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Hello users of this forum!
I bought this small object in a charity shop a few days ago. It bears a Wanli reign mark, and is (i believe) decorated in the "wucai" style.
I would like to know, if possible, what the shape is called, what it was used for and also how old it could be.
It would also be nice if someone could share how they came to their conclusions, since i am a young and inexperienced collector and want to learn.
Best regards, Philip
Hi Philip,
Your nice pot appears to be a miniature brush pot or otherwise sometimes named 'bitong' for the scholars table.
You're right that the decoration is wucai palette (meaning five colours of underglaze blue and overglaze enamel usually including yellow) although not always five are used.
The combination of decoration and shape of the pot make me believe it is later than Wanli as the mark suggests but more likely late Qing (19th/20th Century) when this apocryphal mark was often used on porcelain. For Wanli wucai I would usually expect the cobalt blue to be of a darker tone and the overall design to be more expressive. Despite my opinion of its later date it's a nice example.
Hope this helps,
Best regards
I think this is probably a small water pot, rather than a miniature brush pot, and I would guess from the decoration, especially the dragon, that it is modern.
tam
Hi Philip,
The best way to get an idea as to how a wanli wucai piece should look, is to carefully study peices on line, especially ones sold by the major auction houses, or in museums. Wanli dragons are fairly distinctive; they have a rather comically exuberant look like this:
I hope this is a genuine example! Look also at the claws, they are almost like a circle. The blue on your pot is very washed out, as sanderse says, it should be stronger on wucai and if you look at the mark and compare it with genuine examples (plenty on the internet) you can see that some of the characters are very badly formed and hesitantly drawn, like the double circle surrounding it. Also, the decoration seems quite cramped in an unartistic way.
I would also look at the bases on small jars and pots, they tend to have more of a usual, complete foot rim. Pay particular attention to shapes, I don't think this jar of yours is right for the period for something so small, it looks quite chunky and the porcelain looks modern. Try to go to local auctions and handle different pieces of porcelain. Regardless where they come from, old porcelains often do actually feel old and you will soon get used to looking at different aspects of the way they were produced. It is fascinating and I wish you luck.
Having said all that, I am pretty much a novice myself but I hope that if I have pointed you in the wrong direction, someone will come along and say so! 🙂
Best wishes,
Julia
Thanks for all of your insightful answers.
It not being a 400 year old mark and period piece doesn't bother me much, since i only paid 1 euro! Though it would be nice if it atleast was a later qing imitation rather than a brand new fake, but anyhow it won't leave my small collection any time soon.
Since you all seem to be rather knowledable, more so than my local auction houses, i might post other things from my collection that needs identification in the future.
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