Blue and white porcelain was extremely popular in China during the Ming and Qing periods and was made using a blue cobalt oxide to create designs on clay coated in white and covered with a transparent glaze kiln baked at a high temperature. Porcelain jar walls were made impermeable to assure they would not be penetrated by liquid. The kiln reached temperatures high enough to change its porous clay body, make it impenetrable and convert it into a vitrified, glass-like substance. The white body was left unglazed at the top and the translucence of the glaze under which the piece has been painted with cobalt blue designs makes the designs very clear. By the Qing dynasty, every day utilitarian blue and white porcelains including tea wares, pouring vessels, small containers, scholars objects, were produced, and we offer many interesting and affordable pieces in our collection.
Showing all 5 results
Charming miniature pitcher probably used in a restaurant or home kitchen as a dispenser for soy sauce, oils or other liquids. Elegant shape, covered with chrysanthemums, plantain leaves and bindweed vines with lotus bud on top.
Small teapot with intricate cobalt blue chrysanthemum and bindweed designs widely used in late 19th century in domestic and export wares. Ball handle on lid.
This is unusual piece was likely on a scholar’s desk along with pots, brushes, water droppers, boxes, ink stones and other daily used objects used for a variety of tasks: a brush holder, a paper weight and more. With its round body covered with the landscape of a Chinese village, mountains and seas and the calligraphic name of the scholar owner Shu Dai Ji (舒逮吉) it would be perfect for placement on any style desk or in a study.
Multicolored ceramic opium pillow, hand-painted green and red florals, fruits and vases in relief, blue cobalt border. Top and bottom seals to approve for export as antique.
Utilitarian ceramics like this were used in home kitchens and restaurants to hold oil, sauces, soy or other liquids. This spouted blue and white porcelain jar has four loops, also called lugs, so a natural fiber such as rattan could be threaded to either secure a top create a way to hang it to a peg. Sealing the top was very useful if the jars contained liquid and needed to be transported. The piece is decorated in a free and expressive manner with a charming impression of a country scene of a building in a landscape surrounded by tall trees. The cobalt is thick and dark in some areas of the foliage and applied with a thin, sparing and light brush elsewhere.
End of content
End of content