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I have been told by a friend that the script on base of this bowl is Kanji. Is this correct?
I'm sorry if I have posted the script upside down but I don't read Japanese etc.
What the script say please?
The bowl measures 5.5 inches high and 12 inches wide. The glaze is pitted/blistered.
I'm interested to know how old it might be and where it came from.
Finally if the bowl is of any value as my friend said it could be as they said the design is rare - I'm not sure if it is or not to be honest.











Link :Tones

Dear Helen,

Your script is indeed upside-down. But don't worry about it. Even auction companies get it wrong sometimes. And yes, it is written in Kanji (the Japanese term), or, in this case, more precisely, in Kaishu (Chinese), the term for the standard script. This is in contrast to seal script, generally known as zuanshu. It reads from right to left, top-down: Xuan de Nian zhi ("Xuande reign period made") The Xuande Emperor was the 5th emperor of the Ming Dynasty and ruled from 1426 to 1435. Your bowl is decorated with cartushes displaying the "hundred antiques" motif, which is a fairly standard one for porcelain decoration (the targeted audience was often scholars) on ice-glazed (washed) ground. The Xuande reign mark is applied very often, mostly apocryphal, meaning later and not of the period. After giving the bowl some consideration, I believe yours is apocryphal as well (as most of them you can pick up on the market are) and done later. As of now, I tend towards the course of the 19th century. Xuande originals mostly had to be up to very high standards, which your bowl does not meet. It is a very nice piece, though, and worth holding on to. 

I hope this can help you get on your feet for further research. Feel free to post updates on your findings. With kind regards

Madria

URL Title :Further Reading on Hundred Antiques

Thanks very much Madria for your information. Fascinating and very informative. I much appreciate your time in responding and the link you sent.
I've added a picture of the script hopefully the right way round!
The item belonged to my grandparents who lived in India in the early 1900's to 1940's. My grandmother's parents also lived in India so it might be that this belonged to them and was handed down.

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