Please Help with Mark

[jstav]

Hello, I'm really happy I found this forum.  My grandmother gave me some items, and one was a vase that her mother gave her, and thinks it was bought around 1942.  If anyone could provide any details on the attached mark, I'd be forever grateful.  She also gave me an urn with some inscriptions on it.  I'll try to get some pics of everything and post them when I get a chance.
I'm really very curious about the history of these things.  They'll be passed down.
Thanks so much!
Jason

[carlyoung]

Hi there

It could be a Qianlong mark , but the thing about Chinese porcelain is the mark is the last thing you go by when trying to put a date on a piece because they copied so many marks over the years , much more important is the shape , decoration , footrim , enamel colours (if any) .

Your best bet would be to take photo's of the whole piece , including close-ups of the painting style and colours , the base including the foot rim etc.

Hope this helps.

Carl

[jstav]

Thanks so much Carl!
I'm trying to post pics, may resort to image hosting site links ;)
Cheers,
Jason

[jstav]

Here are the pics!
imgur.com/a/1ITZl
It really is an interesting looking item, looks like it has a cape tied to it.

[carlyoung]

It looks quite nice , the photos are not the clearest but It could possibly be 19th century , Looks quick a nice piece as well.

Please wait for Peter to take a look before we go any further.

[jstav]

appreciate the update!  This is such a great forum, and I'm really thankful for it.  I can post clearer pics, but would like to hear from Peter if he does comment.
Really, I just want to have an interesting story to talk about with my beloved, octogenarian, grandmother.

Best Regards

[jstav]

I'm also wondering what the faces are on each side.  I thought it may be devil/demon, but doesn't look like any of those pics I looked up.

[jstav]

here's a clearer picture of the detail.  thanks in advance.
http://imgur.com/a/eeSK8

[carlyoung]

Hi there

Thanks for the new pic , I would say this vase is what is called a double gourd famille rose vase on yellow ground , It has a Qianlong mark on the base , but taking into consideration the decoration quality , the colour of the enamels and the base including the footrim , I will say 19th century.

Quite a nice piece , look after it.

[jstav]

carlyoung, really appreciate your analysis.  It is a family heirloom, I will insure that it remains as such, treasure it like my grandmother did, and her mother too!
As the story goes, a country band came into their small country Texas town, heard that our family had some of these items, and made a significant offer in front of my grandmother.  My great-grandmother turned them down.  This was in 1947.

[Stan]

This does not look like Guangxu to me or anything traditional, it looks more like something you would see in mid to late 20th century, in my opinion.

[jstav]

Thank You for your comment Stan!

[peterp]

This seems to be imitating a design used from about the Qianlong reign. It is occasionally seen on high quality auction wares, but this one does not have the very careful workmanship those usually show.  I do not know if they are imperial wares, originally, but those I have seen are usually of similar high quality. The porcelain ribbon is usually better executed.
This one looks simpler and smaller than those vases.  The colors used and the dark outlines seem to point to something made probably in the third quarter of the 20th century, or later.  And the quality of the decoration is lower. Most likely it is trying to copy those earlier ones.

[jstav]

Thank You Peter! 
I was told that these were purchased in Panama, when my great grandparents were stationed there.  Some other things I was given came wrapped in a newspaper from Hong Kong, circa 1940.  My grandmother's memory may be fading about some of these things...

[jstav]

I did some searching, and found one very similar to the one I have up for auction.  i may buy it, but they are advertising it as QING FAMILLE ROSE , so the price may be prohibitive depending on what it can get to.  Anyone, thought that was another fascinating tidbit of information.