eBay auctions

We’ve updated our website and added some great new resources for dealers, collectors and anyone else interested in Asian art. These include:

Chinese marks identification page with a simple guide on how to read and identify reign marks on antique Chinese porcelain,
Terminology of Asian art page with a glossary of frequently used terms and their meaning, and
Japanese marks identification database that has been greatly expanded and now also includes links to examples of ceramics for each mark.

Asian Art Curator page has also been streamlined and now includes special group searches for misspelled eBay listings, as well as direct access to all the resources mentioned above.

We’ve added many new interesting objects to our eBay shop this month.
See the list below for current auctions and new Buy It Now items.

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Easiest way to get all the latest updates is to follow our instagram and facebook pages.

eBay Auction – Fine Chinese Cloisonne Round Covered Box With Buddhist Symbols and Carved Jade Plaque

Fantastic large Chinese covered cloisonné bowl decorated with auspicious symbols including eight Buddhist precious objects (Ashtamangala), Shou characters and bats on a blue ground with clouds. Interior of both bowl and cover fully enamelled with central floral design surrounded by foliate scrolls. Round openwork carved jade plaque at the top of the lid featuring Fenghuang (phoenix) bird.

Diameter: 29 cm

eBay auction closing 3 July 2022

Fine Antique Japanese Silver Wire Cloisonne Jardiniere Planter. Meiji Period

Fine antique Japanese blue-ground silver wire cloisonne jardiniere / plant pot depicting various flowers and a flying bird. Very nicely done with beautiful details and colours all around.

Diameter: 17 cm
Height: 12.5 cm

Fine Antique Chinese Fish Scale Cloisonne Calligraphy Brush Washer Bowl. Apocryphal Ming Mark

Fine early 20th century Chinese black monochrome cloisonné brush washer with beautiful even fish-scale pattern all over with ruyi-head border along the outside of the rim and geometric central medallion with floral design on the inside. Inside of the foot enamelled blue with cloud pattern and apocryphal four-character Ming mark inside red square.

Diameter: 19.5 cm

Antique Chinese Swatow Zhangzhou Ware Blue and White Porcelain Dish Ming Dynasty

Charming late Ming Dynasty 17th century Swatow (Zhangzhou) ware blue and white plate. Large central medallion depicting three birds flying among clouds and framed by a typical fish scale pattern border with four smaller floral medallions.

Diameter: 17 cm

Antique Chinese 18th Century Kraak Shipwreck Porcelain Saucer Dish

Antique Chinese blue and white Kraak porcelain saucer dish. Without any label but wear to the glaze and remnants of sea creatures on the reverse indicate that this came from a shipwreck – same type of saucer was found in Ca Mau shipwreck dated c. 1725, Yongzheng period but it’s not clear whether this example belong to that particular shipwreck.

Diameter: 16 cm

Antique Chinese 18th Century Export Porcelain Saucer With Landscape Painting

Fine 18th century Chinese export blue and white porcelain saucer with nicely painted river or lake landscape with two figures in boats between islands with trees and small huts. Framed by a typical diaper border along the rim. Really beautiful example!

Diameter: 12.5 cm

Tibetan Buddhist Silver Repoussé and Iron Personal Seal With Dragon and Lotus

Fine Tibetan personal seal with silver repoussé decoration featuring coiling dragon and stylised lotus flowers. Same lotus symbol is repeated on the iron base with remnants of pigment still visible in the grooves.

Height: 7 cm

Fine Antique Japanese Satsuma Pottery Dish Marked Kinzan 錦山 Meiji Period

Fine Japanese Satsuma pottery dish decorated with beautifully hand-painted figural temple scene framed by a gilt geometric border. Marked Kinzan 錦山 to the base.

Diameter: 19 cm

Fine Antique Japanese Satsuma Pottery Bowl Marked Choshuzan 長州山 Meiji Period

Fine Japanese Satsuma pottery bowl decorated with beautifully hand-painted figural scene on the inside and stunning floral decoration on the outside. Marked Choshuzan 長州山 to the base.

Diameter: 12.5 cm

Antique Chinese Porcelain Snuff Bottle Black Grisaille Figural Scene. Seal Mark

Rare Chinese porcelain snuff bottle painted en grisaille on iridescent black-enamel ground with a continuous scene of Han Yu riding on the horseback crossing a bridge, with his attendant following behind and holding a prunus branch. Base inscribed with four-character seal mark – possibly apocryphal Ming mark.

