SOLD. Antique/Vintage Porcelain Parrot, Chinese Republic (16945NRE)

Description

After the Qing dynasty fell in 1912 and was replaced with the Chinese Republic, porcelain production declined in imperial kilns but was revived in Southern China’s Jiangxi Province which made high-quality finely designed Chinese-Republic porcelains in private kilns. With few restraints, they produced more colorful pieces with unique Western shapes and styles. These late Qing, Republic Period and even later 20th-century porcelains are now recognized for their top-quality, clear white finishes, striking glazes and clever designs and have become highly collectible, fetching higher prices. Parrots with vivid coloring have been revered since earliest times and portrayed as ceramic roof tiles, stand-alone images in jade, ivory and porcelain and used as a decorative motif on ceramics, textiles and paintings. In feng shui, they are said to draw positive energy, repel negative energy, symbolize opportunity, be the bearers of good news and, like other birds, represent freedom, long life and the wisdom that comes with old age. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Pure Land Sutra states that the Western Paradise, where enlightened begins go after death to prepare for nirvana is inhabited by parrots and other rare birds to benefit those who achieve rebirth. This piece is part of the VA Antique-Chinese-Ceramics-and-Pottery Collections.

Sources:
Ong Hean-Tatt, Chinese Animal Symbolisms, Selangor, Pelanduk Publications, 1997.

C.A.S Williams, Outlines of Chinese Symbolism & Art Motives, New York, Dover Publications, 1976.