The Chinese and Asian Art Forum. For Fans, Collectors and Dealers.
Basic Rules For the BidAmount Asian Art Forum: Talk about whatever you want. You can even discuss and offer things that are for sale if they are authentic. Maximum image file size per post is 2 MB. Images of 700pxl x 700pxl are optimal if saved at a medium resolution. Be respectful of others and enjoy yourself. Click the YouTube link for a brief tutorial on using the forum. You can also EMBED Videos by cutting and pasting from You-Tube, Vimeo etc.
NOTE: To post an item or add a new post, click open the category title from the FORUM LIST, and CLICK the Blue ADD TOPIC button.
A Japanese Arita “Three Friends of Winter” dish.
Two interesting attributes:
It has an increasing level of blurriness as you approach the edge. I am guessing it was spun on a wheel at low speed while the paint was still wet. Looks very centrifugal. I guess this is just a type of style? Probably even has an obscure Japanese word for it.
It has a rather large bent-in spot on the rim. Maybe it was pushed up against another plate in the kiln. The bent-in area, I think coincidentally(?), is at the exact bottom of the dish. Almost accidentally like a barber’s dish, but not that extreme. And on the outside of the bent area is a defect where at it apparently had to be separated from another dish.
Mid or late 19th?
In the same style as the dish in the link below. But probably worth under $100...as opposed to the $3000 Nabeshima.
Todd
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21786/lot/2191/?category=list&length=10&page=19
take it with a grain of salt
Hi Todd,
The Bonhams bowl is beautiful, but I confess I had to look up the meaning of shakazara thinking it referred to the tone of blue. After a bit of looking I am assuming it is actually shaku-zara meaning large dish? Is that correct?
Which neatly brings me to what I wanted to ask and that is how big it is? I know there are those lovely animals in the photo for perspective, but I don't know how big they are. 😆 😊
I like your dish, it is very lovely with the bent side. I am not sure about the age. If it is a big dish, I may go for the slightly later date you gave because of the blue-ish tone to the glaze. Possibly also due to the smudging, not sure why I am saying that last bit but I did have two bowls in those shades of glaze, not as large or nice, but they dated around 1900.
If it is smaller than I am thinking, it may be older owing to all the spurs, but my feeling is later 19th c.
Julia
Hi Julia,
I admit I don’t know the meaning of shakazara either. If you found “large dish” as the meaning, you did better than I did. I googled it also, upon viewing the Bonham’s piece, and only noticed that it always seemed to be connected with Nabeshima. I gave up rather quickly, and found no other information. I do know that zara is a suffix that is attached to types of dishes in Japanese. So I guess the Shaka or Shaku is the mystery. Perhaps you have solved it.
Yes, the tigers are for perspective, but why I would think people would know the size of them, I don’t know 🤣 . The charger is 14” exactly.
I agree with everything you say about the age. The shade of blue does not seem to be an older one. And the style, for me, does not match early 19th century either. Ten spurs is a bit unusual number for a 14” dish, but absent any other evidence, late 19th seems correct.
I’m always surprised by the details you pick up, Julia. In this case, its the glaze. You are right, it is a distinguishing thing. It is thick and pooling and of a certain color. I have seen it before also, but not sure which of my dishes I am thinking of. Maybe it will come to me.
Todd
take it with a grain of salt
And there was me thinking I was the only one who didn't know what it meant. 🤣
Thanks for the sizing, I am glad you are thinking the same way. I am pretty sure we are in the right ball park: is that the same as a wheel house? I had never heard of that but I am never sure I use ball park correctly either, but hopefully you know what I mean.
I am sure Michael or Mark will tell us otherwise if they disagree - about the dating not those expressions! 😊
I was going to say the best way to phrase it would be, “we are in the ballpark”. Removing the “right”. But actually, I think your way is fine too.
Wheelhouse is a bit different. In baseball, it refers to a power zone. If not baseball, it usually means an area of expertise. Maybe an area of the mind which is powerful?
