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Kangxi Ginger Jars

by Alison Absalom
(Isle of Wight, England)

Hi Peter,
Could you possibly give an opinion on my pair of "Qing" Dynasty Kangxi ginger jars. Although the marks indicate late Kangxi, I realize the problems with period marks,but I am sure the jars are of some considerable age. By way of provenance however these jars were apparently in my family in the 19th century. My ancestor (Benjamin Bateman) was a well to do international railroad builder who was much travelled and collected Chinese art extensively. I hope the attached photos are of some help. As you may observe in the photos, the Jars are 30cm in height including lids and approximately 26cm in diameter. The glazing is so fine it appears to have been made yesterday. There are some pinpricks and bubbles on the base glaze, and some ageing rust marks around the base rim.
Congratulations on your site, it is an absolute mine of information. My thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Alison

Comments for Kangxi Ginger Jars

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Feb 12, 2012
 jars
by: peter

Hi Alison,
The pictures are too small and too few to evaluate this. I suggest you either upload more pictures here, or post pictures with good resolution to a site like Photobucket, etc. and post the link.

If possible, take pictures in daylight, near a window to allow for true colors. Artificial lighting mostly changes the colors to yellow.
Of interest would be closeup pictures (can be partial) of bottom, the rim decoration and one or two places on the side, and possibly the inside of the collar. The mark from straight up, please.
Any blemishes or defects should be clearly visible.

What I cannot see in these pictures is how the collar looks. If it is glazed to the very top then this cannot be older than the late Qing dynasty. The Kangxi mark was frequently added at that time also.
Any ginger jars that are older will have an unglazed collar and shoulder.

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