Antique West Asian Polychrome Ceramic Vase with Bird and Floral Decoration, 1900

Details

Description

A highly decorative antique West Asian, or Middle Eastern, polychrome glazed ceramic vase dating from the late 19th or early … Read more A highly decorative antique West Asian, or Middle Eastern, polychrome glazed ceramic vase dating from the late 19th or early 20th century.

The unusual tiered form consists of a broad spreading foot, tapering lower section, rounded central body, long neck and dramatically flared mouth. Its carefully balanced proportions give the vase an architectural and sculptural appearance.

The decoration is freely hand-painted beneath a transparent glaze. Large white rosettes and stylised flowers are arranged against the rich cobalt-blue ground of the central body. Upright tulip-like flowers and leafy stems decorate the neck, while the lower section includes stylised birds among flowering vegetation.

The rich palette combines cobalt blue, pale blue, turquoise, manganese purple, olive or sage green and expressive dark brown-black outlines. The bird-and-flower imagery draws upon the historic West Asian tradition of idealised garden decoration and evokes nature, vitality and abundance.

The transparent glaze displays extensive natural age-related craquelure. The deeply recessed unglazed underside exposes the pale granular ceramic body and retains the irregularities associated with traditional handmade production. The deeper interior of the neck is rough and partially unglazed, apparently as made. The vase is unmarked.

The vase remains complete and has a beautiful decorative presence. There is a small chip to the outer edge of the flared mouth. One side of the central body has an old repaired vertical crack with visible amber-coloured adhesive. Minor glaze wear and small losses are consistent with age. All condition details are clearly shown in the photographs.

Date: Late 19th or early 20th century
Origin: West Asia / Middle East
Material: Polychrome glazed ceramic
Decoration: Birds, rosettes, flowers and leafy stems
Mark: Unmarked
Condition: Good antique display condition; small rim chip, old repaired crack, glaze crazing and minor wear

Dimensions:

Height: 23.7 cm / 9.33 inches
Maximum diameter: Approximately 12 cm / 4.72 inches
Weight: 700 g See less