Daoguang wrist rest

[Claudio]

Hello guys,

I'm new here and I am very glad to have found this forum. Thanks to your answers I learned a lot In these months. I ask your opinion about this object. The mark is daoguang and looks like a wrist rest. Cm 14,2.  Do you think it can be authentic?

Thank you in advance
Claudio

[Claudio]

More pics

[Claudio]

More pics. Thanks again

[peterp]

I have some doubts about this being a wrist rest. The latter are usually low and flat on the underside; they have a shape that prevents them from moving. This one would have to be placed on something else to avoid that.
What is 14.2 cm, is it overall length or diameter?
Could it be a paper weight, used to hold down the paper when writing with a brush.
May be M&P in my opinion.

[Claudio]

14,2 cm is the overall lenght. Thank you so much Peterp for your answer. Forgive me for my poor english, I am an italian collector, but what do you mean by M&P? Thank you again, your opinion is as always greatly educational.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, is that how they fired such items, on stilts in the Daoguang period? see first photo.

[peterp]

Hi Stan,
Stilts have been used all the time, but not the way as in Japan. In Japan plates, for example have a foot rim, but still stilts were used.
In China there is either an unglazed bottom, an unglazed foot rim, an unglazed top rim (bowls in the Song dynasty were fired upside down), a circular area inside the foot rim, that is unglazed, for supporting items in the kiln.
Stilts were mostly used with a flat, fully glazed bottom. Certain item types were preferred with stilts, as their overall unglazed area is small and they unobtrusive. Although not shown here, I bet this item has a fully glazed underside. It was fired standing on its side. That would also be space saving, as kilns were sometimes stuffed with thousands of items for firing, and the less space these needed the better.
So, this is not a Daoguang specific method. Stilts were used at least 1500 years, as far as I know.

[peterp]

M&P means mark and period.

[Claudio]

Thank you Peter for your valuable comments.

[Stan]

Thanks Peter, that makes perfect sense.

[billbilly]

There are fully glazed antique bowls from Qing to Song and Tang but the outer top edges aren't perfectly glazed. Tool or stilt marks were visible. When the bottom rim is perfectly glazed the top rim is not as beautifully glazed. Friends told me perfect pieces are in collectors' hands.