Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Chinese (13)

An attractive, light turquoise glazed porcelain jar. Anhua (‘hidden’ or ‘secret’) decoration of peonies and vine incised into the porcelain and discernable through the glaze. A six character Kangxi mark, also Anhua (incised into the porcelain), visible through the glaze centered inside the foot rim. The mark is probably apocryphal as we believe the jar is not earlier than 19th century.

A finely carved Suzhou school agate snuff bottle. Decoration of figures, picked out from natural colors of the stone, in landscape of hilly bluffs with overhanging pine and whispy cloud. Based on the gourd in the sash of the larger figure - possibly depicting the immortal, Le Tieguai. Nicely defined foot rim. The top rim with broad, just slightly concave surface. Very well hollowed. Height of bottle without cap, 2 5/8 inches. Height with cap, 3 1/8 inches. Excellent condition of the bottle.

The top is also in good condition but the bone spoon is a bit short and wrapped tape keeps a snug fit to the bottle. The top may be a replacement.

A good Chinese boxwood carving of Budai. Three children clamor over him. A bat appears on his right hand. Bone and horn inlays detail his eyes and teeth. Rich, mellow old patina. Nice grain figure in places. Late Qing to early Republic. Ca 1900. Very good condition with typical minor distress checks in the old hardwood surface. Remnants of old label. Height, about 4 5/8 inches high.

A pair of boldly carved pale blue peking glass vases. Birds in flowering branches. Good condition. Height, eight inches. Early 20th century, Republican era.

A Han dynasty bronze hu vase. Raised on high, cupped foot. The body cast with three grooves bands around the circumference and below the girth. Another three grooved bands (one smaller) above the girth. Two mask handles with loose rings (original to the vase) on opposing sides of the shoulder. One larger grooved band under the rim. Condition sound with the vessel of solid casting, no active rust and good patina. Some old losses along the foot rim and holes under the girth on one side possibly from an impact or once active rust. The bottom once drilled for a lamp and now plugged (see illustration of inside bottom.) A good metalworker could easily patch the holes and losses for aesthetic display (whether with patinated bronze or with another material such as gold so as not to hide the conservation. Height, about 13 3/8 inches (about 34 cm). For examples of the same form, patina and grooved bands, see Christies 2009 sale 5812 lot 144 and Sothebys 2011 sale 8722 lot 310. Weight may be a factor to ship this item. When placing this vase on our scale it errors out at over 5 kg or 11 lb.

An unusual, sancai glazed stoneware caparisoned elephant form vessel. The larger opening on its back is suggestive of a lime pot (our best guess) with only traces suggested by an off white cast on the sides of the otherwise buff colored unglazed interior. The trunk, curled above the head, ends in a smaller aperture but not optimal as a kendi. The form, in the round, and the pleasantly crazed sancai glaze (cream, amber and a rare blue) suggest influence of the Cizao kilns legacy of Fujian (known to produce sancai vessels and utilitarian objects including pillows.) But we are ascribing a much later origin than a Fujian sancai vessel would demand (perhaps as late as the Qing dynasty) because the glaze is more vitreous than the lead based Fujian glazes, the body harder than the lower fired pottery, and the form suggesting a later Southeast Asian demand for ceramics in an earlier manner (where much Cizao production had been destined.) The buff colored body unglazed on the bottom and with a single character, 'Da' (大, great), in double incised lines. Vitreous smooth residue from the kiln resembling burnt caramel adhering to the feet. Good condition. Length tail to trunk, about 6 3/4 inches (17.15 cm). Height to tip of trunk, about 3 7/8 inches (9.84 cm).

Chinese bronze shi (or foo) lion seal. Four character seal mark. Good condition. Height, little more than 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm)

A pair of Chinese blue and white porcelain cups. Nicely painted decoration of three flower arrangements on each cup - the bouquets respectively centering a peony, a chrysanthemum and a camellia bloom (appearing to represent blooms from different seasons.) The cobalt blue has a deep, clean quality. Late 19th to early 20th century. Condition is good - one cup with small flake inside the foot rim (illustrated.) Height each, little more than 2 1/4 inches (5.72 cm). Diameter each, about 3 1/4 inches (8.25 cm) - one slightly under.

