A ceramic glaze applied to various kinds of ceramics fulfills different purposes. Its application and subsequent firing fuses it directly to the original biscuit clay surface of the object with or without paint resulting in an impervious waterproof outside coating and a glass-like vitreous layer as high heat in a kiln fuses the glaze to the object. The glaze also can color, decorate and seal the formerly porous biscuit surface that was prone to leakage. Some glazes may be colored and others clear depending on the effects and colors desired in the final piece, and clear glazes may be applied over painted surfaces to permanently seal them to the object. Distinct apple green glazes were popular in the late Qing dynasty.
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Wing or ear cups (yushang), a term that describes its side flange-like additions to its ovoid body, appeared as early as the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE) made in lacquer and later from a variety of materials. Lacquerware cups were used as dining vessels used for rituals and ceremonies contain fragrances, food or wine; and the…
Hu vessels, first made in the Shang Dynasty is an ancient-pottery wine vessel whose body swells in the middle, flares into a narrow neck and often has a raised circular foot. Very popular during the Han dynasty, it was used as an ancestral tomb burial object (mingqi) to hold liquids and elixirs for the deceased…
Mingqi are ancient earthenware pottery items usually made using a bivalve mould and covered with a lead glaze that fired to a dark green. The lead in the glaze often combined with tomb dampness for centuries creating a chemical reaction changing its coloring into a lustrous and iridescent green seen here. Han mingqi were ancestral…
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. With an elegantly curved spout and handle it is covered with chrysanthemums, plantain curved vertical leaves and bindweed vines. The lid has a lotus shaped bud for lifting, and the bottom has a Chinese antique export seal.
This Shiwan green chopsticks holder is divided into two parts with holes on top for hanging and small holes on the bottom for drainage. Chopsticks were often wedding gifts from mothers to daughters with many auspicious wishes: phrases for sons as soon as possible, upside down bats with coins and ribbon meaning “blessings in front of your eyes,” and border clouds and thunder symbolizing life-giving rain and abundance.
This delicate antique Yixing teapot is unusually shaped with a loop handle, short spout, flaring rim, small flat cover and small loops below its rim that indicate it may have been used to suspend oil or soy sauce rather than serve tea. Its charm is enhanced by its free hand-painted colored enamels with 6 circular panels containing fanciful and bright floral and leaf decorations. Chinese tea connoisseurs consider Yixing teapots the best vessel for brewing tea as it is naturally porous to absorb oils released during brewing and improves tea’s flavor with continual use. Recommended for display only, it pairs well with 1152A-PAR Enameled Yixing Stoneware Teapot.
The top design on this stoneware garden stool is a simplified open narcissus with a white and yellow center; it is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Below are intertwined double lozenges, followed on the lowest register of by white octagonal shapes and ending with a low orange-yellow rectangle pierced in the center. A…
This five-sided Shiwan stoneware pillow with slanted top, open bottom, vibrant glazed surface, and etched coin and diamond design was used for smoking opium as the cool shell cradled the users’ heads and necks and offset the warmth of smoking and the hollow inside stored valuables. We have another which can be paired with it. If a candle is placed inside it emits an amazing shadowy form of a coin, which appealed to those in an opium state.
This charming antique white glazed porcelain figurine is a cat teapot with a raised paw with removable head for pouring liquid into the vessel and long sinuous tail as a handle to pour liquid from the opening at the end of the paw. The hand painted design is whimsical and colorful with a thin ribbon-like blue collar and a dangling ornamental bow with black accents defining the face, ears, head and paws.
This elegantly shaped and beautiful high-fired antique porcelain ewer was decorated on its outside with a saffron-colored glaze called a coral red glaze. The sides have a white glazed quatrefoil panel with hand-painted multi-colored floral designs on a white background within a gold frame interspersed among sinuous gold leaf vines across the body and neck and a white glaze covers the inside and bottom. Its beauty is enhanced with its graceful spout, colorful white and gold panel beautiful.
This 5-piece apple green glazed stoneware home altar set includes a central large censor flanked by rising pairs of candlestick holders and vases. These folk art ceramics were made at the Shiwan kilns in a small town near Foshan City in Guangdong Province where renowned, popular and well modeled pieces with vivid expression and colorful…
This fine set of three elegant Ming dynasty attendants—one male and two female—are in a unique category of refinement and elegance that reflects the importance and high status of the tomb, the deceased and the family for which they were made. Standing on hexagonal bases with arms folded below their chests and presenting offerings to the deceased, their clothing and parts of the bases have a rare cobalt blue glaze. (Two have yellow glazed areas and all have painted unglazed areas.) Their removable heads are highly detailed and beautifully modeled fitting inside high collars. These figures are presented and sold as a remarkable set reflecting their original presentation and condition.
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