Authentic Qing Dynasty Export Porcelain Cache-Pot

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Authentic Qing Dynasty Export Porcelain Cache-Pot

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Sold Date: 06/28/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty Export Porcelain Cachepot
This very nice piece of authentic antique Chinese Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty porcelain was purchased from the American Heritage Collection in 1979. The name "Cache-Pot" is a French term used to identify a decorative jardiniere designed to hold a small potted plant or cut flowers (from the French cache , meaning hidden, literally "to hide the pot"). From the 1979 catalog description by the American Heritage Collection Director, Ernest S. Quick, on his return from China: "In Canton, I was able to buy a limited number of authentic antique porcelains to be offered for sale in these pages. All the pieces presented are from the Ch'ing [ Qing ] dynasty. They were probably made at the famous Ching te Chen works, whose craftsmen produced superbly designed and executed wares, many for the imperial household itself. We have a limited number of each item shown, every one an attested antique"....
...."The classic blue-and-white cachepot originally held smoldering incense sticks in sand. Probably made between the Yung Cheng [Yongzheng] and T'ung Chih [ Tongzhi ] period , this cachepot makes a distinctive centerpiece or handsome writing desk accessory."
[italics mine]
Underglaze Blue and White decoration was begun in China during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Among the first pieces decorated in Blue and White were large dishes made for Arab tradesmen in Persia, who also supplied the cobalt oxide needed for the decoration. During the Ming dynasty that followed (1368-1644), blue and white decoration developed and grew in fame. The first Europeans to import Chinese porcelain were the Portuguese in the 16th century, soon followed by the Dutch and the British in the early 17th century. With the advent of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the western export trade took a great leap, and Chinese ceramic production reached its peak production in the reigns of Kang Hsi (1622-1722), Yung Cheng (1723-1735) and Chien Lung (1736-1796) of the Qing dynasty.
This cachepot is 4.5 inches in diameter and 3.75 inches tall, and in excellent to very good condition, with no chips or cracks or damage. It shows somewhat less than normal wear expected for its age and nothing that would benefit from being restored, from a professional standpoint . T are a number of small original kiln imperfections such as some grit stuck to the glaze and minor impurities in the porcelain clay, a normal occurrence in antique ceramics. The reign marks are faded and worn away from the base (see photos).
As the original American Heritage Collections description suggests, this would make a handsome antique centerpiece or desk accessory -- and, of course, would also serve its original purpose very well, to hold potted or cut flowers!
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