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

It's not dynasty marks, I don't know what it is? Thanks

please show the rest of the object

Here it is...

Thanks for the added photos, the phoenix and dragon decoration suggests they were used in a wedding ceremony.

The mark is somewhat uncommon (your photo was upside down btw) and reads 新安俞乾生製, or "made by Yu Qiansheng (not an individual artist per se but a firm that took the name of its founder) of Xin'an." Plug those characters into Google and you'll find an array of items with similar marks. However, while they seem to want to be associated with late Qing/early Republic Qianjiang porcelain, your bowls seem to be neither Qianjiang nor late Qing/early Republic, more likely later Republic, though others can probably date them better than I can. Also a number of the pieces online seem to have marks that include your maker's name (though are not the same mark as yours), but are associated by their inscriptions with well-known Qianjiang painters. I think these are at best late Republic copies of works after well-known Qianjiang painters, or recent imitations of Republic items, but again await further input from others.

Rat, I'm really relieved somebody else could sort out all that seal script. I was about to wear out a new pair of glasses squinting at it.

I checked Gerald Davison's 2013 edition of "The New & Revised Handbook of Marks on Chinese Ceramics" and could find no trace of the mark or maker there.

The form of the piece is a bit odd in that the knop on its lid is bowl-shaped. Late 19th-early 20th century covered bowls of this type, which are called "Kat Mau" by Straits and other ethnic Chinese around Southeast Asia, almost always have tapered knops of the kind seen in the first of two photos below of a Guangxu mark & Period piece. I checked the Ho Wing Meng book on 'Straits Chinese Porcelain', which shows a multitude of antique Kat Mao, all of which seem to have the tapered knops.

The glaze on Tom's jar appears whiter and more perfect than the Guangxu piece, which has typical small imperfections showing on its base. The Dragon & Phoenix motif on Tom's bowl has an essential appearance more or less in common with the jardinière shown in the last picture, which has what appears to be a circa 1915-16 period Presidential Palace mark of "Made for the Hall where Benevolence Resides"(Jurentang Zhi). However, considering the glaze, the unusual knop and unevenness of painting on Tom's bowl, I would venture an opinion that the piece probably dates quite late in the Republic Period or even the early People's Republic era.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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