Ginger Jar

[kevote]

This jar has been in the family for three generations - but apart from the fact that it is well loved we do not know anything about it.  Can you tell us?

[Stan]

This is printed, It must have been fairly new when your relatives purchased it without a photo of the bottom and of the faces I will guess and say from the 1960's a picture of the bottom and one of the faces will confirm this.

[kevote]

Yes I had the markings re interpreted because I have not been able to get a photo with the small memory data.  The markings were rewritten but absolutely certain this jar is 19th century at youngest.

[Stan]

The Chinese did not start printing until 2nd half of the 20th century.

[kevote]

Please see these photos

[kevote]

bottom of the jar

[peterp]

Whether the jar body is old is difficult with such pictures.
I'm afraid these colors cannot be from imperial times. They look more like chemical colors than mineral ones, and the bright color combination is also highly unlikely.
The heart shapes on the shoulder also are a 20th century product, learned from the west. The Chinese culture never had the symbolic meaning or shape of a heart.
As far as these small pictures allow seeing, the painted faces also seem to be 20th century.

The mark is a Hongxian mark, which itself would be post-imperial, the mark of the usurper Yuan Shi-kai, but it hardly is authentic. After all these years I have never seen a genuine Hongxian item except in pictures. They were too rare, and of much better quality.

If you do not own this item but consider buying it - don't. This is an easy to recognize later item with little collecting value. I would not call it a fake because it is too easy to recognize.