applied purposely to the vase to simulate age. It and the glaze pop beneath the mark are kinds of simulations that can easily be created to fool the eyes. A question that arises is why doesn't the glaze pop apparently not have a buildup of the same dark stuff that's found elsewhere on the vase.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thank you so much for your interesting and knowledgeable reply Bill. I knew the mark was not correct. It is lightweight with only 1 kg. Could the crackle and stains be the result of the vase being found in a shipwreck? It does show signs of rundown stains. I bought this vase in a small shop in Saigon recently and this is what I was told. The seemingly lovely handpainted details are primarily why we bought it. So do you think is is indeed a recent fake and it has no value? Thank you in advance.

You'd really need to find a shipwreck porcelain expert to answer those questions. Otherwise, my experience is that such staining usually relates to problems in the kiln. If it is under the glaze, the flow sometimes is evidence of blue & white transfer decoration, whence comes to term "flow blue".

Bill H.

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