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Subject:Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: Loncar Thu, Apr 17, 2014 IP: 84.84.91.56

Can anyone tell me if this is real Kangxi bowl or just copy.Thank you





Subject:Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: rat Thu, Apr 17, 2014

copy or perhaps fantasy piece; fyi the mark says it is the Ming Wanli reign, not Kangxi.

Subject:Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: Samuel Tan Hadinata Sat, Apr 26, 2014

Think this way: People who copying do not do it for fun, they do it with intent to sell, for personal profit gain. They rarely make unusual thing, because it will be hard to sell. Mostly, they copy very popular items.
I am not criticizing above post, but I have lots of experiences judged by others too fast. It is very damaging, since many will set their mind there.
This is my experience, I also sell old silver coins. I posted photos in Coin Forum, some members condemn it right away as fake. But one "expert" willing to buy it for fake sample comparison, for over $1,000. It makes me wonder, what is going on? I show it to another reputable expert (face to face, that way I could "read" his face), and he said it is altered (somebody in the past stealing silver materials around edges), but the coin is real, old and rare. A good one will reach $5,000 to $7,500. After authenticated by PCGS, he auctioned for me, sold near $2,500 (including their fees). for coins, there is PCGS, ANAC, catalog and market price. For porcelain, just feeling and word of mouth. The key word here is REPUTABLE expert you could trust. But they are human, sometime made "mistakes" too.

Subject:Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: rat Tue, Apr 29, 2014

All good points. Googling "frog kendi" turns up some similar pieces and I don't know ceramics nearly as well as Chinese paintings, but I'm not confident this piece is a Wanli kendi.

Subject:Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: Samuel Tan Hadinata Fri, Apr 25, 2014

I can't precisely tell the color from this photo if it is the right Blue. It look too dark, but could be right, the cobalt penetrate the surface. The white color of kaolin is good.
A bowl definitely not, perhaps it is "Kendi" a cooler and drinking vessel, if the "nose" have holes. I never seen something like this before. Try to fill it up overnight if the water get cooler by itself. Let me know. Google Kendi, usually used in South Asia (Moslem areas) for thousands years.
A Kangxi definitely no, since Emperor Shengzu (1654 – 1722) belong to Ching Dynasty. The mark says Ta Ming Wan Li Nien Chich (Great Ming Dynasty Wan Li Emperor Zhu Yijun [at 9] 1572 - 1620). It is roughly around 100 years older than you thought.

Subject:Re: Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: Robert Sat, Apr 26, 2014

Appears to be a kendi (water pipe). Frog or Toad-form kendi were made in the late Ming, most probably for export to south Asia. See attached for a comparable one.







Subject:Re: Real or Copy Kangxi Bowl
Posted By: Samuel Tan Hadinata Sun, Apr 27, 2014

Make sense that they are made for export goods.

Kendi were very popular in Asia, especially South East Asian countries.

People put Kendi out on a pedestal next to street side for passerby to drink. At home to provide cool drinking water or to serve drinks if they get visitors. Also to carry clean water during long voyage over land or sea.

Kendi was used to carry Holy water from the sacred river for Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies. People use it as cleansing or symbol of purification.

I have seen Muslim people washing hands, feet and face before going to the Mosque.

People provide drinking water in a Kendi to Buddhist Monks (or Hindu Hermits), then, their devotees will bring him foods and offerings. You could see it in relief of Borobudur. http://rooneyarchive.net/articles/kendi/kendi_album/kendi.htm

In traditional wedding ceremony, after the groom breaks the raw egg with his right foot, the bride cleans the groom's foot with the water from Kendi. Then the bride throws it to break. Shows that she is pissed. Sorry, just a joke, I don’t know : ).
http://www.expat.or.id/info/weddings.html

In Burials tradition, people left Kendi in the grave as furniture to accompany the dead.

Due to above usages and their shape, I have seen many with broken spout, people replace them with metal. That makes me think it makes more sense, since there is an unwritten rule that you don’t suck or touch the spout, but let it flow in a stream into your mouth. Some Kendi was design with a “belly” spout to make the water swirled, makes the water cooler. Metals, such as Silver, Copper, Brass or Nickel have Oligodynamic effect, self disinfectants and microbiocides used to purify handles like door knobs and drinking fluid. Eating utensils in the past are made out of silver for that purpose. I heard people in the past, purified milk by dipping silver coin to it. It is logical to make it out of above named metals. Do you know why I know a lot about Kendi? Because it is my work to reinvent ancient devices to help poor people in the world to get Passive process (free) lights, drinking water, solar cooking and affordable homes. I am going to mass produce "refrigeration" based on Kendi technology. Right now, I am preparing to go back to Indonesia in the near future. Fourth largest population in the world with territory as large as US, 17,000 islands, 127 active volcanoes (only erupted after 1900 counts) and almost 2/3 is ocean. Home of violent Krakatoa volcano, Tambora volcano, Banda Aceh Tsunami and dormant Toba Super Volcano. Which probably now replaced by Sinabung (next to it), starts erupting since last September after 400 years dormant.


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