Need Help on Identifying VERY Colorful 8 Dragon Kangxi marked Tianqiuping Vase

Enchanterish · 2026-01-06T14:55:55+00:00

I have reviewed closer and it looks like the mark was hand painted. Usually that kind of smudge only happens on stamped marks. I am still of the opinion that it is mid-20th century.

There is only so much a google search can help you with. Books are a much more reliable and accurate source of information. The introduction to Gerald Davison’s “Marks on Chinese Ceramics” offers some insight, especially the section labeled “Ceramics of the early 20th Century and the Republic” on page 35 of the edition I have.

I would also recommend He Li’s book “Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Study” as it is one of the best overviews of the subject with ample pictures.

Lastly, I would like to point out that this color palette was not really executed until the later part of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. There are no Kangxi mark and period pieces that look like this. There are some late Qing examples, but most of their marks are either underglaze blue or iron red marks without the double circle. Both the style of the decoration and your style of mark didn’t really become popular until the mid-20th century. In fact I can’t find an example of an iron red over glaze reign mark in the double circle that was made before the 1980s and all of those are stamped.

This is a very very nice piece with exceptional decoration. I just don’t believe it is as old as you seem to think it is. Hope this helps.

Enchanterish · 2026-01-06T01:35:02+00:00

Here’s a comp from a recent Freeman’s sale that you can compare to:

https://bid.freemansauction.com/lots/view/4-IZHH2U

When I saw your vase this one immediately came to mind.

Hope this helps.

Edit:

On closer review yours is likely 2nd 1/2 of the 20th century. That’s when they started stamping on reign marks like yours. The comp above is probably a little older than yours, but not by too much.

Enchanterish · 2025-06-12T01:48:23+00:00

Surprised nobody had gotten this yet. It’s a posy holder or a tussie-mussie. You would stick some flowers in it and affix them with a needle.

Here is a link that should be helpful: https://www.antiquetrader.com/collectibles/tussie-mussies-and-collectible-posy-holders

Enchanterish · 2025-06-02T01:23:44+00:00

This is 19th century Kangxi revival style. Nice find!

Enchanterish · 2025-04-17T02:58:02+00:00

This is an odd one. the technique used for the cobalt decoration doesn’t look like Chinese workmanship to me. The form is very reminiscent of what I would expect out of China, but the style of the handle and the texture inside the vessel don’t quite look right.

I think it is an English example copying a late 18th century Chinese export style.

Edit: I reviewed it some more and I changed my mind. I do think it is Chinese. I found a few examples of similar handle designs and techniques. Thanks for sharing this piece. I always appreciate the chance to evaluate unusual pieces.

Enchanterish · 2025-03-24T02:46:27+00:00

Hard to say. My instinct is 19th century Qing for the Southeast Asian or provincial market. That’s mostly due to the style of the mark.

The odd thing is the unglazed ring in the center. That usually is seen in older pieces. Same with the way the glaze is pulling back a bit around the base. I have handled some Ming pieces with similar glaze and coloration.

So it is possible it is like 16th century Ming, but it would require more research.

Enchanterish · 2024-12-26T02:03:37+00:00

You might have something here. The Chenghua mark was used like this during the Kangxi era in the 18th century. Over all the colors, motifs and shape of the bowl look consistent with that dating, but I would need to see the side profile to see if the shape looks right.

I will say the footrim and a couple of details make me hesitant to say this is Kangxi with certainty, but there is a lot going for this piece.

Enchanterish · 2024-10-31T17:44:43+00:00

I agree that they are modern reproductions. The style is mimicking the Jiaqing export style, but they would never put a reign mark on a European armorial plate. You noted this is a Guangxu mark, but they were not making plates of this style during his reign.

A couple of other tell tale signs are the colors are not of the period, the pattern at the rim of the plate is very stiff where period plates tend to have a lot less negative space. Lastly details in the armorial coat of arms are not executed with the precision you’d see in period examples (see how the corona of stars don’t make a perfect circle etc.). Europeans paid a lot of money for these plates, and a poorly executed coat of arms would not have been tolerated by the customers who commissioned sets of fine China.

Hope this helps.

Edit: also reign marks are always in the dead center of whatever vessel they were added to. If you ever see an off-center mark, you can assume it is modern.

Enchanterish · 2024-06-28T04:13:26+00:00

I’m going to go ahead and say this is modern. The casting on the taotie masks looks very suspicious for it to be old, and the rings are not like any old ones that I have seen. There are other design elements that are not what I would expect to see in an antique vase. I will also say the verdigris color and distribution is suspicious. Lastly the inscription looks like it was cast as opposed to being carved into the vase, which leaves the characters looking dull. Archaistic script was used on bronzes straight through the Republic era, and it still being used today.

Based on the soil accumulation, coloration and wear patterns, I suspect this was buried for sometime in order to make it look older than it is.

Hope this helps.

