Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board

I have a nice looking blue and white sleeve vase which has recovered from its former life as a lamp. Approx 13 3/4".

there is a yongzheng reign mark but i sense that it is late 19th C. or perhaps early republic. The blues are more vivid than i would expect from 19th C. yet there is a red staining on the flat unglazed foot which might be attempting to suggest iron of a previous dynasty. i seem to recall that quality problems infected mid 19th C. porcelains wherein iron was re-introduced into the clay but this red does not appear to be rust - perhaps an attempt to simulate or deceive.

finally the glaze seems to have a slight bluish-greenish tint though quite glasssy and hard.

does anyone have any reasoned opinions regarding the dating of this rather nice sleeve vase? maybe it just rolled out of jingdezhen.

ps. after further inspection, the dark reddish color which i thought might be iron is actaully residue from lamping days - the lamp base. the unglazed porcelain seems to be as white as the driven snow...

I would suggest that this is a very new vase. Sorry.

no sorry is necessary. it's a nice vase as i indicated, regardless of its age. i rescued it from being a lamp for very little.

nonetheless, i would be interested in why you think it's new. i go with a following respondent who thinks that it is early 20th. my reason is based upon tinted glazing.

i have seen many new lamps especially in our vast decorator ghetto in atlanta and do not recall seeing any this well done. but again it doesn't matter if it is recent.

Hi Tony,

Many vases are currently being produced as lamps in Maccao!...I suspect that yours dates to the late 20th Century and could even be, as you suspect New!

Very striking piece. Personally I would leave it as a lamp as that's where it's value would be!

Gary.

Hole in bottom and way characters written *around* hole tell you was made to be electric lamp, therefore no earlier than 1930s.

Probably sat on wooden stand, metal tube to hold electrical wire held by nuts/washer; tube ran up through metal piece at top, also secured by nuts/washer. If look closely, might see minor damage at lip from metal piece or trace glue.

Red coloring bottom could be stain from wood base.

Still, not bad imitation early 18th century sleeve vase painting except rocks/trees in foreground.

Good luck,
Cal

yes there is glue residue which held the apparatus you describe in place. the bottom two characters appear truncated by drilling rather than being applied around a pre-fab hole.

i guess i am not sure what a pre-fab hole and ad-hoc drilled hole would look like.

i will search for recent lamps to corroborate the new lamp theory although its found condition suggested not being recent - i.e. older than 10-20 years.

now the flat foot rim does suggest a designated lamp purpose, so i need to research feet on older sleeve vases.

thanks for the help.

Wether it has just rolled out of jingdezhen or not it is still a nice vase,i would guess early 20th cent.I think people put too much faith in marks its the quality of the item that should count,Yours has a nice landscape scene.Some of the 20th cent pieces are now fetching good money in Christies,Sotherby and Bonhams sales,you can check out the sales results on the web from London Amsterdam and New York.I am lucky to live in an old country England our sailors brought tons of the stuff back,i went to a sale of the contents of a large house owned by an ex sea captain you should have seen the porcelain,and this was just a small provincal coastal town.There is still alot of good items out there the average Antique dealer will tell me they dont buy Chinese because they dont know anythig about it.So keep your eyes out you only have to find one good piece!!

thank god someone else respects quality over age. yes age is nice but it is subservient to quality and aesthetics in my mind.

i bought this vase for a song at an auction because the lamp was decrepit, had an old cord, and the base was broken for which everyone saw it as a broken old lamp which could not stand up. i, like charlie brown's christmas tree, saw the beauty in that old broken down lamp and snapped it up. :D

Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board