Porcelain Cranes.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, I not sure of age, although Im sure they are 20th century, Im thinking mid 20th century, I suppose they could be earlier, can you tell me what the marks say and how old do you think they are, the hight is 56.5 cm and they are heavy, I hope the mark reveals the maker and age, thank for your expertise.

[Stan]

Here are the rest of the photo's, thanks for viewing, btw. the white on the foot rim is paper that was glued on to prevent scratching surfaces.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, I just found the mark in my book on Chinese marks, it says the Fujian Association, but that is all it says.

[peterp]

Yes, Fujian Huiguan is a well known association and mark. I believe they came into existence in about the 1930s or 40s, after the early republic period and did function at least until the 50s. Not sure if they still exist, but it is likely around mid 20th century.
This is the first time I see crane figures. They would usually be more common in Japan.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, I had my suspicion that it might be Japanese but the antique dealer said that he was told they are Chinese so I was going by that but then in the back of my book on Chinese marks there was a revision and the mark was in the revised version on marks, I will have to say I got a little exited when I found the mark and it being Chinese, thanks Peter for your help.

[peterp]

Hi Stan, I did not mean that it IS Japanese. I cannot tell. Pairs of bird figurinese were probably more common in China than in Japan.

[Note regarding Fujian Huiguan:
Previously at different occasions I tried to get more reliable on on this mark, but it is difficult. Best is if I tell what I know. "Huiguan" or associations are very common with Chinese. In this case it means an Association of Fujian people or merchants, most likely. Fujian associations were established in many places, e.g. in SE Asia, it seems also in Japan, some were established as early as the late Qing dynasty.
However, it is difficult to establish whether in this case porcelain items with this mark were made for the use of such an association, or if it is an association of porcelain manufacturers located in Fujian province that used the mark. Items I have seen previously marked this way were from the time bracket mentioned above, in the second and early third quarter of the 20th century. On the Chinese internet some sources say some items are late Qing. I got the impression that some items/marks were made (or copied) over a longer time than I know of, but I have really no 'reliable' information.]

With your cranes I noted two unusual things.
First, the mark is in an unusual position; with figurines I would expect them on the bottom or back. Here the mark is positioned in a way as if the maker wanted to make sure that it is not missed. I searched for marks of this type (Fujian Huiguan) and all are similar, written with standard Kaishu characters. But, this one uses a different character style.

Second, the bottom is odd in my opinion. Most Chinese figurines I have seen either have a  completely open base (no bottom), or it is flat, without foot rim, with or without a large round hole as in this case. The flat foot rim itself looks also a but different, but might be fine in the 20th century.

This is all I know...for your evaluation.

[Stan]

Thanks Peter for all the good information, I agree with the dates you came up with mid 20th, could be possibly 40's but, what you are not seeing on the inside of this is a very smooth surface, it almost looks as if it was made in an injection mold but a closer observation reveals  hand made and shavings of excess porcelain left in side, also the weight is heavier than something injected, normally on injection molds the porcelain is thin and lighter, these are heavy, there are also areas inside that you can see where they used porcelain to join porcelain together but certainly not like early republic or earlier these much more refined.