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hello, this beautiful antique vase was purchased in the 40 per family at an auction in London I can know which period belongs?, greetings.

the writing on the shoulder of the vase is a poem, no date or inscriber's name. that on the base is a false mark claiming that this vase belongs in the inner sanctum of the forbidden city. others will offer a more accurate date than I can.

This piece has a base-mark in Chinese of 'Nei Fu Dai Zao' (Made for the Inner Palace Receptions). According to 'The New and Revised Handbook of Marks on Chinese Ceramics' (2010, Gerald Davison), this was a mark found on early 20th century Sino-Vietnamese porcelains. Per my understanding, porcelains of this group that actually were made for palace use in Vietnam were of quite high quality, which does not seem to be the case with this vase, which appears simply to be a better piece of export ware. Even at that, the base looks like it might have been reglazed to accommodate the mark, which seems to be on or under a whiter glaze and written in a lighter cobalt than used for the motif on lateral surfaces. If family oral provenance is correct, and the piece was bought in London in the 1940's, it may have been made for the Vietnam or French Indochina market, but not for palace use.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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