Height: 8.5 cm
Diameter: 3 cm

This month we are launching our new Asian Art Curator page where we will feature selected Asian art auctions currently on eBay, as well as other resources for eBay buyers including saved searches and recommended sellers. We hope that our curator’s corner will help dealers and collectors navigate through this very busy marketplace. Let us know your thoughts and suggestions!

We are also happy to announce our participation in this year’s Asia Week Paris in collaboration with Catawiki. Auctions will be published 8 July.

See the list below for current eBay auctions and a selection of recently sold Catawiki items.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly product updates via e-mail.
Easiest way to get all the latest updates is to follow our instagram and facebook pages.

eBay auction – Antique Chinese 18th Century Export Porcelain Dish With Geese. Qianlong Period

Wonderful Qianlong period porcelain dish with grisaille and gilt decorated central scene featuring eight geese, framed by cavetto with nicely preserved floral sprays in blue enamels and with gilt border running along the rim. For similar example decorated with goldfish see collection of The Metropolitan Museum in New York – object 79.2.721.

Diameter: 23 cm

eBay auction closing 5 July 2022

Original woodblock print – Paper – Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) – Pampas Grass – Ichikawa Kuzo III as Hakamadare no Yasusuke – Japan – 1865

Beautiful rare original Japanese woodblock print by Toyohara Kunichika – Pampas Grass (Obana): Actor Ichikawa Kuzô III as Hakamadare no Yasusuke, from the series Thirty-six Selected Flowers and Grasses (Sanjûrokkasô no uchi), 1865. In good antique condition with only minor signs of aging as per photographs.

Porcelain Brush Rest Depicting a Horse Among Rolling Waves – China – Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Fantastic Chinese porcelain brush rest in the form of a reclining horse among rolling waves. In excellent condition with only some minor original firing flaws and iron oxide marks. Height: 6 cm; length: 9 cm.

Original Chinese Stone Rubbing of Yangzhi Guanyin Stele From Putuoshan Fayu Temple – China – 20th century

Beautiful and rare original ink rubbing of Yangzhi Guanyin 楊枝觀音 taken from a stone stele dating to the Wanli Period, Ming Dynasty and based on a painting by Tang Dynasty mater Yan Liben. Very nice example mounted on a silk hanging scroll. Dimensions: scroll measures 183×63 cm, area of the rubbing is 116×52 cm

Antique Japanese Sukashi Openwork Iron Tsuba With Gilt Decoration – Japan – Edo Period (1600-1868)

Fine Japanese sukashi tsuba of quatrefoil form depicting intertwined flowers or branches with buds and further embellished with gold. Unsigned. In very good condition with some age-related marks and minor wear to gilt decoration as per photographs. Dimensions: 6.9×6.2 cm

Large Pair of Chinese Original Paintings on Silk. Framed and Glazed – China – 19th century

Lovely pair of large Chinese original paintings on silk depicting maidens and immortals emerging from the mountain fog. Nicely framed and glazed. Dimensions: each frame measures 57×19 cm; each artwork measures 43×10 cm.

Antique Japanese Gilt Lacquer Game Storage Box with Original Lacquered Stand. Meiji period (1868-1912)

Beautifully shaped Japanese black lacquered box finely decorated with subtle gilded floral motifs and insects. Domed lid features partially gilded design with flowers, butterflies and miniature framed scene. Complete set of removable compartments inside. Originally intended for storing playing cards but would make a great jewellery or trinket box. Comes with its original detachable and fully lacquered stand. Very elegant example of Japanese lacquerware.

Large Antique Japanese Natural Form Burr Wood ‘Tabako-bon’ Holder. 19th century

Stunning antique Japanese scholar’s object made out of solid burr wood with beautiful surface texture and dark patina. Originally designed to hold smoking implements of traditional ‘Tabako bon’ set: hi’ire – container for lit charcoal and haifuki – tall container or a piece of bamboo for used tobacco ash. Could be also used for calligraphy brush pots or as a display stand for other scholar’s objects. Apocryphal Chinese four-character ‘Da Qing Qian Long’ mark carved to the base.

Another month has gone by and here we are again with our regular update. We’ve decided to include this list of new exclusive arrivals in our eBay shop at the end of each month to keep our website customers and newsletter subscribers up to date. Easiest way to get all the latest updates is to follow our instagram and facebook pages.

We regularly offer Chinese and Japanese antiques in auctions on both eBay and Catawiki. See the list below for new auctions and products added to our shop this April.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly product updates via e-mail.

