Description
A charming and unusually graphic Chinese blue-and-white porcelain vase, probably dating from the first half to middle decades of the 20th century.
The gently tapering baluster-shaped body rises to rounded shoulders, a short narrow neck and subtly flared rim. The surface is covered almost entirely with freely painted cobalt-blue scrolling decoration, made up of stylised circular flower heads connected by delicate trailing stems and leaves.
It’s the hand painting that makes this piece particularly appealing. Look closely and the individual brush marks remain visible: some motifs are densely coloured while others are more softly washed, with little variations in scale and spacing around the body. Rather than the mechanical regularity of transfer decoration, it has a wonderfully lively, almost contemporary quality.
The pattern belongs to the long tradition of Chinese blue-and-white scrolling floral and vine decoration. Underglaze cobalt decoration became one of the defining characteristics of Chinese porcelain, and scrolling floral designs were continually reinterpreted by Chinese potters over succeeding centuries.
This vase is unmarked, painting and overall construction look consistent with 20th-century Chinese production, perhaps c.1930–60, continuing earlier Qing decorative traditions.
Height: 20 cm
Maximum diameter: 11 cm
Rim diameter: 7 cm
Base diameter: 7 cm
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