Qianjiang style bowl

[Adriano]

I would like to have comments on this bowl.
The mark is Tongzhi, but these printed marks were used in the late Guangzu period.
The decoration itself points from late Guangzu to early Republic.
May be that calligraphy can help.

Thank you.

[Adriano]

more

[peterp]

Hi Adriano,

This type of floral decoration has been around since the Guangxu reign. I have it on a teapot dated 1894, which is likely right, because the name of a well-known porcelain painter is given and the quality is about right for that period. This floral design has been made until the early 20th century, but not so sure if it was until the republic period. You will find that the later ones (from the late 19th and early 20th century use a bit different painting material, compared to earlier Qianjiang wares. This type was new then and was becoming increasingly popular then.
The Tongzhi mark is known to have been used until the Guangxu reign. This is not an exception; when a reign changed often the name of the previous reign was still used a few years in the succeeding reign.
And, the mark does not look printed to me. This appears to be the impression of a regular seal stamp. This type of mark was popular in the Tongzhi reign, especially among private kilns. It may be because it was simple to apply and the kiln did not require a special mark painter/writer for this.

Probably Guangxu reign, I would think, despite the Tongzhi mark.

[Adriano]

Hi Peter,

your opinion is important for me.
For the mark I said printed because I do not know the different techniques when not hand written.

Thank you.

[peterp]

Hi again.
FYI, seals are still widely used today in everyday life, instead of a signature. Chinese ones are usually square, Japanese ones often are oval or round. You just go to a seal shop and they will carve one for you. Such seal marks often will show irregular edges over time, either from use or due to uneven application. With printed seal marks the strokes are very uniform, all the same color hue.

For the kiln the use of a seal would have been convenient because anyone could have used this. In some periods and kilns there was a specific person writing only the marks, by hand.

[Adriano]

Hi Peter,

Thank you again.