Old Chinese Bowl w/ Mark

[Jayhawk255]

Hi,

My great grandfather died recently (101 years old...wow!) and we found an old bowl in his attic that we believe he brought back from when he was in the military.  We were going to donate it to a thrift store but one of the people helping clear out his house told us that it looks pretty old so maybe hold onto it.  It's beautifully decorated and has what appears to be a handwritten mark in Chinese on the bottom and a Chinese character that was incised(?) next to it.  I've decided to keep it as a keepsake from my great grandfather but would love to hear if anyone has any insight into the history/part of the world it may have been made in - would love to be able to give some background on it when friends come over!    Thank you!!!

-Sam 

[cogar]

Wait until our resident expert on Asian pottery takes a look at it.

[mart]

Best to get Mat to take a look !! These marks rarely tell much !!  Usually the region where made and the style !!  Style may have been one of the earlier rulers but made much later !! 

[Mat]

Hi, this is a Tongzhi reign mark (1862-74) and the style of the decoration looks fine for that period in my opinion...

[mart]

So it was made during that reign and not one of those "in the style of" marks ?? 

[Mat]

Yes, I would say so. Of course there were made lots of pieces with Tongzhi marks during the reign of his successor Guangxu and later, but these had rubber stamped marks and not hand written ones. Also the style is typical for Tongzhi period. So in this case I have no reason to believe that it is a later piece...

[mart]

Thanks Mat !!