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So, from my recent posts, it would be easy to conclude that level of my snobbery towards modern Chinese porcelains copying earlier pieces registers at 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. Actually, that’s not entirely true, which is why I’ve decided to submit this post.
It’s a complicated matter to decide if a modern piece emulating an older one qualifies as art, but art or not, that does not mean that a modern piece can not be appreciated for both its aesthetic beauty, as well as the skillful and technical execution of the creator who made the piece.
I simply feel that we need to draw very clear distinctions between the two in order to avoid potential exploitation of misinformed buyers.
With that, allow me to submit this simple, yet elegant porcelain teapot I own for your intellectual pleasure…
This teapot is a modern piece… quite likely post 2000. I did buy it in hopes of it being earlier, but the form doesn’t seem to line up with known teapots of the Yongzheng, nor the Republic.
However, the $8 I spent when I bought it about 2 years ago was certainly not wasted.
What puts this teapot a tier or two above many modern reproductions is as follows:
The quality of the porcelain is exceptional. It’s not quite milky white as a Yongzheng piece should be, but overall the paste is very high kaolin without impurities. The foot ring is silky smooth, and blind folded, I suspect the most hardened expert would think the piece to be of the period.
The decoration of birds on a fruiting branch, rendered in underglaze blue & red is both technically and artistically beautiful. The blues are rich and piled, the reds are controlled and show qualities of genuine peach bloom, and the overall scene is both playful and sufficiently detailed to hold the viewers attention.
Close up, you can see the piece was well fired, quite possibly wood kiln fired based upon the bubbles.
Finally, the attribution to the Yongzheng by the mark is well deserved. The balance of decor and open space sings of the beauty of Yongzheng design. The mark is perfectly centered and correctly oriented.
Will this teapot one day be considered a masterpiece of the 21st century? Maybe, but I recommend that no one should endeavor in making a decision to buy pieces like this on the hopes of future financial gain.
Isn’t it enough to be worthy of keeping because it’s beautiful? I say YES!
Side story… I gave the teapot to my daughter shortly after I bought it as she was looking to make some money for Christmas. She listed properly described for $150 Buy Now, and accepted an offer $100 from a buyer in Boston, MA.
The buyer requested to return the item because it “wasn’t Yongzheng period”. 🙄
I gladly accepted the piece back, and realized that the world wasn’t ready to accept modern interpretations as art quite yet.
In hindsight, I’m quite happy that the teapot remains mine.
For those attracted to modern Chinese porcelains, I say BRAVO! I encourage you to embrace modern porcelains, but at a reasonable price consistent with the aesthetic quality of the piece, and not in the hopes for future increase in value.
Tim
It might be the photo quality and lighting but the glaze just isn’t adding up to post 2000 for me. I think is older a few things stand out.
Nice teapot. It's almost in the styling of Wang Bu.
For $8......wow you can't complain. The quality overall looks to be very good.
I am not a lover or collector of teapots. But yours is very nice.
In most cases a giveaway with the perfect seal marks.
Mark
@imperialfinegems I know what you mean about a Wang Bu feel to it! I love his work!
Around 2015, I flew out to attend an estate sale in Houston of a socialite that had passed away. She was very active with the Houston Museum of Art's Asian department.
From her estate, I purchased a large B & W vase depicting birds, one of which is seen eating a dragonfly... very unusual. It had a 6 character Kangxi mark and of the late 19th c. I bought it for $600, a sizeable investment at the time for me, but I was sure it was an early work by Wang Bu (before he would sign with his seal), or perhaps by Bu's father who was also a porcelain artist.
Another Chinese buyer was ahead of me at the sale and got to it first, but didn't buy it because it had a 3" hairline, so I got it.
About a year later, I sold it at the Miami Beach Antique show for a sizeable profit, but I've never been able to determine if my belief that it was a work by Wang Bu was correct or not.
I dug deep into my photo archives...here it is... what do you think?
A nice vase. But fortunately for you it's not by Wang Bu. Same or similar styling.
If you carefully compare said with genuine works it will become very clear. His style is very distinctive and I might add exceptionally depicted.
Unfortunately I don't own any.
Mark
A exceptional brush pot by Wang Bu that sold at Bonhams in 2015 for a staggering $317,000.
A beautiful pair of vases sold at christies for $43,000 in 2019. Although attributed to the master. Not 100% sure but I think the vases Peter saw them from memory and passed it on to christies on behalf of the owner.
Mark
@imperialfinegems This article discusses Wang Bu’s apprenticeship and experimentation, and the use of Qianlong and Kangxi marks instead of his seal. Of course, this is all based upon attributions because there is not adequate documentation.
https://watersilkdragon.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/wang-bus-chrysanthemum-legacy-王步菊花遗产/
The examples you cite are masterpieces that represent his mastery of blue & white.
@greeno107 thanks for photo. 7 holes is a good indicator for 2nd half of 20th century. I was hoping to see 3 or 4
@greeno107 thanks for photo. 7 holes is a good indicator for 2nd half of 20th century. I was hoping to see 3 or 4
I wasn't aware of the holes as a indicator of product age.
Thank you Brian.
Mark
Early tea or wine pots tend to have only one hole. Or they may have a few in an irregular pattern and you can either see or feel that they have been made by hand. This one has a pretty standard pattern of holes, all regular sizes in a typical pattern. It is a useful way of assessing the pots if you are unsure from the external aspects.
An interesting clue. I have a 1958 dated teapot with 5 holes.
Birgit
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