Information please.

[Tim]

Hello 

First post here.  I have two Chinese porcelain pieces.  This incense burner is quite pretty hand painted. There are no makers marks and is chunky for its size.  Any information of origin in China and age would be nice.  I found the the sea dragon is a Yinglong and dog is a guardian.

[Tim]

few more pictures

[peterp]

The upper and lower part are one single item, I assume?
I have never seen such a shape in Chinese porcelain. To be clear, the bottom, neck and interior clearly are old. But I have problems with the shape and coloration. I'm not sure if this is Chinese, Japanese or some refurbished/re-painted item, either, looking at the pictures only.
The colors of the main body and part of the lid colors are likely 20th century or Japanese. I don't think it looks Chinese--to clarify this, the colors used do not give the impression of Qing dynasty or earlier. The green decoration of the lower part, the seat/legs looks as if it could be Qing.
The color combination is unusual for Chinese wares.
I would say the body is antique, but this was at least partially refurbished. For example the gilt band on the lid would normally show abrasion on anything from the Qing dynasty.

You could test using a needle and see if it can be inserted into the various colors. Where you can, this would be a later added color. You cannot insert/damage colors originally fired in the kiln with a needle because they would be hard as glass. Later added colors are not fired, usually, because the firing process would normally eliminate all age signs and affect the original glaze and decoration.
Again, my guess is that this item has an old body (perhaps Qing or earlier), but the decoration may be from a later time, possibly 20th century, at least in part.

[Tim]

Thank you peterp,

Thanks for your information so far.  The colours are fired on or my degree in ceramics back in 1981 is not worth the paper it is written on.  I have wondered about the possibility of the item being Japanese or even Korean?  The gilding if rubbed in places.  The item caught my eye in hospice charity shop.  I understand how hard it can be to judge items from just photos.  Having it in your hands would be more telling.  Perhaps other forum members might have more information.  

[peterp]

In my view there is a good chance that it is Japanese, but not Korean. The latter did not use any bright colors.
Shapewise I would think Japanese is more likely, perhaps imitating some Chinese designs. 

[Tim]

Thanks again.  An area to research. Having no knowledge before, I now know that the Chinese and Japanese both had sea/water dragons and that Chinese forms where influential East Asia in general.  This Japanese 19th century wood block print of a sea dragon is pretty much the same even the colours except the horns are longer.  I think that is telling?

[Tim]

Another print, even the sea spray is so similar.

[peterp]

Yes, agreed. Actually, Chinese dragons do not look like this, or very rarely, even water dragons. The dragon was one of the features I was not sure about. There are at least nine different dragons, but I do not remember this one.
Anyway, this should be deciding that the censer is of Japanese origin.