Lidded Melon jar

[Stan]

Hi Peter, Melon, Ginger jar not sure, I believe that this pattern is called Cabbage Pattern, It is rare, there are age signs, rust spots, pitting inside and out side in the decoration, the hight is 23.5 cm and the diameter is 20.3 cm it is well painted, could you tell me the age, I found a pair online and they said theirs was from the Xianfeng 1851 - 1861, but the foot on mine looks more guangxu to me, thanks for all your expertise.

[Stan]

Here are more photos to view.

[Stan]

More photos.

[Stan]

here is the last photo, thanks again for your help.

[peterp]

Hi Stan,
Literally I would translate it as "white cabbage" but the actual English name seems to be "Chinese cabbage"; it has a longitudinal shape and leaves are softer than the western cabbage. I never knew this in Europe, but here it is standard fare.

This is difficult to date exactly. I would only say late Qing or second half of 19th century. The reason is that it probably was made over several reigns. The presence of butterflies and other insects often indicates an earlier than 'end of 19th century period'. Butterflies and other insects were most popular in the Daoguang reign, but may occasionally appear on later wares too. Tongzhi is also a possibility.
It is in very good condition and has nice age signs.

(This cabbage appears also carved in jade and in traditional paintings due to the auspicious meaning of its name in Chinese culture: 白菜(baicai) reads the same as the characters for 'a hundred fortunes' in Chinese.)

[peterp]

By the way, I have never seen a lid rim marked that way. Perhaps it is to show which lid belongs to which jar.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, I forgot to mention that the lid has been repaired in a couple of spots but the jar itself in in excellent condition, BTW could Baici be bak-choy, I see that in Chinese restaurants in soups. thanks Peter, that is good to know about the butterflies and insects that make it likely to be mid 19th century.

[peterp]

Stan, when I check this it says Bok-choy, and it is a different type that we also eat, but it may also be a relative of the cabbage family. If you input this 白菜 or 'baicai' into the search engines you should get a much larger type of cabbage. Baicai is the mandarin reading.

Not sure what dialect bok-choy or bak-choi are, probably either Cantonese or Hokkien. They could even use the same characters, but depending on the Chinese dialect and location be pronounced differently.