Interesting vase

My grandmother received this porcelain as a present in the late 50s.

By that time she was told that it is an interesting Ming. It is 15cm. tall (aprox.6") and has some brownish dots that do not modify its smooth surface.

The handles are demons or dragons. It seems to me as a Ming, but the regularity of its base seems to me "too modern".

I would greatly appreciate your opinion.

Thanks in advance for your interest and your time,

Faceted vase with "Morning Glory" decoration

Your faceted vase is of an unusual and quite interesting shape.

The decoration is of "Morning Glory" and the original do date to the Ming dynasty, Xuande (1426-35) period, which is indicated by the mark on your vase.

This vase is later though, and thus becomes hard to date. It is of a good quality, well made and nicely decorated. The paste seems to be of a dry white - which is more typical for late Qing period pieces and - as a matter of fact - also for Japanese porcelain.

If we should try to date this vase, I would suggest a "most likely" date to the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty i.e. the first decades of the 20th century. The reason for this is at least in part, that this is a highly qualified piece, and must have been utterly hard to come by as a model in real life, and therefore most likely must have been copied from some kind of illustration.

Unfortunately I can't get any closer than this without actually being able to handle the vase it in person. Please note that this is my personal opinion only and that this vase - should it be a genuine piece - would be extremely valuable.

For further referece on this piece the Imperial Musum in Taiwan have published a catalougue on their collection on Xuande porcelan in 1980. Similar vases like this, made from Xuande up until mid Qing Dynasty" are published as # 5, 6, and 7. The #7 being dated to the "Ming dynasty" and also the one most similar to your vase.

I hope this helps at least some :-)

Thank you for your interest.

Best regards,
Jan-Erik Nilsson