Underglaze Cobalt Blue Dragon Designs

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Charll, thank you. You are referring to Charlie Brown faces then 

Kind regards
Giovanni

[bambooforrest]

Charll, you could always call it "bug eyed".

[bambooforrest]

New find! A "reverse painted" jarlet [70mm] with a 4-clawed dragon. The mane in white with blue stripes. Unusual Shunzhi mark.

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Very interesting bottle, John.
Best,
Joey

[bambooforrest]

A new find I thought I would post. A finely painted underglaze blue bottle [84mm] with two 5-clawed dragons chasing a flaming pearl. A neatly painted Daoguang mark on the bottom.

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear John,

    As I wrote to you earlier, this is a superb
Daoguang Imperial mark and period B & W bottle,
from the Imperial Porcelain Works in Jingdezhen,
and ca. 1821 - 1850.
The mark is a six character seal mark, Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi.
Best,
Joey

[avalata]

This bottle came with a few others as part of a mixed lot of mostly porcelain - I didn't see a matching design in this thread.  Mine is unfortunately cracked on one side, but seems very nicely painted.  Perhaps late Qing?

Best,
Cliff

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Cliff,

    A pity, since the dragon is very well painted in the style of dragons in the Daoguang
reign, with crosshatching AND dots in each space representing the scales.
A four clawed dragon, but totally 'right' in my opinion.
But besides the crack, there is serious damage to the footrim and to the neck/mouth.
As I said above, a pity.
I would date this ca. 1880 - 1910.
Best,
Joey Silver

[avalata]

Thanks, Joey!

I see the wear on the neck from use; the footrim doesn’t seem to be damaged but rather is unglazed and has grit from the firing.  Sorry about the unclear pictures!  It may be that the footrim is unusual on this one , but at least in the porcelain collecting world it wouldn’t be considered damaged given that it is “as made”, unless I’m missing something.  In any event, the crack to the body renders this piece null as far as a collectible, but is still a nice decorative item.  Thank you for the guidance - I have a lot to learn about snuff bottles, and will keep in mind that any wear like the wear on the mouth of this bottle might be considered a significant drawback or damage - it will help me to avoid overpaying!  I just get nervous when I see a bottle with no signs of use, thinking it must be fake if it is essentially mint.  But, I suppose many of these were never used and always cabinet items.  Mine certainly got some use!
Best,
Cliff

[avalata]

Hi Joey,

I checked the bottle, and saw you may have meant the body crack that extends a little to the neck - the staining wiped off.  The footrim is undamaged aside from fleabites but does have sand adherences to the glaze from firing - common in provincial kilns at this time.  Perhaps a cheap though well painted bottle, produced for the lower classes or for export.

I got another bottle with this one that might be good, or might be a fake - will post it soon.  Thanks!

Best,
Cliff

[bambooforrest]

Cliff, I agree with Joey's dating. I have never seen that much "grit" on the bottom of a bottle. That would be a red flag for me....John

[avalata]

Thanks - weird as the sand is clearly stuck in the glaze.  In any event, it’s just a damaged older bottle, and will just be decor in a nook somewhere.  Thanks again for the guidance on dating this based on the painting and shape!