Guido
Registered: June 05, 2010
Posts: 70
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| | July 14, 2010 at 05:18 AM | Reply with quote | #91 |
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It looks to me like a 翘头案 Qiàotóuàn, a table with everted rims, often called "altar table" in the West. They are used to display art work and sometimes have drawers for added convenience. The pulls of the drawers also look distinctively Chinese to me. |
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jbarnewoltj
Registered: June 06, 2008
Posts: 851
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fk
Registered: June 30, 2009
Posts: 143
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| | July 14, 2010 at 10:51 AM | Reply with quote | #93 |
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It could be Persian or Middle Eastern - in fact from anywhere where Muslims lived along the Western half of the Silk Road - and also shows Chinese and Indian influences. Given the colours, it could also be Chinese. I can't be more specific, I'm afraid.
I doubt that it's Lakabi: that dates back to the Seljuk period and is specific to one or two areas in Persia, it's thought. Lakabi carved ware polychrome pieces had a very subdued and restricted range of colours, predominantly blue, but with red and yellow ochres and sometimes brown and green. The designs were also much less flowery and were much more direct than on this piece.
Is it earthenware, white clay or soft-paste porcelain? I'll ask my husband if he can decipher the Arabic or Farsi inscription on the back; it might not be a signature.
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jbarnewoltj
Registered: June 06, 2008
Posts: 851
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| | July 14, 2010 at 11:38 AM | Reply with quote | #94 |
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| Thanks, fk, this is far more information than I ever expected. I just have surfed and surfed the internet, and have not found a single item that has the same look as this piece. Anything you might know would be a great help. It seems to be a white clay or porcelain. The glaze itself has a greenish cast to it, but where it is chipped near the base it seems to be white and thick--not fine like our fine porcelain today--it has some weight to it. It does not seem like earthenware to me though. Thank you so much! I am excited to know that your husband might be able to decipher the inscription! |
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fk
Registered: June 30, 2009
Posts: 143
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| | July 14, 2010 at 12:41 PM | Reply with quote | #95 |
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Here's a piece that has a little similarity. It's a squinch tile from Samarkand or thereabouts. Though the design and colours are different, the outlining of the high relief areas is very like your pot:
http://www.christies.com/Lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?pos=8&intObjectID=5302973&sidd=
Early Oriental soft-paste porcelain was white and thick and can be almost chalky in texture; it chips and crumbles easily once the glaze has been chipped. Earthenware is the hardest, with white clay somewhere between the two. There was also frit ware, which was a mixture of quartz or ground glass mixed with clay and potash, but I don't think your piece is that, judging by its foot.
The greenish-white glaze is a puzzle; I don't recall having come across that in early Islamic ware before; it suggests that a copper oxide was used, or possibly some kind of frit, which is powdered glass applied to the outside of the pot before firing. I can't really tell from photos. Possibly your best bet is to consult an oriental pottery expert at your state's biggest and best equipped museum.
My husband's not yet home, but I'll bend his ear as soon as he is!
On another note, I'm not sure if ginger preserved in syrup was manufactured in the Islamic regions. It certainly was (and is) in China and was exported, often in ceramic jars, along the Silk Road.
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fk
Registered: June 30, 2009
Posts: 143
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| | July 14, 2010 at 02:11 PM | Reply with quote | #96 |
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Judy, the words of wisdom from Himself go like this: it's probably Arabic, or, at least the second word is, but might be Farsi with an Arabic loanword, or it might be Chinese re-hashing of a language, much like the squiggled signatures on Chinese netsuke.
The first word my husband doesn't recognize; it's comprised of the consonants 'n,z,n,r,' which doesn't seem to be a root word in Arabic at all. The second word means 'compress' or 'a compress,' in the medical sense, and is Arabic. Either way, the Arabic words for 'ginger' aren't represented and the inscription seems not to be a signature.
I wonder if the piece is an ointment, poultice or medicine jar, rather than a ginger jar, and, extending the imagination, if the flowers/plant on the front of the jar were the component parts of the ointment, etc., always accepting that ginger, perhaps compressed ginger, is used as a medicine in the East. Purely conjectural on my part, of course.
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jbarnewoltj
Registered: June 06, 2008
Posts: 851
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| | July 15, 2010 at 07:22 PM | Reply with quote | #97 |
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Hi fk,thank you for all this great information---of course I would love it if it were a signature, but it does make more sense as some kind of label, considering the placement of it---I would generally look for a signature in a less conspicuous place, but I don't know Arabic practices regarding such things. This is very interesting, and I really appreciate your taking the time to find all these answers for me!!! It sounds like you are very knowledgeable in this area. Thanks for the insights!  |
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gleeson
Registered: April 09, 2009
Posts: 781
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| | July 28, 2010 at 08:59 AM | Reply with quote | #98 |
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i've recently taken an interest in (gulp) jade! my father had a few pieces and i've been photographing some of them, doing some reading, and trying to find a discussion forum for jade as good as INSF but no luck!
i've asked before but it doesn't hurt to ask again. does anyone here collect jade and/or know of a discussion forum as good (responsive and courteous) as INSF?
i shared this belt buckle at the last local chapter meeting. IIRC, MVH said it dates from late 18th-early 19th c. i think it's jadeite.
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fk
Registered: June 30, 2009
Posts: 143
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| | July 28, 2010 at 12:53 PM | Reply with quote | #99 |
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It certainly looks more like jadeite, gleeson; nephrite rarely has that bright emerald green hue.
Whoever carved it has cleverly used the colour changes in the stone.
You'll find there have been discussions about carving jade over on 'The Carving Path' forum, but mostly from a carver's p.o.v. I don't know of a collectors' forum, though.
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gleeson
Registered: April 09, 2009
Posts: 781
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| | July 28, 2010 at 02:05 PM | Reply with quote | #100 |
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thanks fk. at this point, i'm not as curious about the carver's pov as subject and period of each piece, but that may change later.
what i've learned so far is that there are many 'experts' out there whose proclamations have to be taken with a grain (if not a whole bag) of salt!
i will have a look on the carving path forum.
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