Chinese Porcelain Jars, ca. 1700
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GUEST:
I can only say that they have been in my family. They belonged to my father, and I remember them sitting on a mantelpiece when I was a child. And where he got them, I am not sure.
APPRAISER:
Well, they're both Chinese porcelain. They're both about 300 years old. That would be during the reign of Kangxi, which was from 1662 to 1722. And he was an early Qing emperor. Qing Dynasty started in 1644, right after the Ming Dynasty.
GUEST:
All right, okay.
APPRAISER:
So for sake of argument, let's say they're just around 1700. So 300 years old. This one has its original cover. This one has an open work wood cover that's a later edition. That would have had a cover similar to this. Very, very typical deep blue and prunus blossom design throughout. Very pretty colors. This one has the Kangxi mark on the bottom, as you see there, and this one does not. This one unmarked, this one marked, okay? Now, this one has some reserves...shaped reserves of antiquities, as it's known, whereas this one is prunus blossom on a blue ground all around. Very, very pretty jar. These jars are often known as ginger jars, but strictly speaking, they're both covered jars. This one is a little better. This one without the cover, without a mark, I would say $1,500 to $2,000, something like that.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
This one, with the cover and with the mark, $3,000 to $5,000, maybe more. They're both very, very nice jars, and they're in great condition, and they're 300 years old.
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