I would appreciate help identifying this bowl. It is 11in and came from an antique store in penn. some decades ago. It was supposed to have come from some estate sale.
Hate to be a pest, Peter. But you can find the additional photos picasaweb.google.com/113327198400185041130/OrientalBowl?authkey=Gv1sRgCMHo9Z3p6pPp2AE# Cheers?
Hi Judith, The photos still give me the impression of first quarter of 20th century, approximately. It looks that the painted immortals could be from about that time too, judging from their style.
Jan 09, 2012
bowl by: peter
I don't really enough about Japanese porcelain in order to know if this one could be Japanese. The painting is typical Chinese, and I have not encountered it yet on Japanese porcelain. Japanese porcelain imitating Chinese items is usually recognizable. I would rather lean towards the view that the bowl was originally a simple bowl with crackle decoration and some age, and that the decoration was added. That happens often to white or only partially unpainted items to increase an items perceved value, even now.
The immortals on Japanese porcelain would be rather unusual. Also, this type of color decoration on the inside of a bowl (which presumably would have been used for food or eating) is a bit strange.
Jan 09, 2012
found a mark by: judithk
Thank you Peter for your comments. They raised my curiosity. Upon staring some more at the bowl I discovered a mark on the outside surfare. As you can see it is very unclear but I did ascertain in it a black outline of a crescent. By now I realize that the design is Ming but the bowl is not white but ivory. Could we be dealing with a Japanese forgery? (gotheborg.com/marks/index_jap_marks.htm) The Kozan marking is different but the bowl seems similar. The mystery thickens. What do you think?
Jan 08, 2012
bowl by: peter
Bowl with eight immortals on the inside and dragons on the outside. This looks like a Fangge bowl with color decoration. Fangge wares are fired to produce crackling. So, these are no age crackles proper. The colors of the decoration look like 20th century colors. All in all, the item gives the impression as if it were one of the Fangge wares made in the first quarter of the 20th century. Closeup pictures of some faces might help to confirm this. Also, it is possible that the outer and inner decoration were painted at different times.
