Chinese Export Bough Pot, ca. 1850
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GUEST:
I was introduced to antiques at a young age. At the age of nine, I was at an antique auction with my parents, and a piece that I wanted, which was a wicker doll stroller, you know, a baby carriage, came across, and that was going to be mine. I had my own money, and when it came up, I put my number up, and I said, "Do you see that doll stroller? That's mine." So I bought my first piece at the age of nine.
APPRAISER:
How fun. Now, how did you come across this?
GUEST:
This was bought at an estate sale of a woman-- she was the secretary to the U.S. ambassador in the Panama Canal.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
I was told it's a Chinese incense burner, and that it might be Rose Medallion, that's all I know.
APPRAISER:
Okay. This is porcelain, and I can tell that by a closer examination. The second thing that I can tell about this object is that it is an unusual shape, and I want, just so everybody can see it, I'm going to take the top off. And you notice it's got these holes in the cover, which is why your friends thought it was an incense burner. Well, in fact, it's not an incense burner, it's for flowers.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And the stems are kept separated by those holes.
GUEST:
Neat!
APPRAISER:
Now, the other thing that's interesting that most people don't realize-- the opaque colors that you see on here, the pinks and the yellows and the dark greens-- these are colors that were invented by Westerners working in China, in the late 17th century, for the Chinese court. They're not colors that the Chinese invented. And we know that the pink color, specifically, did not exist prior to about 1720. This is a type of ware we call famille rose or Rose Medallion, and it would date to about 1860. And I can be pretty sure about that when I turn it over, and I see this sort of rough surface.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It's an orange peel effect.
GUEST:
Hmm.
APPRAISER:
We call that orange peel, and this could actually date as early as about 1840.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
1840 to 1860. And it's somewhat of a neoclassical shape. It's a very nice example, with these rather nice, gilded turned handles, that look-- are simulating rope.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And what did you pay for this?
GUEST:
$200.
APPRAISER:
$200? Well, you got a pretty good deal. It's worth about $500 to $600.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So, a nice thing.
GUEST:
Thank you.
Appraisal Details
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