Pair Bleu de Hue porcelain bowls. Late 19th century Chinese kiln production (most from Jingdezhen) for the Vietnamese market. Blue and white decoration of ducks in water among lotus. If you look at the photographs closely, you will barely discern a very soft, pale blue wash for the water in the decoration. Four character hall mark on each piece (each illustrated here.) Metal rims, popular among late 19th century Bleu de Hue wares, have kept the porcelain rims well protected and so these are in excellent condition with no issues. Bowl diameters approximately 5 1/16 inches (12.9 cm). Cover diameters approximately 4 11/16 inches (11.9 cm). Acquired through a third party from the estate of a retired government employee who worked and travelled extensively throughout Asia in the 20th century.

A rare, antique Chinese Imperial court necklace presentation case. Gilt, red lacquered formed and stitched thin wood armature with carved or pressed fret pattern on sides and top also with auspicious symbols and characters conveying congratulations upon promotion. Diameter, about 7 5/8 inches (19.37 cm). Height, about 2 1/2 inches (6.35 cm). Very good condition with tasteful and old conservation to small areas of lacquer and expected rubbing to gilt surface. Retaining the original hinge and latch hardware (a thin bronze-like alloy). Also retaining a shaped, seal stamped label on the interior (where it was well protected) which may date to when the case was made. We are conservatively estimating the case to be late Qing to early Republican. A similar case but with archaic characters was sold by Aspire Auctions, February 6, 2014, lot 306

Pair Chinese mandarin squares indicating civil rank. The badges embroidered with colored silk and gold thread to a single piece of uncut fabric. Fair to good condition. Total length of the uncut panel 16 1/8 inches (41 cm). Total width 8 1/16 inches (20.48 cm)

Pair kesi badges without rank insignia. With background only, we assume this must either mean it was for a student candidate not yet with rank or perhaps awaiting the addition of rank insignia (if it was appropriate to embroider or stitch onto a kesi badge.) We have included photos of the front and of the back with lining lifted to reveal the kesi technique including varied gold metallic thread. Condition is fair to good. Most of what appear to be fraying along the edges is confined to the back lining rather than to the facing badge. One of the pair is two pieced with more delicate state where the halves meet. Each 'square' is approximately 8 3/4 inches (22.23 cm) by 8 1/4 inches (21 cm). The two uncut, stitched together, are together nearly 18 inches long.

An unusual and rare Chinese export blue and white porcelain candle holder. In simple, traditional Western form probably for the export market but bearing traditional Chinese motif of figures in garden landscape with precious objects and burning incense. The crackle surface with cobalt blue decoration under the glaze. The center with figures with antique treasures in garden. The bobeche with bamboo and blossoms. The foot with flowering branches. The center portion is bordered above and below with manganese "mirror black" glazed relief double rings (the lower border on the biscuit) suggesting the appearance of tarnished silver or metal ferrules. The unglazed, angular foot rim carefully shaped before firing and the glaze well controlled with slight crawl. Most interesting, the "mirror black" glazed rings fade to a soft grey-blue rather than to an iron tone. This indicates manganese mixed with cobalt as was done with 18th century Kangxi works (the 19th century mixing manganese with iron to achieve a similar effect.) We are not saying this recent acquisition is necessarily that old. It may be that it was expedient to use the cobalt already available for the under glaze decoration and it does not appear as controlled as might be expected. Then again, it is an export form. A beautiful piece in pristine condition. A slight list is not very noticeable when not framed within a picture. We will not charge extra for melted wax accumulated in the hollow core. We are broadly estimating age as 19th century. A pleasing hoist at 1 lb and 8.4 oz (692 grams). Height, about 8 inches (20.32 cm)