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Hoping someone can point me in the right direction on this pair of 10.5" tall vases.Both are incised/stamped "CHINA" on the bottom. The theme on one is bamboo but the other one has me stumped. There are eight "objects" surrounding the vase and I don't have a clue what they represent. A few look like musical instruments and one looks like two coins? Wish I could post more than three photos but here you go. Thank you for looking! Mark

Bamboo is a time-honored Chinese symbol, iconic of strength and resilience. Your other vase has decoration of the attributes of the Eight Immortals of Daoism, as follows:

The bamboo tube and castanets of Zhang Guolao (seen in middle image)

The fan of Zhongli Quan (shoulder of vase in top image)

The double gourd & crutch of Li Tieguai (apparently at bottom of top image)

The sword of Lu Dongbin

The lotus pod of He Xiangu

The flute of Han Xiangzi

The castanets of Cao Guojiu

The basket of peaches or flowers of Lan Caihe

Check out the link for further info on the immortals.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :Eight Immortals

Bill - I am so grateful for the information you are so gracious to provide. This site is very educational to me - thank you! Would you have any idea as to the age of these vases? I'm not sure when the impressed "China" was used? Would these be called Blanc de Chine? Relief molded? Thank you once again! Mark

Regarding the question of "Blanc de Chine", in the absence of any markings identifying your vases as being made at kilns in Dehua, Fujian Province, it would be problematic to call them by that name, which is identified exclusively with those kilns. Many white-glazed porcelain wares also have been produced at Jingdezhen in religious motifs.

Some experts might be able to cast opinions based on the glaze, but I'm hesitant to speculate from photos. That said, here for your comparison are photos of a libation cup of mine that I believe was made at Dehua in the 18th or early 19th century. It has a base-mark of "Wan", the Buddhist swastika, meaning "Myriad" or "Infinity".

While my camera's color register is seldom without error, since my "studio" is rather primitive, the New York Metropolitan Museum's excellent publication, "A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics", says Blanc de Chine "wares have a fine-grained, vitreous, white body that seems to have been entirely made from a pulverized local porcelain stone; it is embraced by a thick, satiny glaze that ranges in tone from milky white through warm ivory to a faint rosy hue.

Hope your glaze measures up on close inspection.

Best regards,

Bill H.

An impressed "CHINA" mark like this was applied to some Chinese porcelains from 1891 to about 1919.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Bill - thank you once again for your assistance and insight. Mark

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