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Subject:Re: Chinese Vase
Posted By: Bill H Tue, Nov 16, 2021
The four-character red mark on the bottom of this vase reads "知足常樂" (zhīzúchánglè), with the idiomatic meaning of "Satisfied with what one has". Other readings are "Enough is as good as a feast" and "You may go farther and fare worse".
I scanned the mark online, including on the gotheborg.com website and also reviewed the latest Gerald Davison book of "Marks on Chinese Ceramics" without finding other examples of it on Chinese porcelain. This suggests to me the vase may be a newer product than Mark suspects based on the limited information available, perhaps post-Japanese invasion, mid-1930s-1940s or early post-WWII.
Below I've downloaded a photo of the type of high quality dish that Jingdezhen was making in the ducks pattern before the Japanese army began their incursions into China in 1931. The mark on its backside uses the Republic transliteration of the Jiangxi provincial name.
Best regards,
Bill H.
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