This antique Chinese export Canton blue and white pitcher is 4-7/8" high, 7" from handle to tip of spout. It dates to about 1825-35. It is decorated all over the outside in deep blue on a bluish gray background. There is a figure inside a pagoda on a lake with willow trees, a bridge, ships, rocks, mountains and other scenic features. The typical Canton rain and cloud border is present on the outside rim, along with geometric trim on the inside rim. Even the handle has vine and flower decoration. The style is charmingly naïve. The condition is quite good for its age. There is minor fritting around the top edge and the edges of the handle, with a single very small nick in the glaze on the foot. There is a faint hairline crack on the base that emanates from the small glaze nick on the rim, really quite minor. There are a couple of firing cracks inside the bottom of the pitcher, which do not continue to the outside. These are all very minor faults in a piece that is almost 200 years old, and there are no major cracks or repairs, quite unusual in this ware.

Asian Antiques
Asian Porcelain & Pottery