Antique Vases - Chinese Of Course
Chinese antique vases have always been very collectible.
There are many reasons for this. One of them is the amazing quality. The craftsmen often spent years as apprentices and a lifetime to harness their skills. Older vases are rarer, sometimes a vase will be unique and thus is scarcity will make it valuable.
As with a lot of Chinese antiques vases, there are so many varieties that many items are not catalogued and this adds to the interest. appeal and the chance of a valuable find.
Another reason for the popularity is the mystique that applies to them. In fact this applies to most oriental antiques. To people from western culture, oriental culture is often mysterious and intriguing and collecting something from these far away places can be fascinating.
It is difficult to know which area to specialise in, but the first thing to achieve is a general knowledge of Chinese vases, then you will have a clearer idea of what to collect. Some of the oldest antiquities from China are over two thousand years old and little remains from this period. From the Han dynasty (from 206 B.C to 220 A.D.) some items can be found.
These are usually items that have been found in tombs. These pieces often showed a green glaze and contained lead.
In the Tang dynasty (618 A.D. to 906 A.D.) Large tomb figures of animals with glazes of orange, brown and green have been recorded, these often have a silvery glaze to them. Stoneware vases were also found with a high quality glaze.
In the Sung dynasty (960 to 1279) carved and incised designs of great beauty are prevalent
The Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) saw the area south of Nankin grow in to a very large and important area for manufacturing high quality porcelain. It was from this area that China owes its recognition for quality porcelain and its fame throughout the world. Such an abundance of good porcelain vases were produced here and although relatively rare some survive to this day. These can be distinguished by their under glaze of blue.
Other very popular and highly regarded vases from this period are the three coloured ones with raised threads filled with coloured glazes with an under glaze of blue. and an over glaze of red, yellow, green or brown-purple. This became known as famille verte.
Other factories produced fine white vases that are called blanc-de-chine (Chinese white). This style has been produced by other Chinese manufacturers for hundreds of years.
These are some of the main areas that you can collect the older vases from. What ever you decide to collect you will find this a fascinating and thoroughly absorbing hobby.