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Is this bowl old?

by JohanH
(Sweden)

Hi, I want to know if this bowl is old, it has a strange marking under the foot.
BR
Johan


dl.dropbox.com/u/21206637/China/Photo%20sep%2010%2C%2020%2051%2023.jpg

dl.dropbox.com/u/21206637/China/Photo%20sep%2010%2C%2020%2052%2004.jpg

dl.dropbox.com/u/21206637/China/Photo%20sep%2010%2C%2020%2052%2054.jpg

Comments for Is this bowl old?

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marks
by: peter

Hi Will,
Perhaps you did not realize the obvious... the character is indeed Zheng (正), but the square is not part of the character, it is the frame of the mark. It is the same as a circle, double circle, or double square frame, but here a single square frame, depicting the outlines of the mark. The actual mark with the character 正 has been in existence since the Ming dynasty (Zhengde reign). Another single character mark would be, for example, the character "福", that also is put in a square frame.

You are right with the characters inside. As you probably know these are marking ownership of the item, when it was lent out for communal use. Those I have seen up to now have seldom had any specific meaning. To the contrary, most of the time the drilled characters were illegible, with improper strokes or just symbols, but these here are nicely written.
Is this Bowl Old?
by: Will

I find this bowl a bit of a conundrum. The character on the bottom is very poorly written, as though by someone trying to copy Chinese. Or it may have been written by a child or very old person. The character looks like they were trying to write 正(Zheng) inside of 口 but there is no such character. It may also be 国(Guo), which means Country, but in modern script. It is possible it is one of the archaic types no longer used, though. I am not well versed in the old forms.

The inside contains two words 徳(De) meaning Moral or Ethical. The second is 利(Li) meaning to benefit or profit. Together they have no meaning. (Chinese words have one meaning when used separately and different meanings when used together.)

But it is the handwriting that is interesting. Contrary to the one on the bottom, this is a well practiced hand, perhaps even well educated. I can't tell if it is under the glaze or cut into the bowl, but it contrasts greatly from the rest of the style.

I really don't know what to make of it as I am no expert on antiques. Just a few thoughts for what they are worth.
BW bowl
by: peter

Hello,
This common type of bowl was made most of the Qing dynasty. From your pictures the color of the blue is not clear as they were not taken in natural light. Usually, I would think this is is from the mid-Qing period, that is late 18th century to about 1850. Depending on the tone of blue this may differ, though.

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