Both of these are very American expressions, and very male also. Which is why I feel ok expressing “advice” to you, Julia. In most other cases, I think the advice should be flowing in the opposite direction 😋 .
take it with a grain of salt
Hi Todd,
I asked Peter about an Arita charger I had purchased, with a similar blurriness to the cobalt pattern towards the rim. He dated it at 1890 to 1915. I think the blurriness indicates that the decoration on the edge slumped towards the middle a little during firing.
But the glaze is bluer on you plate. Also, the cobalt blue decoration is much darker and more pleasing in color--it's pretty washed out on mine. So, not sure if the blurriness alone is a good indication of date...
Charles
Hi Charles,
I really like your dish. The bird is drawn quite nicely.
Your explanation regarding the blurring hadn’t even occurred to me. So, gravity simply worked its magic on the design before it had dried. That makes perfect sense. The flat areas are unaffected. My theory of it being put on a wheel seemed very strange even to me...a curious thing to do. But I thought, ok, artists can be odd 😋 . Thanks so much for the information, another piece to the never-ending puzzle.
take it with a grain of salt
Hi All,
Nice dish. Think the so called blurriness is just an accident of the kiln maybe to hot or to long. In the west it's called flow blue there is an apocryphal story that one of the English manufactures in the very early 19th c opened their kiln to find all the blue and white china had seemingly been ruined as all the blue had run and as a result the decoration was very blurry. The pottery concerned was facing disaster until one of the directors came up with the name flow blue. Every single item sold at a premium and the pottery never looked back once they learned how to make the mistake again but on purpose this time.
As far as your dish is concerned others have posted about the shade of blue assume they are pointing out that it is chemical blue have to take their word as on my screen and with my eyes I can't really see if it is Chemical blue. If it is you have a not before date it is widely accepted that by about 1875 chemical blue was in widespread use. That shape to the rim is most likely done on purpose for use as a sort of handle makes it easier to pick up. I have seen it on slightly smaller dishes where the opposite side is pushed slightly downwards so pointing out and the dish could be used as a scoop for rice.
Nicely decorated with the classic 3 friends good antique dish made for pleasant daily use and not a connoisseurs cabinet so if it was mine would not be to worried about an exact date.
Nice find.
Michael
Latest Post: Huanghuali ? Our newest member: Pierre Jordaan Recent Posts Unread Posts
Thanks for visiting "The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art"
If you sell on eBay, or have a shop feel free to post images and descriptions and links.
Check back often for discussion about the latest news in the Chinese art and antique world. Also find out about the latest Asian art auctions at Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams and Tajans.
Auction results for: fine porcelain, ceramics, bronze, jade, textiles and scholar's objects. As well as Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian cultures.
Thank you,
Peter Combs
Topics and categories on The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art
Kangxi vases, Kangxi dishes and chargers, Kangxi ritual pieces, Kangxi scholar's objects, Qianlong famille rose, Qianlong enamels, Qianlong period paintings, Qianlong Emporer's court, Fine porcelain of the Yongzheng period. Chinese imperial art, Ming porcelain including Jiajing, Wanli, Xuande, Chenghua as well as Ming jades and bronzes.
Join the BidAmount Chinese and Asian art discussion board and forum today
The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art
A free Asian art discussion board and Asian art message board for dealers and collectors of art and antiques from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the rest of Asia. Linked to all of the BidAmount Asian art reference areas, with videos from plcombs Asian Art and Bidamount on YouTube. Sign up also for the weekly BidAmount newsletter and catalogs of active eBay listing of Chinese porcelain, bronze, jades, robes, and paintings.
The art of calligraphy - and for the ancient Chinese it certainly was an art - aimed to demonstrate superior control and skill using brush and ink. Calligraphy established itself as one of the major Chinese art forms during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), and for two millennia after, all educated men were expected to be proficient at it.
The Museum’s collections of Asian art span nearly five millennia and encompass the cultures of China, the Himalayas, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. In 2007, the Museum launched an initiative to create dedicated galleries for the collection, beginning with a gallery for the arts of Korea ...
Chinese art is full of symbolism, in that artists typically seek to depict some aspect of a totality of which they are intuitively aware.
China Online Museum is the finest online museum of Chinese art. It features Chinese calligraphy, painting, ceramics, bronzes, carving, and other artworks.
Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. Overview Upcoming auctions Contacts Auction results ... Christie’s sales of Chinese ceramics and works of art showcase centuries of Chinese history. Held throughout the year in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong, they attract a wide audience of collectors and connoisseurs vying for pieces as diverse as ...
Explore Asian Art Week. Contact the Specialist Department. Chinese Paintings ... Senior Specialist, Head of Sale. [email protected]. Tel:+1 212 641 5760. Bid in-person or online for the upcoming auction:Fine Chinese Paintings on 10 September 2019 at New York. Bid in-person or online for the upcoming auction:Fine Chinese Paintings on 10 ...
Discover an abundance of must-see art from all corners of a vast continent at Christie’s NY Asian Art Week. From contemporary classical and Chinese paintings to works with exemplary provenance from the Art Institute of Chicago, our Rockefeller Paza galleries will be full of ancient treasures and contemporary masterworks in a salute to the vibrant arts of Asia.
Sold to benefit The Art Institute of Chicago’s Asian Art Acquisition Fund, the sale features 84 lots with a focus on Ming and Qing porcelains, and offers a rare insight into the taste for collecting Chinese ceramics and works of art in the Midwest from the end of the 19th century through the 1980s. Highlights include two Wanli wucai garlic-head vases, a Qianlong mark and period, blue and ...
Specialist, Chinese Paintings, Christie's London Dr Malcolm McNeill is a Specialist in Chinese Paintings at Christie’s, based in London. He previously worked as an assistant curator of the Chinese collections and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as a researcher at the British Museum, and as a translator and tour guide at the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The Christie's Education 2020 Conference: The Chinese Art Market 18 Jun 2019 Christie’s Education is delighted to announce our first international academic conference in Asia which will take place in Hong Kong from 26-27 November 2020 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will run in parallel with Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn Auctions.
The summer Chinese Art sale in Hong Kong will feature works of art from several private collections, including Qing porcelains and textile from the collection of the legendary Chinese art dealer A. W. Bahr (1877–1959), fine gilt bronze Buddhist sculptures from an old Hong Kong collection, an East Asian collection of Qing dynasty wine cups and jades, and a Japanese collection of Song ceramics ...
Sotheby's Chinese Works of Art Department holds two auctions each year in London, New York, Hong Kong and Paris.
Chinese Art - View Auction details, bid, buy and collect the various artworks at Sothebys Art Auction House.
With more than 340 Chinese works of art dating from the Neolithic to the Republic periods, highlights of this sale include a selection of Qing Imperial monochromes from the collection of Arnold and Blema Steinberg, early ceramics from the Art Institute of Chicago and Chinese porcelain and works of art from the collection of Henry Arnhold.
Results: Sotheby's Asia Week achieved $52.4 million in six strong auctions, exceeding pre-sale estimates. With 76.5% of lots sold and 60.3% of lots surpassing high estimates, the Asian art sales at Sotheby's indicate continued collector interest in the finest works of art from China, India and and the Himalayas.
Today's sale of Important Chinese Art will proceed as planned with sessions at 10 AM and 2 PM EDT. Sotheby's will be monitoring the weather conditions throughout the day and will be available to coordinate alternative bidding options should conditions make it difficult for clients to attend the auction in person.
Bonhams Chinese Art department is renowned for offering the finest works of art representing the richness and breadth of China's artistic heritage, particularly Imperial porcelain, white and spinach green jades, cloisonné and Buddhist art. Specialised international auctions are held globally, including London, Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Bonhams : Chinese Works of Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. Please refer to our privacy and cookie policies for more information.
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars. We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. ... Chinese Art (US) General enquiries
Bonhams : Fine Chinese Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. Please refer to our privacy and cookie policies for more information.
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars Bonhams : Asian Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site.
Bonhams are international auctioneers of fine Chinese and Japanese art. We specialise in rare Imperial and Export Chinese ceramics and works of art, as well as Japanese ceramics, fine and decorative works of art from the Neolithic Period to the 20th century. View on map
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars. We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. ... Asian Art Bonhams. Work. 22 Queen St.