Antique Chinese Ink Rubbing of Luohan Nakula Stone Stele Commissioned by Emperor Qianlong

Very rare original ink rubbing of a stone stele from the Shengyin Temple (destroyed between 1850-1864 during the Taiping Rebellion). Depicting luohan Nakula, one of the 16 luohans (arhats) originally portrayed by the Chinese painter Guanxiu 貫休 (832-912). Guanxiu’s paintings were already considered rare in 1757, when the Qianlong emperor encountered a set of 16 luohans in a monastery in Hangzhou. To preserve their appearance, the emperor commissioned copies and had them carved in stone so that rubbings like these could be made. 

The original paintings and stone steles are now lost, making these copies some of the most important surviving evidence of Guanxiu’s style.

Dimensions: area of the rubbing measures 113×47 cm; overall dimensions are 120×59 cm

References
Harvard Library – object W348704_1 – Sixteen Arhats at Shengyin Temple– the 5th: Nakula Arhat
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art – Object FSC-R-431 (Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection)  
Penn Museum – object number 2010-26-5 (Gift of K. Z. Tung, 1918)

Large Chinese Blue & White Export Porcelain Plate With Floral Decoration. 12.5″

Very nicely decorated and well used large 18th century export plate decorated with various floral sprays in underglaze blue and framed within a diaper border. Skilfully drawn example that displays beautifully! 

Diameter: 12.5 inches (just under 32 cm)

Antique Chinese 18th Century Clobbered Export Porcelain Dish With Dragons. 9″

Antique 18th century Chinese blue and white export plate that has later been decorated or ‘clobbered’ in England with bright overglaze enamels. Faturing a large central medallion with bamboo, peonies and pierced scholars rock and a cavetto with three dragons and more floral sprays on red and lime green ground. Red pseudo-Chinese mark typical for clobberware of the period.

Diameter: 22.5 cm

Antique Japanese Bronze Silver Inlay Usubata Ikebana Flower Arrangement Vase 6″

Antique Japanese bronze or similar copper alloy usubata vase for ikebana flower arrangement. Beautifully embellished with silver inlaid decoration featuring rolling waves around the foot and floral sprays around the body and inside the neck. Unusual openwork lotus-shaped handles cast in low relief.

Height: 15 cm, diameter: 13 cm

Antique Japanese Kutani Porcelain Koro Incense Burner With Foo Lion Finial

Lovely and colourful Japanese lozenge-shaped Kutani porcelain incense burner with floral decoration. Raised on four feet and covered with a pierced lid featuring a seated blue foo lion (shishi). Signed to the base with green square maker’s mark reminiscent of Fuku or Yoshidaya style marks.

Height: 15 cm

Antique Japanese Gilt Lacquered Jewellery Cabinet With Bird & Flower Decoration. Meiji Period

Lovely Japanese jewellery cabinet featuring one large and six smaller drawers behind hinged doors with beautifully hand-painted panels depicting bird perched on a blossoming tree.

Dimensions: 23x23x11 cm

Antique Japanese Bronze Brass Art Nouveau Style Vase With Lily Pad Handles. Meiji Period

Beautiful decorative Japanese vase in Art Nouveau style with large twin handles in the shape of lily pad leaves. Looks like it originally had typical Japanese bronzed finish that has over the years worn off. Square makers mark and some incised numbers to the base. Nice heavy piece with a lot of character.

Height: 22 cm

Catalogue de la Collection de Porcelaines Anciennes de la Chine et du Japon appartenant à A. Revilliod de Muralt

Published 1901 by CH. EGGIMANN ET CIE. Fantastic antique reference book, profusely illustrated with each photographed piece numbered and described. 192 pages + 40 photographic plates of which 31 represent porcelain. 2461 pieces of Chinese and Japanese porcelain listed in total.

Antique Chinese Painting on Silk With Calligraphy Inscription. Early 20th century

Charming antique Chinese silk painting depicting a scene with three figures on a balcony. Inscription and seal to the upper left corner. Nicely framed and glazed. In good antique condition with some usual browning and signs of aging.

Dimensions: frame 28×23 cm; artwork measures 22×17 cm

Antique Chinese Carved Bamboo Incense Holder. Tongzhi Mark. Qing Dynasty Censer

Very nicely carved Chinese bamboo incense stick holder depicting a congregation of scholars under a large pine tree, some playing Go and others in conversation. They are surrounded by impressive rocky outcrops and openwork carved bamboo groves. Inscribed with Tongzhi reign mark at the top.

Height: 28.5 cm