Qing Saucer

[smak]

Just bought this! :) I thought the decorations were nice!

Wen was this made? What do you guys think?


ibb.co/7KmY67y
ibb.co/7vZk4xB
ibb.co/KXL7gG4
ibb.co/0rLTN25

[peterp]

Hi Simon,
I'm afraid this may be more recent, sometime 20th century.
If this was a blue, underglaze mark, there would be a chance that it was Qing, but there are other features that seem incongruous, looking only at the underside.
Yellow would be the prerogative of the imperial court, if used before the late Qing dynasty. A worm-back foot rim would usually point to imperial ware, but the mark is not written good enough for that, and it looks as if the connection between foot rim and base area was rounded (radius), which is usually a sign of later items from the 20th century.

[smak]

I see! 

Thanks for the clarifications! I was a bit curious what the yellow underside meant! And the handwriting made me think it might be late qing possible republic now? 

Thanks! 

[peterp]

Hardly, probably later. On the other hand, the type of mark looks like enamel painted on top of the glaze. This could have been added at any time later. You can now buy porcelain enamels and bake them in a common household oven at 200+ degree Celsius. This would probably not remove any patina. Yours might be vintage, perhaps. Try finding a similar one.

For us these marks can be a problem. We sometimes encounter real antiques or old items that have marks added this way. I would rather have an unmarked but old item than one that is marked later, even if it is antique. Personally, I think it lowers the collecting value.
But with your item, even if there was no mark, the problem with the rounded foot rim to base connection remains. It is just difficult to tell from when in the 20th century it could be, but unlikely early republic.