Tuesday 19 November 2013

Ceremonial Small Plates - Thailand

Some 30 years ago, I found these assorted pieces of ceremonial plates belonging to my ancestors being stored away in boxes at my grandfather's house in Thailand.




 These plates with raised stands were often being used by my grandparents for ceremonial religious occasions.





Usually small offerings like fruits, flowers and altar offerings are placed onto these plates during the wedding or religious ceremonies in Thailand.



They are not dated anywhere on the plates but we all know that they were made in China over a hundred years ago.




 Close-up View.



Monday 11 November 2013

Ming Dynasty - Blue & White Bowl


 This is a lovely heavy bowl that lines with floral & leaf motifs in Blue & White.









The bottom of the bowl says it was made during the reign of Ming Dynasty : Emperor Xuan Der



 Emperor Xuan Der of Ming Dynasty 
(Year 1399 - 1435)

Sunday 10 November 2013

Turqoise Ming Bowl

 This big and heavy bowl has a beautiful Turqoise color that I had never seen anywhere.


 It has light embossed drawings of dragons flying around.





There is another dragon motif inside.



The above Chinese words dates back to the Ming Dynasty - Chenghua Period.




Emperor Chenghua of Ming Dynasty
(Between year 1464 and 1487)

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Yellow Bowl With Birds


This porcelain Yellow Bowl was painted with many embossed birds perching on the blooming cherry tree. The Chinese beliefs on the geomancy that having many birds will bring abundance of travels. I am a firm believer in this.




This bowl was made during the reign of Emperor Guangxu (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908) of Qing Dynasty.


Qing Emperor Guangxu Emperor
(14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908)

Monday 28 October 2013

Teacups With Beautiful Spring Flowers

I was being presented with this set of  pretty flowery tea cups by an elderly inmate before she passed away. I only know that it was being made in China and this old designs were probably made during the era of Qing Dynasty.




I bought the matching teapot and sugar jar separately from the Antique dealer in Melaka. The teapot itself was manufactured in China during the early 1970s.



Such teacups were popularly used during festive occasions as the various Spring flower designs often commemorated the joyous and happy celebrations.



On closer look, you could see the popular and auspicious flowers which the Chinese folks liked to associate with for happy occasions - Lotus, Chrysanthemum, Camellia and even Passion fruits.

Golden Dragon Teapots

I have this incomplete set of Golden Dragon Teapot that comes with milk pot, sugar container and half dozen assorted cake plates & saucers. I have lost all the beautiful teacups during some house moving process!



This set was "Made In Occupied Japan" which meant during the WW2 when Japanese army troops invaded China and S.E. Asia. Their designs had some popular Japanese motifs and embossed surfaces.



 This is the large teapot with the 2 Golden Dragons flying about gracefully.



The smaller teapot for fresh milk is at the front.




This double handled container is for serving sugar.

Friday 25 October 2013

The Great Mosque of Xian

China is a very huge and amazing country of 1.3 billion people with vast historical sites, ancient buildings and well preserved artifacts. I never get tired of visiting this country with all the eye openers. To date I have visited Anhui, Beijing, Chengde, Hebei, Mount Jiuhua, Mount Hua, Nanking, Shanghai, Suzhou, Tianjin and Xian. My coming trips will hopefully cover Chengdu, Mount Emei, Mount Putuo, Mount Wutai, Dunhuang and Urumqi.





 I would say that Xian in Shaanxi Province has the most incredible historical sites that span over 3,100 years ago! The Great Mosque of Xian is a beautiful gated mosque for the Chinese Muslims who are the Hui ethnics clan. They are from mixed descendants and many have lovely facial features.




 The whole area of this Great Mosque has Chinese styled architectures which are well preserved till today.




I spent hours relaxing and walking inside this walled mosque's vicinity.



The Chinese Muslims of Hui clans gather before their prayers for the evening.


Thursday 24 October 2013

Chinese Lunar New Year Bowl

 This is a rare porcelain bowl that is thin like wafers for decorative purposes only and were made to commemorate the festive occasions. When you flick your fingers on the bowl, it will emit the sound of long buzzing tones.
 


This white porcelain bowl shows the drawings of happy Chinese kids during the Chinese Lunar New Year. They are wearing new colourful clothes in joyous mood carrying scroll and lanterns.




The 2 children are lighting firecrackers.




The inside of the bowl.





This bowl was made during the reign of Emperor Guangxu (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908) of Qing Dynasty.


Qing Emperor Guangxu Emperor
(14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908)

Yellow Porcelain Bowl

 This is a rare porcelain bowl that is thin like wafers for decorative purposes only and were made to commemorate the festive occasions. When you flick your fingers on the bowl, it will emit the sound of long buzzing tones.



This porcelain rice bowl is painted in bright attractive yellow with drawings of an old lady holding peaches in her hand outside the gardens, nearby a bridge. The tree with little flowers and bare branches indicated that it could be the Mid-Autumn season. The small child could be her grandson as that lady tied a band over her head showing her matured age.





The illustration shows 2 other children at play - one lighting the festive crackers and the other held the Gold Fish lantern.




Inside the bowl.




This bowl was made during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty.




Qing Emperor -  Guangxu Emperor
(14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908)

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Double Chinese Phoenix Birds & Flowers Plate


This rare Orange coloured plate is wide with a shallow small base for decoration purposes in the homes of the noble ancient Chinese families. The embossed patterns show the Chinese's Heavenly 2 Phoenix Birds flying around the flowers.





This rare plate is very thin like wafers and you flick your fingers on it to hear the long tone buzzing away.




There is no indication on its production date.




Qing Dynasty's Dish Bowl

 
This porcelain serving bowl comes with a dish cover lid that has a Chinese Lion as its top handle.
  This bowl is suitable used to serve soups with the lid covers.



This bowl is designed in blue and white floral patterns that was popular during the Ming Dynasty's period.




With the cover lid removed, one can see its width and shallow depths.






The print below indicated it was made during - Emperor Xian Long's era during the Qing Dynasty.



Serving Plate - Black Drawings


This is a unique serving plate that has drawings done solely in black colour. The illustration shows a female artisan playing a Chinese Musical instrument under the Pine tree. She is standing with her chair behind and a basket on the ground.




The print below the plate dates back to Ming Dynasty's period.


Friday 18 October 2013

3 Tier Chinese Baskets




These 2 traditional Chinese Baskets were made in China for the ceremonial occasions to carry special food and delicacies during the auspicious functions to commemorate the birthdays, weddings and religious festivals.





They were made from the finest pressed bamboo strips and painted in traditional Red & Black lacquer coatings with gold design floral patterns lining around each tier of the basket trays.












Single Tier Chinese Customary Baskets

These are a pair of Chinese woven baskets used for centuries since the ancient days in China. The pair below are believed to be brought in from China to Malaya before the WW2.




These baskets were popularly used to carry Chinese delicacies and cakes for ceremonial occasions such as Weddings, Birthdays and any other Auspicious Religious functions.




This bigger sized basket was made from woven bamboo strips to carry items like assorted fruits or even a whole roasted Chicken, Goose or Ducks.




This small basket was made from pressed bamboo strips and painted in the traditional red & black lacquer coatings. It was suitable to carry small quantity of cakes and desserts.