Blue and White Ewer with Xuande Reign Mark

Name: Blue and White Ewer with Xuande Reign Mark
Brand: z567tg
Availability: LimitedAvailability

Blue and white porcelain ewer with floral medallions, curved spout, and lid, featuring a Chinese reign mark on the spout side. - view 1

1/3

Estimated value

$400 - $1,200

Rarity

Scarce(6/10)

BLUE AND WHITE EWER WITH XUANDE REIGN MARK: IDENTIFICATION

A blue and white porcelain ewer of 'yuhuchunping' inspiration, featuring a pear-shaped body, a tall neck with a garlic-mouth rim, and a curved spout connected to the neck by a cloud-shaped strut. The vessel is decorated in underglaze blue with ogival medallions containing pomegranate and peach branches, surrounded by lotus scrolls. A six-character linear mark reading 'Da Ming Xuande Nian Zhi' (Made in the Xuande Reign of the Great Ming) is inscribed along the side of the spout.

Compare with other Asian art pieces in the archive: Chinese Archaistic Carved Jade Figure, Hongshan/Shang Style, Balinese Art Deco Wooden Sculpture of a Winged Celestial (Kinnari), Chinese Archaistic 'Taotie' and 'Chilong' Jade Pendant.

SCARCITY

Scarce80-90%

CommonLegendary

Genuinely harder to find. Perhaps only dozens come to market annually. Collectors actively watch for these pieces.

Rarity 6/10. Curiosa currently catalogues 5 asian items at rarity 6 or higher.

Typical Characteristics

Dozens per year at market
Documented provenance valued
Active collector pursuit

Confidence Factors

A genuine Xuande period (1426–1435) ewer of this quality would typically be museum-held or sold via major auction houses (Sotheby's/Christie's) for mid-six-figure sums.
The blue pigment clusters appear somewhat uniform, suggesting a deliberate 19th or 20th-century mimicry of 15th-century 'heaping and piling'.
The placement of the reign mark on the spout is a documented Xuande convention, but it is also the most frequently forged element on Republic-era 'Minyao' or 'Guanyao' style wares.

Expert review recommended. Consider consulting a specialist before making purchasing decisions.

How does authenticity detection work?

ASIAN ART SCHOLAR'S TAKE

Ceramics Historian & Kiln Specialist

Ceramics Expert

The object is a high-quality historical reproduction. While it captures the correct Ming form and marking style, the glaze finish and pigment application align more closely with the sophisticated revivalist movements of the late 19th century.

KEY EVIDENCE

1Classic 'yuhuchunping' pear-shaped form with correct cloud-shaped spout strut.
2Six-character Xuande mark positioned correctly on the spout side, following early 15th-century protocol.
3Unglazed footrim shows 'musculature' and typical iron-spots from high-temperature firing.
4Pomegranate and peach motifs in medallions are standard auspicious symbols for longevity and fertility.
5Glaze tone is slightly 'blue-white' rather than the 'creamy-white' seen in genuine early Ming examples.

UNCERTAINTIES

•Perfect condition of the lid and spout is statistically unlikely for a 600-year-old vessel.
•The 'orange peel' glaze texture is more consistent with 19th-century Tongzhi or Guangxu period revival wares.
•The underglaze blue lacks the natural diffusion characteristics of genuine 15th-century Su-Ma-Li cobalt.

WHAT WOULD IMPROVE CERTAINTY

→Perform a UV light inspection to check for invisible professional repairs to the spout or neck.
→Examine the interior of the neck with a borescope to see the join marks of the body sections.
→Provide a high-resolution macro photograph of the blue pigment clusters to evaluate the 'depth' of the heaping.

CONDITION & GRADE

Excellent/Fine

Grading breakdown

The piece retains a high gloss with no significant surface abrasions. The character definition in the mark is clear and follows standard calligraphic conventions for high-quality archival reproductions.

Condition

The footrim shows minor shelf wear and firing grit. The spout and handle attachments appear structurally sound, though the lid fitment shows slight gap spacing typical of hand-formed components. No visible 'through-cracks' or major glaze chips are evident in the provided images.

Weight & feel

Estimated at 850–1,100 grams; the body appears thickly potted with a sturdy, unglazed footrim showing some iron-red oxidation from the kiln firing.

ASIAN ART VALUATION

$400 - $1,200

Updated: May 11, 2026

Who buys this

Collectors of late Qing dynasty porcelain and Republic-era 'honorific' wares who appreciate the high technical skill of early 20th-century Jingdezhen potters.

What increases value

•Precision of the calligraphic reign mark
•Presence of the original matching lid
•Integrity of the cloud-strut between the spout and neck

What lowers value

•Presence of hidden restorations at the point of spout attachment
•Misidentification as a common modern 1990s gift shop reproduction
•Any hairline cracks (crackle) in the body paste

What makes top-tier examples

•Authentic 15th-century examples possess a 'smalt' blue that appears to sink into the glaze layer
•Early Ming ewers show hand-scraped interiors with visible finger-grooves from the wheel