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Subject:Kangxi blue and white salt cellar - slight damage
Posted By: JLim Sun, Oct 29, 2017 IP: 101.164.192.17



Dear all

At a rural antique shop today I acquired the below pictured object on a hunch. I believe it to be a Kangxi era salt cellar for European export. It has been quite badly chipped under the lip, but is otherwise quite intact.

It compares closely with the three salt cellars listed in Alain Truong's excellent website here:

http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2017/07/07/35454810.html

I believe I have seen similar objects for sale also on the Trocadero website.

I also believe that the shop did not recognise what it had. Alain Truong's salt cellars, all restored, appear to have sold for around 1,200 euro. I bought my damaged salt cellar for $28 Australian.

Would anyone care to comment on whether this is the real deal? If so, might one ask what it might be worth in its present state? (The damage in its entirety is visible in the second photograph).

Kind regards
J.Lim







Subject:Re: Kangxi blue and white salt cellar - slight damage
Posted By: plasticman Fri, Nov 17, 2017

The shape seems quite right. However, every piece of Kangxi porcelain that I have examined that has had the outer "crust" broken into appears to be stone colored or at least dark "dirty" off white/gray.The place of the large chip avulsion seems to be too white to be period. It may just be the light of the photograph reflection, but it does raise questions as to the paste, and therefore the age. See the rim of the tankard under discussion by 31 responses in this forum to compare a definitive Kangxi porcelain object chip and the color of the depth there.

Subject:Re: Kangxi blue and white salt cellar - slight damage
Posted By: JLim Mon, Nov 20, 2017



Dear plasticman

Thank you for your reply. I suspect that if the chip were absolutely fresh - and to me it looks like the last owner broke the object within the last few months - it would lack any particular colour. I know this from stupidly breaking two Qianlong teacups in the past!

I will attempt to make a better photograph to show the actual paste within the chip, however, and try to photograph the footrim as well to compare.

Kind regards
J.Lim





Subject:Re: Kangxi blue and white salt cellar - slight damage
Posted By: plasticman Mon, Nov 20, 2017

Two sellers have Kangxi salts for sale with good photos showing expected rim wear and exposed paste. Both show the body of the porcelain as it would appear after 300 years of wear. Check Guest/Gray in Britain and the Michaels auction house for what rim damage of expected period salts should look like. Whether the chip is new or old, there should also be rim damage and/or flakeing on the rim that come with age and thereby handling.


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