Chinse famille rose porcelain figure of Buddha, anyway to id without maker mark?

geob10 · Apr 08, 2018, 23:25:15

Hi,

the Buddha pictured has quite an unusual pattern (or one i haven't come across), unfortunately there is no makers mark, i would say that it dates between 1900 - 1940, am i in the right era? and is there a way to figure out the possible maker by this design?

any help greatly appreciated

George

geob10 · Apr 09, 2018, 02:36:21

thanks for your reply. why is the lack of a mark a good thing? i have one with the makers mark of 'wei hong tai' and was told that was very valuable. sorry if its a silly a question im new to this and there is a lot to learn!

regards

George

heavenguy · Apr 09, 2018, 05:39:20

Not really sure if the lack of mark of mark is good in here. The clothe imprint on the bottom usually means that is from the republic period. Almost all the piece I have seen from the republic period have some type of mark or stamp. The colors are way off for my personal opinion to be republic. Also the shape, he looks like if the Budai was getting skinny. Every piece I seen from him with similar characteristics, he is way chubbier, even 19th century ones.

The no mark on this type of pieces dates to the 1850s to late qing, but the bottom looks way different, kind of like orange and nothing like this. Another possibility for this type of statue to not have mark is for the piece to be more recent, and I'm taking after the 80's.

The problem I see is that this statue has is that it has a cote imprint from the republic, no markings like the ones in the 19th century (before 1880's), and the enamel coors from more recent productions. But I'l wait for Peterp or Stan's opinion on this one. This are just my two cents.

peterp · Apr 09, 2018, 16:19:00

Production of human figurines like this, except those from Dehua, did not really take off before the early republic period. In the 1920s there were two workshops that are encountered often. One was specialized on animalia, including birds, phoenixes etc., the other specialized in human figurines, including figures like this Budai monk, Buddha figures, etc.
The one making human figurines was ??? Huang xiang Ji (image search --> "??? ??"). Not all of these items were marked.

Closeups of the blue and reddish decorations might help decide if this could be of that period or a later item. They later ones are often not neatly painted. Also, the cloth impression of the bottom, if any, might indicate if it could be earlier or later.

geob10 · Apr 09, 2018, 18:43:02

thank you for your replies,

i have a bit of an update there appears to be a mark after all, inline and to the right of the hole on the base it i thin and rectangular. i have yet to view the Buddha in person, so will be able to see clearer then. also what should i be looking for in regards to the cloth impression?

some pictures of decorations and the potential makers mark attached

thanks again

George

DavidC · Apr 10, 2018, 01:27:10

Good thread. Notes taken on the very informative replies. Thanks

geob10 · Apr 19, 2018, 23:01:40

hello again,

i am now the proud owner of the buddha :)

i wondered if i could be pointed in the right direction in regards to the makers mark, it is very hard to make out but it is in a thin rectangular shape, perhaps that narrows down the possibilities? also some more pictures, the inside looks very clean and white, could that mean it has been made later?

regards

George

peterp · Apr 20, 2018, 07:21:02

It looks more like 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 20th century. You could try to get a rubbing of the mark, or what is visible of it.

geob10 · Apr 20, 2018, 07:45:59

ah yes great idea! im not sure if it is that clear, but we'll see

i have handled a few of these now but none like this one, it is huge! it is 15 inches high and im sure well over 5kg, whoever made it made it very well!

peterp · Apr 20, 2018, 15:29:32

The mark is upside down. Only one character is really clear, the others are guessing. The second from left ??? ?, the one with the question mark is completely illegible in the rubbing.

geob10 · Apr 20, 2018, 19:02:57

hopefully this one is a bit clearer and the right way up!

thanks for your help it is much appreciated

George

Hmm · Apr 20, 2018, 21:15:13

The last character that peterp was missing was ?.

????. Apparently it's a name of an artist. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%9B%BE%E5%B1%B1%E4%B8%9C Based on when he's born this is probably a post-1940s piece.

heavenguy · Apr 20, 2018, 21:24:17

wow, apparently he was an accomplished artist. interesting story. In the Bio, they mention that he made a Sun Wukong figure. I only have seen one Sun Wukong figure myself and the person never wanted to sell it to me. anyways, the marked changed everything, then this piece must be something between 40's and 70's.

geob10 · Apr 20, 2018, 23:08:09

thank you for that.

i have heard of his father Zeng Longsheng, and he seems a very well respected artists as well. this is why i like to find the makers name - you get all the history as well! :)

peterp · Apr 21, 2018, 12:54:21

So there is a relation? I tried to find out but did not use Baidu.
Zeng Long Sheng was one of two major artists doing figurines in the early 20th century. He was specialized on human figurines, it seems, the other one was specialized on animals,birds etc.