Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries


Visitors' Forum

Asian Art  Forums - Reply Message
Asian Art Forums

Message Listing by Date:
Message Index | Back | Post a New Message | Search | Private Mail | FAQ
Subject:Ubiquitous Ginger Jar
Posted By: Jack Sat, Oct 27, 2018 IP: 2a02:c7d:2a2d:7500:6

Hi all.
I have seen many ginger jars, most of which I suspect are tourist items. I recently found the jar below when I was unpacking some boxes from my attic: I'd forgotten I had it!
This is probably another tourist item, but I thought I would ask whether anybody can confirm this based upon the markings on the bottom.
Thank you for any help.
Jack





Subject:Re: Ubiquitous Ginger Jar
Posted By: Bill H Mon, Oct 29, 2018

The circular Chinese character mark reads across and down from right to left as:
Jiangxi [Province] - 江西
Jingdezhen [Kiln Center] - 景德鎮
Ming (18) Ci - Famous (18) [factory?] porcelain - 名(18)瓷

This jar possibly dates to circa 1950, after the PRC was proclaimed and before the Jingdezhen factories were regimented under their present marking system. On the other hand, gotheborg.com shows another piece with a Jiangxi round mark that their source describes as painted in Hong Kong. I mention this because your jar seems to be transfer-decorated, for which kind of ornamentation Hong Kong and neighboring Macao have long been famous. I couldn't spot a Mainland Factory No. 18 among those listed in the gotheborg.com archive.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Subject:Re: Ubiquitous Ginger Jar
Posted By: Jack Tue, Oct 30, 2018

Thank you so much Bill...much appreciated.
I suspect I should know, but how were you able to identify this jar was transfer-decorated?
Would the Hong Kong possibility not be negated by the Jiangxi markings on the base, or was there a 'flow' of work from Jiangxi to the south (Hong Kong) for decorating?
Kind regards

Subject:Re: Ubiquitous Ginger Jar
Posted By: Bill H Wed, Oct 31, 2018

The transfer decoration technique is evident in the green scroll, where some of the black lines overlie each other in a manner that wouldn't be so evident if they were hand-painted. Also, the large red stylized long life characters have a curdled look, which is seen often with stamped marks.

Where this base-mark was applied is a moot point, because all such marks I've seen from the Mainland were applied either with stamps or decals, and there's no reason a decorating shop in Hong Kong couldn't do the same. In the 1980s, I visited some Bangkok-area porcelain decorating shops, which used pre-glazed blanks from Jingdezhen with markings already applied. Here's one such jar I've hung onto with a mark of "Ruo Shen Zhen Cang" (Precious collection of the seemingly old). This may suggest that blanks painted in Hong Kong also sometimes are pre-marked in China.

Best regards,

Bill H.





Subject:Re: Ubiquitous Ginger Jar
Posted By: Jack Fri, Nov 02, 2018

Thats very interesting Bill and add to my growing knowledge.
Thank you for taking the time.
Jack.

Post a Reply
Name:
Email:
Group: China & Japan
Subject:
Message:
Link URL:
Enter here the complete URL of any site, page or image you would like to show other visitors.
URL Title:
Enter here the title of the link you've given above. This will appear to the visitor. Eg., if you are linking another picture, enter "Another picture". The link will not appear without a title.
Image URL:
Enter here the URL of an image if it is already uploaded on the web. The image will appear with your posting. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post.
Image: You may upload up to three images. If you would like to upload more images to this message please do so by replying to this same message.

Please make sure the file type is JPEG or GIF and the filename does not contain spaces.





Use the Browse button to find an image (jpg or gif) on a local drive on your computer to upload for including with your message. Do not upload images with file names containing spaces. Please do not upload files larger than 500 KB in size. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post. Check the "email notification" box below if you would like to be notified of any responses to your message.
Check here for email notification.
Security Code: Security Image: please enter the text appears in this image.

Please type in the code you see in the image directly above this input box.


Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |