Blue and White

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.

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  • Antique Blue and White Porcelain Miniature Ewer, China (4056B-DKM) $135

    $135.00

    This charming miniature ewer or small pitcher was made during the Tongzhi Period and probably used in a restaurant or home kitchen as a dispenser for soy sauce, oils or other liquids. Likely from a provincial area, the spout and handle are elegantly curved. The thick cobalt blue designs are set on a spotted grey ground with a chrysanthemum on each side and abstract plantain curved vertical leaf designs below. There are also bindweed vines on both sides, neck and lid and the oval above the flower. The lid’s underside is unglazed and has a lotus shaped bud atop for lifting, and the inside and lid’s underside has century old stains from soy, dried oil or other dark liquids attesting to its age and use. It is in good condition with some chips, discoloration and spotting consistent with its age and use. The bottom has a Chinese antique export seal.

  • Antique Blue and White Porcelain Miniature Teapot, China (4056A-ZOK) $175

    $175.00
    H: 5.25”  W: 4.75”  D: 2.375” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This elegantly shaped small teapot has finely painted cobalt blue chrysanthemum and bindweed designs in the center and upper registers and plantain leaf designs at the bottom, popular underglaze design elements were widely used in late 19th century in domestic and export wares. Below the short neck is a chain of roundels with nineteen spirals, and the lid is covered with bindweed and wave designs, the latter indicating a sea or lake. The lid is topped by a ball handle topped with a four-line star and the bottom has an abstract plantain leaf design. It is in very good condition with two small chips on the lid and a small chip on the end of the spout. The inside has been stained by more than a century of tea brewing.

  • Antique Blue and White Porcelain Scholar’s Brush Holder, China (1933A-DOK)

    $235.00
    H: 3.25”  Dia: 3.25” | FREE SHIPPING!

    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. A weighty high-fired object with a wide hole in the center, it has a raised top to hold paint dripping from a brush and is painted with cobalt blue petaled flowers under its clear glaze that covers all but the bottom. Its round body is a landscape of a Chinese village, mountains in the distance and seas or lakes with the calligraphic name of the scholar owner Shu Dai Ji (舒逮吉). The scene and calligraphy are well drawn pairs with thick cobalt blue decorative borders above and below. It is in very good condition with expected discolorations and stains consistent with its long use of paints and ink.

  • Antique Ceramic Pillow, China (3847JLS) $105

    $105.00
    H: 4″  W:  9.5″  D: 4.5 ” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This charming fanciful vintage underglaze blue and white porcelain pillow has added hand-painted green and red florals, fruits and vases in relief within framed geometric borders of blue cobalt oxide pigment. The top curves in the center to cradle the neck for comfort and flares outward. The front and back sides have charming painted relief images of vases on the front and fruit on the back. The top and bottom have seals applied to Chinese antiques indicating they were approved for export. There is a slight chip on the front, otherwise it is in excellent condition.

     

  • Antique Porcelain Spouted Jar with Lugs, China (1106WHE) $135

    $135.00
    H: 5”  W: 5.25”  D: 4.5” | FREE SHIPPING!

    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.

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