1950s Vintage Shiwan Wall Pocket of Birds in a Bamboo Grove

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Chinese art is generally not whimsical but the ceramic objects made by Shiwan potters always make me laugh. This is … Read more Chinese art is generally not whimsical but the ceramic objects made by Shiwan potters always make me laugh. This is a wall pocket or wall hanging featuring birds on a bamboo grove that is so favored by Southern Chinese in the Mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The Wall Pocket is a good representation of mid 20 century product from Shiwan, or Shekwan the pottery center of South China. Shiwan has a rich history, the Shiwan potters claimed their ancestry from the Song Dynasty potters of Zhejiang who fled the Mongol invasions in the 13 century and they settled in the fertile delta of the Pearl River where the sand and local minerals replicated their materials from their former pottery. They settled in Shiwan near the city of Foshan, near the Provincial Capital of Guangzhou (Canton.)

Shiwan in the 20 century was the pottery center of South China where they made many pottery items for the household. However, there was a group of creative potters who produced artistic products. This wall pocket is one of the garden related pottery they produced. It can be used as a flower pot to be hung on the wall. The birds are almost three dimensional and they perch lifelike on the bamboo branches. The vignette is birds in a grove of bamboo trees.

The glazes used here are very typical of Shiwan, from the blue green glazes used on the leaves and stems to the red brown flambe glazes on the background. The crackling under the green glaze is a good sign of age. Shiwan pieces are very spontaneous, there are areas not covered by glazes to the glaze drips on the back. The modeling of the birds are done very well. See less