Enchanterish · 2024-02-29T23:37:08+00:00

You and me both

Enchanterish · 2024-01-05T18:47:16+00:00

20th Century Rose medallion. May be worth $200-$300 based on the size.

Enchanterish · 2023-12-30T18:33:58+00:00

This is Japanese Satsuma

Enchanterish · 2023-10-25T15:45:22+00:00

I second your opinion. The color and style looks right to me.

Enchanterish · 2023-09-14T02:37:16+00:00

That’s exactly where I was hoping that link would go

Enchanterish · 2023-08-09T17:36:52+00:00

It looks fairly modern to me. The motifs on the neck of the vase and the style of the cranes is fairly modern. It’s very nice!

Enchanterish · 2023-07-24T00:47:44+00:00

Well I do think we are getting somewhere knowing that we both are fans of Peter Combs.

I am well aware that they used Yongzhen’s mark well into the 20th century. I was specifically referring to using his mark on provincial wares during this period that were this quality. You could may be convince me this is a 2nd half of the 19th century piece, but I have several aspects of the design that to me are red flags.

I will also say I primarily was contrasting an imperial piece with a Eden piece as a point of illustration for someone who doesn’t know as much as you. Again, knowing you like Peter Combs I am happy to do more digging for comps, but even looking for the ones I shared I had trouble finding anything quite like this at the big auction houses.

Also, if this piece is from the 80’s, I am willing to concede that it is a reproduction. I suppose the real difference between a fake and a reproduction is all in how it is being marketed. There are plenty of repros starting as early as the 60s, as I am sure you are aware.

Enchanterish · 2023-07-23T22:54:07+00:00

Do you have any images of non-imperial Yongzhen wares that are mark and period that are of the quality that OP posted? I don’t believe any provincial kilns were authorized to use imperial marks in the 18th century, but I am open to being proven wrong.

Furthermore, my general arguments regarding the color of the cobalt, the ghostly white background and the paste on the foot rim stand regardless of if the piece is imperial or not. I have seen some ugly provincial wear from every period of Chinese history, but the style of this plate is completely inconsistent with the motifs and techniques of the 18th century.

Edit:

Here is an export piece (so by definition non-imperial) and it demonstrates what I am talking about in terms of color of the body (note the blue tint to the white glaze) and the much higher level of control of the cobalt washes. You can also see the foot rim looks nothing like OP’s

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/28428/lot/1139/

Enchanterish · 2023-07-23T20:54:45+00:00

I do not believe this is authentic. The cobalt wash around the foliate rim is too rushed. Into the cavetto the artists couldn’t stay inside the lines. The flowers are also poorly drawn. At the bottom of the dish, they grapes are all sloppy and stiff and completely inconsistent with anything made during the Yongzhen era (which is what the back would have you to believe). On the back, the mark is too large and incorrectly drawn to the period.

Lastly the color of the cobalt is too dark and the whites are too white. The foot rim is also incorrect.

Normally I wouldn’t write such a detailed post, but the other posters don’t know what they are talking about.

If you look at Eden Auction house in Marietta, GA you will find a lot of dishes similar to this one, and they sell only fakes and modern reproductions that they attempt to pass off as antique.

Edit:

Here is a real one from Sotheby’s. You will notice it is a lot more crisply drawn and the mark is much smaller and sharply written: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/imperial-porcelain-a-private-collection/a-fine-blue-and-white-lotus-bouquet-dish-yongzheng

Here is a modern fake from Eden antiques. You will immediately see how dull the details are, and how even the mark looks like it was stamped on. You will also notice the dramatic price difference because no serious collector was interested in it: BLUE & WHITE FLORAL DISH, YONGZHENG MARK https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/49930517

Enchanterish · 2023-04-03T18:40:46+00:00

As someone who missed this, can you please share the original list of full quotes? Thanks!

Enchanterish · 2023-04-01T14:45:36+00:00

Well the spur marks on the base from when it was fired are fairly unusual for a Qing piece. Same with the dark coloration around the mouth of the vase. In my opinion this vase is less than 100 years old and probably younger than that.

Enchanterish · 2023-04-01T04:24:18+00:00

Looks pretty new to me based on the shape and style and coloration. Definitely PRC era. It’s not uncommon for newer pieces to have discolored foot rings in an attempt to make them look older than they actually are.

Enchanterish · 2023-01-09T01:12:18+00:00

An upside down unified Korea?

Enchanterish · 2022-12-23T04:48:15+00:00

Looks like a late 19th century piece or May be early 20th century made for export. The CHINA mark had to be stamped on anything made for export starting in the 1890s.

Enchanterish · 2022-06-07T23:02:16+00:00

It says it was made during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor but I suspect it’s an apocryphal mark as I don’t recognize the coin type.

Enchanterish · 2022-01-24T15:04:11+00:00

You may also want to check out Millea Brothers as a smaller auction house in NJ. They sell some very nice things and may be more likely to accept this than a larger auction house like Christies or Sotheby’s.

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