chinese or japanese tea jar old or new ?

[daniels]

Hello,
i would like to know if this thea jar is chinese or japanese.
Also  i would like to know how old or new it might be,
There are 6 sides , one with bamboo, 1 with blossom and 4 with writing.
I hope you can give me an idea what the writing means.
On top of the lid , there is also something written.
The 6 stands on the bottom are not in one piece with the jar.
The color is somewhat blue.
Thank you in advance

[peterp]

Hi Leidie,
The decoration depicts the "three friends of winter", a classic Chinese decoration. They are: pine, bamboo, and prunus (plum blossoms). The former are green even during winter, the latter is one of the earliest blooming trees when it is still cold.
Not sure what the characters on the lid mean, the right one seems to be ?, an auspicious character. Handwriting is sometimes hard to read. On traditional Chinese porcelain this type of writing was not used until the 20th century, I think. The writing at the sides is more likely found on antique porcelain.
That text is Chinese and seems to be poetry. From what I see it also refers to the same as the pictures. It mentions the white color of both, the snow and the plum blossoms, and spring (plum blossoms are heralding the arrival of spring).

The shape is typical for Chinese tea caddies.
As you see the feet were obviously added later and then overpainted (probably). The original bottom would normally look like the rectangle free from paint in the middle of the base.
The item appears to have some age, but without a good view of the original bottom it is difficult to tell for sure how old.
Again, if the lid is not original, then I would think it could be 20th century, perhaps vintage or even antique, if Chinese.
If, on the other hand the lid is original, then it is likely Japanese.

To clarify the problem, the three friends of can also appear on Japanese decorations, and Japanese porcelain sometimes has Chinese text. (Even today, some Japanese practising Kanji calligraphy do that by writing of Chinese text, without knowing what it means.)

[daniels]

Hello Peter,
first congratulations with the new site, first time i visited it.
Thank you for your answer, again,
Kind regards, Leidie