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Chinese Snuff Bottle Discussion Forum 中國鼻煙壺討論論壇
March 28, 2024, 01:33:37 pm
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Blue & White Porcelain Bottles

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Author Topic: Blue & White Porcelain Bottles  (Read 16018 times)
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rpfstoneman
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« on: December 28, 2012, 11:08:12 pm »

All,

I’ve been trying to figure out soft paste porcelains and the surface interaction with glazing for over a year now.  After hitting upon a few key web sites and discussion threads with referrals to references recently, and acquiring the bottle illustrated below, I think I almost have a handle on the subject of soft paste snuff bottles.
  
The bottle shown below is a soft paste glaze porcelain bottle, but without the usual crackling.  It has a matted silky sheen and a soft waxy feel upon warming in the hand.  The porcelain body has a thin glaze coating which is another feature of soft paste.  The glazed surface is full of minute abrasive wear as if it has been sanded with fine sandpaper.  

Underglazed cobalt blue landscape with two figures standing before an open pavilion on a wooded peninsula surrounded by a large lake with boats and birds.  Gilded rim antique button of blue glass for a stopper with a mother-of-pearl button collar.   Base has an underglazed blue double ring with no mark and a raised unglazed foot rim.    Height is 6 cm with a 4 cm wide bulb.

Speculation on age is late 19th century or early 20th, or it could even be post 1950?

The bottle was acquired from an estate sale in Upper State New York recently.  Price $15.





Charll's Friday Night Bottle, Enjoy and Read Further if Interested.



Soft Paste Porcelains- The term 'soft paste' may be somewhat of a misnomer in that the body does not appear to be any softer than ordinary porcelain.  Generally not as stable in firing, soft paste glazed items often may exhibit production issues like fire-cracks.  The glaze of soft paste is not fused to the body in the same manner as hard paste porcelains, but remains on the surface as a coating, thus many soft paste items exhibit crazing or crackling of the glazed surface.  The glaze is often crackled as a result of a difference in cooling between the glaze and the body.   Chinese soft paste originally was made of a white-firing clay, called huashi or 'slippery stone', which use is documented in reports from 1712 and 1722 by the Jesuit Pere d'Entrecolles.  The surface may look creamy or ‘soapy’ and have a silky waxy feel.  Soft paste porcelains are less resilient than hard paste and its glaze can be scratched more easily.

As this clay was expensive, soft-paste pieces are usual small and thinly potted. They are also well-painted, as the body is particularly suitable for detailed drawing.  Besides the 'true' soft-paste, there are pieces with an ordinary porcelain body and a coating of huashi clay, which gives the same effect.

Distinguishing characteristics of soft paste include:
-a more opaque body (translucency), but it may not always seem entirely consistent
-when chipped soft paste porcelain exhibits a granular interior, rather than one that is glassy
-granular porous body, not completely melted
-glaze not fully fused with body due to 2 firing rounds, more are required if overglazed enamels are used
-overglaze enamels tend to sink in the glaze
-feels warm in the hand
-glaze may be runny and may pool in crevices of carved features or the interiors of foot-rims
-glazed surface has a tendency have body-cracks (because of low fusion), but this can be controlled to provide a non-cracking or non-crazed surface
-glaze has a more creamy-white color
-glazed surface is slightly porous
-an absorbency of the fired body which can be seen as staining under the glaze from use and/or exposure to the elements
-there is a tendency to have finer quality underglaze blue designs or drawings due to a superior adhesion to the porcelain surface


« Last Edit: January 22, 2013, 09:56:24 am by rpfstoneman » Report Spam   Logged

Charll K Stoneman, Eureka, California USA, Collector Since 1979.

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