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Red Copper Oxide Porcelain Bottle

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Author Topic: Red Copper Oxide Porcelain Bottle  (Read 538 times)
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Wattana
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« on: January 13, 2014, 11:46:40 pm »

Underglaze blue and red decorated porcelain cylindrical bottles were one of the main staples of the nineteenth century, providing a wide range of affordable containers as the snuff-taking habit spread throughout China from the mid-Qing period onwards. Some have formalized dragon subjects, but the vast majority have pictorial scenes executed in loose and simple strokes of the artist's brush, which lends them a rustic charm, as in the present example.  The scene of a fisherman, standing for the scholar in an idealized existence, was a popular one for these bottles, as was the use of the two colours combined, although controlling both well presents certain technical problems in the firing. Here the underglaze red has fired with particular success, with good colour and gradation in the colour, with the green-grey pooling to represent foliage or tian dotting, as found in traditional Chinese painting.

Description:
     An underglaze red copper-oxide and blue cobalt-oxide porcelain snuff bottle of cylindrical form, with cylindrical neck, convex lip, a glazed mouth and interior, and a recessed plain glazed base surrounded by a raised circular footrim; painted in flowing copper-red brushstrokes with a scene of a fisherman holding his fishing rod over an expanse of water as he sits on a bank under a willow tree, near a rocky hillside, the neck and base with twinned bands of underglaze cobalt blue. Coral stopper carved in the form of a coiled chilong.
     Height without stopper:  7.6 cm
     Date range:  1810-1880

Provenance:   Sotheby’s NY, 27 March 2003
                    Hamilton Collection

                   


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« Last Edit: January 14, 2014, 12:23:00 am by Wattana » Report Spam   Logged

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richy88
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« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2014, 11:54:10 pm »

Interesting bottle, Tom.

Is there any mark on the base?

Regards.


Richard
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Richard from sunny Singapore
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Wattana
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« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2014, 12:21:16 am »

Hi Richard,

The base is recessed and glazed, without any mark.

Tom
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George
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« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2014, 12:37:57 am »

Nice bottle Tom..

So a bottle of this caliber would be considered common or peoples ware..
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2014, 04:14:26 am »

Dear George,
   I disagree with Tom. I would definitely NOT consider this a cheap  'popular ware'. I have an example of a common person's bottle. It is very crudely formed and glazed, and with an inscription in underglazed cobalt blue front and reverse.
   Copper red was much harder to get 'right' then cobalt blue. The quality of Tom's bottle is WAY above average, so even if it was in blue, it wouldn't be a common item. Certainly not in red.
   
Joey
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« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2014, 08:12:26 am »

Dear Tom,
thank you for breaking the quietness of the forum by posting your nice bottle. I fully agree with Joey, besides the successful firing which alone is a prized feature, the quality of the drawing is very nice. Not commonly seen such quality on snuff bottles.
I know I am biased by my interest in ceramics, but one of the first thing I do is to look at the base. Can you show it?
Giovanni
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« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2014, 08:44:21 pm »

Dear George and Joey,
      I said this type of bottle was popular and affordable. I don't think I mentioned anything about it being 'common' ware for the people.  By 'affordable' I meant it was within reach of the merchant class of 19th century Qing society. This is not to be confused with the cheap common person's bottle that Joey is referring to.

Dear Giovanni,
     Nice to see you back on the forum. I do not have a photo of the base, but I can say it is recessed and glazed, surrounded by an unglazed foot rim. There is no mark.

Tom
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2014, 05:32:52 am »

Dear Tom,
   You are 100% correct.
   What happened is that George made the statement quoted below, and since you didn't contradict it  immediately (possibly because of time differences?),  I  (and I assume, Giovanni) assumed that you agreed with the statement.
   Possibly, a qualifier, such as, "popular and affordable for the merchant class and middle classes of China of the time", might have been more clearly understood.
   In any event, I would agree wholeheartedly with your latest comment. I also stand by my statement that this is a very fine example of the type, both because of the beautiful design and the quality of the red firing. Congratulations!
Best,
 Joey


Nice bottle Tom..

So a bottle of this caliber would be considered common or peoples ware..
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Joey Silver (Si Zhouyi 義周司), collecting snuff bottles since Feb.1970

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« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2014, 05:42:22 am »

Thanks for the clarification Joey.  Grin

Tom
« Last Edit: January 21, 2014, 10:29:36 am by Wattana » Report Spam   Logged

Collecting since 1971

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