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Hello,
I have recently bought the couple of chinese vases you can see in the pictures: on the front of both the vases there are hand-painted images and writings on the back; one vase has also a red seal but there are no marks on the bottom.
I suppose they have been produced at the end of the Qing dynasty but, please, I would like to know your expert opinion and, possibly, the meaning of the writings and also of the painted scenes.
Thanks a lot for your kind assistance and best regards,
Luciano

Link :2 chinese vases

The first vase you show has attribution in the last (far left) line as "Jiangxi (Provincial) product of Liu Jishun" (Jiangxi Liu Jishun chupin - 江西刘吉顺出品). I found some online discussion (link below) in a Chinese language forum of a vase made by the same factory, which was believed to be Republic-era (1912-1949). However, the use of simplified characters in the inscription sometimes invites speculation that the vase might date to a few years past 1949.

I couldn't make out the name of the maker in the other vase, but it looks to be about the same period.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :Chinese Forum

Vase 1 is not dated but is the product of a workshop named after Liu Jishun 刘吉顺。The poem is basically about the beauty of the women pictured. the characters at the top are in a stylized version of an archaic script that would have appeared on very old bronzes and are wishes for good fortune etc.

The second vase follows a similar format. It may be dated, can you post a clearer/closer view of the writing on the left side of your photo 15?

Hello,
Bill and Rat thank you so much to for your very interesting and expert explanations: I have looked also at the online discussion in chinese (getting a translation by Google) about a vase by the same factory.
I am still waiting for the arrival of my 2 vases but, as requested, I try to post a closer view of the writing on the left side.
Thanks again and best regards,
Luciano

I think this shows the maker's name as Zhang Jushun 张聚顺 but may have the middle character wrong, as nothing comes up on Google when I plug those characters in.

The first vase with the ladies on it is early republic circa 1910s, the second vase is late republic probably the 40s. The shape of both these two vases with the gilded ears are vindictive of republic porcelain. These types of vases were hardly made with marks on the bottom. They were not made to imitate or fool anyone into thinking they were older than they should be, thus no marks were needed. The red seal was placed on it because when you took the vase out of china it had to be approved by customs. This red seal was prob done in the 50s or 60s. The prices on these vases are not substantial. The first one is the better on of the two and could fetch about $400. The second one bc it has damage on one of the ears and the artwork is mediocore at best could get at most 150. Hope this helps.

Hello Sean,
thank you also very much for your expertise with the dates and also the worths (which could be useful) of these vases.
I have really so much to learn...
Thank you again and kind regards,
Luciano

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