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help please . . . not sure what this is, what era from and if it has value??

by christy
(connecticut, usa)

Hi. I have had this bowl for a couple of years and i know nothing about it and am curious and would love to find out. not sure what it is made of, what era its from and if it has any value. any imput would be greatly appreciated . . . please. not sure if its gold, brass or bronze on the outside. but also in the painting there is the gold, brass and/or bronze again.

again, any help would greatly be appreciated. much thanks, christy.

Comments for help please . . . not sure what this is, what era from and if it has value??

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caici
by: christy

hi peter and thanks for the update. but still so confused . . . so are you still unsure or should i go by what your last post stated? where could i go to find out exactly what this bowl is or where it was made? any thoughts, im in connecticut but about 30 min from new york. much thanks as alw`ays

I dont't think it is worthwhile. And, it is quite unsure that you will find any further information.
The information you mentioned can be found on the Chinese language Internet of China and Hong Kong. I doubt you will find anything better in a non-Chinese environment, in this case. If your item is from the 70s, it will not be considered antique and antique dealers or appraisers won't have any sales records to consult.
But anyway, we often have/find items which we cannot identify exactly. It is only when an item is "young" that this might be possible from a factories catalogue or similar.. Chinese antiques simply didn't have any records.

Peter
bowl
by: peter

Yes, we didn't even think of the possibility that the character could be "sheng".
However, that would be "Made by Yongsheng Caici Chang", probably (note: not "caishi" but "caici").
With this I could find that there are at least two current ceramics factories in China having that name, all located near Hong Kong. But the most likely information which I cannot verify, however, says this is a porcelain factory established in 1976 in Hong Kong itself. It is or was specializing in manufacturing traditional style porcelain items.
Hi Peter could this be true?
by: Christy

This is what someone said of the bowl, what are your thoughts on it please:

Your bowl probably was made in the late 20th century in China, then given its metal cladding and decoration in Hong Kong or Macau. It bears a somewhat convoluted seal-script mark (shown here on its right side) that possibly reads 'Yong Sheng Cai Shi Chang Zhi'. I believe this might be translated as 'Made by the Ever-Victorious Enameled Ornament Factory'.

Very confused
reply to peter
by: Christy

thank you so very much for all of your help . . . I really appreciate it! One other thought, where could I go to really find out about this bowl or possibly bring it there? I am in Connecticut and just 30 min from New York? Any last thoughts?
mark
by: peter

The mark is very clear, it is just that two of the characters are in an archaic character type that we have difficulties reading. I have been thinking whether the name mentioned in the first two characters was "Nagafuji", but not sure about the second one. This is a common Japanese name.
Again, this can be Japanese, but could also be later Chinese (less likely though, in my view). Cannot estimate value.

There are many porcelain items that were modified with metal fittings, like metal rim rings, a metal foot, etc. That the whole bowl was enclosed this way is the first time for me.

Yes, it cannot be bronze. Bronze is not suitable for working this way; it is much harder than brass and would probably break during the shaping process. Bronze is mostly used for casting...
reply to peter
by: Christy

hi peter,

so sorry for the delay, didnt realize you had answered me. thank you.

would you like me to try to post a clearer picture of the characters underneath, that might help? yes, I believe the brass embraces the porcelain bowl. The brass is completely around the entire outside of the bowl and there seems to even be a lip on top that is edging over.

so you think its brass not bronze? im so confused as to what this is and where its from! someone told me they thought it was a finger bowl? any thing that you could offer to help is so greatly appreciated!!

christy

bowl
by: peter

Not sure if I can help you with this. I cannot read the second character of the mark, which would be important to identify the name. It seems to say "Made by ... polychrome porcelain factory".
"..." could be a Japanese name.
The decoration, if Chinese, would have to be from the second half of the 20th century, but if it is Japanese it might be older.
Is the brass embracing the porcelain, or does it serve as base for painted on enamels? You should be able to see this along the edges.

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