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Hello,
I hope to know something more about the vase with the Tongzhi mark in the attached pictures(I'll add other pictures).
It should be a 'famille verte' pottery, about cm 50 high and square based, with a painting for each one of the 4 sides, 2 showing warriors and 2 scenes with figures (maybe from the traditional Pekin theater?).
On the bottom, near the mark, there is also a triangle with the number 39 (you'll see it as soon as I am able to add other photos).
Please, what do you think about this vase and do you know which is the meaning of those imagines?
Thanks a lot for your kind help and best regards,
Luciano

Judging from the brassy gilt on the lion masks and variances from traditional Chinese painting style in figural panels on the sides, your vase appears to be a late 20th or 21st century product.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Other pictures

The closer the view, the more the vase looks like a contemporary transfer-decorated item from Macao. Check the "Macau" listing at gotheborg'com for a similar mark with triangular border around a factory marking.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hello Bill,
thank you so much for your kind reply: I do not know when the vase has been really made but I am sure it is hand painted (to me, black lines included).
I have checked on Gotheborg-Macau but I have found 1 only example of porcelain marked also with number within triangle, without explanations: I supposed that mark 39 could be due to trade-export rules, for example to identify the factory, but mine was just an idea.
However, I publish other 3 photos and, anyway, if possible, I would like to know above all the meaning of the paintings.
Thank you again for your care and best regards,
Luciano

You might find it interesting to see how the patterns are laid down on porcelain at this decorating factory in Hong Kong, which was paid a visit by gotheborg.com a few years ago. Much of it is done with rubber stamps. Most of the hand painting appears to involve the application of simple washes.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :Overjoy Porcelain Factory

Hello Bill,
thank you for your considerations and for the very interesting link: I have checked and I have not noticed "junction points" on the paintings of my vase or bad centered designs. If the black lines were really printed with those kind of prints, it is really a good job but I have to suppose it has been really made in a such way.
By the way, I think also that at end of the XIXth century, when the demand of such items was growing, many factories used these technical solutions to increase their production.
If my vase is just a fake, we would have not found the number 39 in the triangle... to me, knowing more about this mark would solve definitely the matter.
Thank you so much anyway for your answers and notices.
Best regards,
Luciano

Luciano, I should add that there's no reason to believe your vase is a "fake" of anything, because it bears no great resemblance to any true antique that preceded it and is valued purely for its worth as a decoration. In fact, virtually everything about your vase can be taken simply as part of its decoration, including the Tongzhi stamp on the base. Gotheborg.com shows a range of Macao ornamental ware, some with the same kind of Tongzhi mark alongside the modern triangular factory marking. Gotheborg dates such items to the second half of the 20th century.

Good luck,

Bill H.

Hello Bill,
thank you also for your final notice which explains definitely this matter and... sorry for my poor knowledge.
Thanks again and kind regards,
Luciano

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