eBay

western_estate_sales · ‎12-10-2022

I have a large 13" tall bulbous vase, either Chinese or Japanese. I would greatly appreciate knowing the meaning of the signature on the bottom and any other information on this piece. Photos are:

Any help is greatly appreciated. I paid a lot for this piece and would like to get it online for the new year. Thank you.

lngfe_77 · ‎12-11-2022

@western_estate_sales

Gotheborg - Chinese marks - Macau Style (example #441): "441. Fang Da Qing Qianlong Zhi - "Imitate Great Qing Qianlong Period Made". Probably decorated in Macau around the 1970-80s."

sonomabarn67 · ‎12-11-2022

"I paid a lot for this piece and would like to get it online for the new year"

It is a copy/imitation and has limited value. Those who buy authentic period Chinese porcelains won't buy it leaving you with the decorative market to deal with. Basically, try and get your money back if you can and move on to something else. Good luck.

boomersbiz46 · ‎12-11-2022

I have been buying and selling antiques for over 40 years and have seen a lot of this style of chinese/japanese designs and it just looks newer to me. Very pretty and someone will love it but not an

authentic /real antique...just from the looks of it. IMHO.

maxine*j · ‎12-11-2022

@lngfe_77 wrote:
@western_estate_sales

Gotheborg - Chinese marks - Macau Style (example #441): "441. Fang Da Qing Qianlong Zhi - "Imitate Great Qing Qianlong Period Made". Probably decorated in Macau around the 1970-80s."

Bingo!

And for anyone who wants to see the citation:

https://gotheborg.com/marks/macaustyle.shtml

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maxine*j · ‎12-11-2022

@boomersbiz46 wrote:
I have been buying and selling antiques for over 40 years and have seen a lot of this style of chinese/japanese designs and it just looks newer to me. Very pretty and someone will love it but not an authentic /real antique...just from the looks of it. IMHO.

That's right, and the Gotheborg ID confirms that it is not at all antique, not even very old. By Chinese porcelain standards, it is not merely modern -- it is hyper-modern. 🙂

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sonomabarn67 · ‎12-11-2022

I was thinking ubmo (uber-modern)🤔

maxine*j · ‎12-11-2022

Does the top make you think it's a jar, missing its lid? It strikes me that way, especially with that classic "ginger jar" shape, but I may be out to lunch.

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sonomabarn67 · ‎12-11-2022

It's a soft-paste and a copy/imitation. May have had a lid, maybe not. Doesn't matter. The blue line inside the top is further in the direction of it being a copy. No need for it if it would be covered by a lid. Fakers/forgers will go into museums and take photos and make a pot based on their photos. Whenever a Chinese piece brings goo-gobs of money at auction there will be fakes of it on the market within weeks if not sooner. They are not known for their accuracy either. It scares me that OP said they paid a lot for it.

maeday76 · ‎12-12-2022

Imitation "rose medallion" ginger/temple jar missing its original lid. Probably made in the 80s when Cost Plus and Pier One were importing copies of collectable ceramic in flotillas.

The bright hard colors and the foot is what tells you so.

couturehomecollection · ‎12-16-2022

This classical ginger jar is characterized by its rounded ovoid shape and high shoulders. The term “ginger jar” is a Western invention. In China, the shape is simply called “guan,” or jar, and they were used to store herbs. As @maeday76 has correctly pointed out, often the original covers are lost and have been replaced by matching porcelain or finely carved wooden lids with intricate openwork decoration. More on Chinese vase shapes , but Gotheborg really is the “go-to” site to learn more about Chinese porcelains.

sonomabarn67 · ‎12-16-2022

Even with all those words, it's still a copy/imitation and has limited value/interest in the world of authentic Chinese porcelains. If you didn't know, now you know.

maxine*j · ‎12-16-2022

@sonomabarn67 wrote:
It's a soft-paste and a copy/imitation. May have had a lid, maybe not. Doesn't matter.

I know it doesn't matter much with a piece like this, which has minimal value as a decorator piece; but I asked your opinion because with the lid it would be worth a dollar or two more than without it, if it were originally lidded.

I really do hope OP got his money back on this, because it sounds like it was represented to him as something of substantial value.

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sonomabarn67 · ‎12-16-2022

In my mind, when a piece is identified as a copy, etc, it loses it's place at the table. However, if it were an original pot missing it's lid , then yes, press on to find a proper replacement or have a wooden replacement carved because it will add some value back into the mix. Even if the fake pot under discussion had it's original lid it would still remain a low level product.