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	Object Name:	Description:	Period:

161.	Cloisonne vase	Research in progress.

162.	Cloisonné vase	Research in Progress

163.	Cloisonné vase	Research in Progress

164.	Cloisonné vase	Research in Progress

165.	Cloisonné vase	Research in progress.

166.	Confucius encased in an upright oblong case of Amethystine quartz	China's great reverence for ancestors is manifested in both its philosophic tradition and aesthetics sensibilities. The desire to express their respect for their ancestors is often interpreted in the art of subsequent periods, and has become a dominant artistic ideology. Here the jade carver creates this miniature jade carving of Confucius (551-479 BCE),* encased in an upright oblong case of amethystine quartz, that would be attached to the handle of a fan. The surfaces on both sides of the case are engraved with inscriptions in kaishu (regular script). On one side: wu bu yu ji fu bu ji (If I don't take charge of the ancestral worship, women cannot substitute my part); on the other side: da cheng zhi sheng wen xuan wang (The venerable Kings Wen and Xuan of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-481 B.C.). King Wen (c.1184 B.C. - c.1135 B.C.) was the founder of the Zhou dynasty. King Xuan of Qi reigned from 319-301 B. C. E.* The quality of the stone, the carving style, as well as the letter fu in simplified Chinese (instead of being written in kaishu script to be uniform with other characters) indicate that this is a recent object that may function as a didactic tool to give emphasis on the cult of ancestral worship. * According to Chinese tradition, Confucius was a thinker, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought, as an artistic interpretation of Confucianism For a long time, King Wen is an emblem of loyalty who attempts to change things through peaceful means. From Shi Jing no. 235: King Wen is above; He is like a light in heaven. Although Zhou was an old country, Its mandate is only recent. Was not Zhou brilliant? And was not the mandate of Di timely? King Wen ascends and descends At the left and right hand of Di Never forget your ancestors, Cultivate your virtue, Always follow the mandate, And you will naturally find great happiness. Before Yin lost the people They were the executors of Shang Di. Set your sights on Yin Because the mandate is not an easy one. (Trans.) * King Xuan of Qi (reigned 319-301 B. C. E.) of the Warring States Period (403-221) was a member of Tian family who usurped throne from previous rulers of the state of Qi; second king of this line, reigning from 342-324 B.C.E. The Qi Xia gathering of scholars thrived under him, and he encouraged scholars to pursue their studies at his court. Confucius and Xunzi were among the visitors to his court.	Republican period;

167.	Cong, symbol of Earth	The cong occasionally appeared during the late Neolithic period (c. 2500 B.C.) in the Western Zhou, in western Shaanxi (Northwest China). One of the six ritual jades, it was among the most impressive and least understood of all ancient Chinese jades and never held any important position even at the end of the Zhou period.* Like the zhang, the cong did not have a long or continuous history. There are variations of cong. Based on appearance, there are two broad categories: cong that are relatively tall in proportion to their width and the shorter cong. Although the common design of the cong consists of a decorated (with distinctive taotie face designs) or undecorated tube with a square outer cross-section and a circular inner hole, bracelet-shaped jades also display similar characteristics of the cong.** This cong comprises a large block of semi-translucent creamy-white nephrite with light brown veining (densely at one end) and a large dark brown blotch at one corner. The unilateral arrangement of patterns on this object is curious. Its sides are subdivided into four sections marked by horizontal divisions; each carries shallow ridges and a smaller band decorated with key-fret motifs on the top ridges. The tube has two open ends: the upper and lower short collars are also square in the cross-section with rounded corners. The two sides of the inner hole taper to the middle segment as if drilled from both ends. In ancient Chinese cultures, the square shape of the cong is emblematic of Earth and the central circular hole is emblematic of Heaven. Having been subjected to numerous interpretations, the cong has been related to totemism and shamanism by contemporary scholars. It is generally thought of as appearing only in men's tombs. The combination of all elements such as its opaque function, square and circular forms, decorative motifs, designs, and sizes contribute to the intrigue of the cong. * Jessica Rawson quotes a passage from the Zhou li, one of the three surviving ritual texts (the others being the Li ji and the Yi li, compiled in the Han dynasty as an attempt to systemize earlier ideas and beliefs), which categorizes six ritual jades (or qi): - the cong tube - the bi disc - the gui ceremonial scepter or blade - the zhang blade - the hu tiger pendant - the huang arc pendant Chinese Jade: from the Neolithic to the Qing, (p 56). ** Ibid., p 122.	Attributed to the Neolithic period; Attributed to the Han dynasty

168.	Cooking vessel huo	This bronze cooking vessel huo has a wide open mouth with rim turned outward, a bulging belly, two monster mask-headed handles on the lower belly, and a false footring. The bronze cooking vessel huo first appeared during the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-8 A.D.). A good dated Han huo example is a zhongshan neifu huo (Prince Zhongshan's huo) dated to mid-Western Han dynasty and excavated at the tomb of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan, Lingshan, Mancheng city, Hebei province (cat. 33, from Zhongguo qing tong qi quan ji, di shi er juan: qin han <Complete Works of Chinese Bronzes, vol.12: Qin Han> <Beijing: wenwu chubanshe, 1998>). Three circles of raised bowstring designs are decorated above the handles of this vessel. The inside bottom is slightly concave. Overall the exterior and interior of this piece are covered with a thick layer of patina. When taking a close view at the bottom of the false footring, a small worn off area on the ring clearly exhibits its original brass material, which demonstrates this cooking vessel huo is a recent product made no earlier than the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). This is because bronze vessels dated to the Song dynasty (960-1279) or earlier dynasties are exclusively made of red copper; those brass 'antique' vessels are undoubtedly recent copies according to a book titled gu wan zhi nan (Guide of Chinese Antiques) written by Zhao Ruzhen, a prestigious connoisseur in 1942. Anyhow, this huo vessel is a fine copy of Han products.	Qing dynasty; Republican period;

169.	Copper bowl	This heavy copper bowl of Mughal style is covered in a stamped pattern. They pattern consists of a row of virtually identical five petaled flowers under a repeating border of stars under crescent moons.

170.	Copper tea tray	This tray is made from a single sheet of copper with rolled edges and incised somewhat crudely with geometric and botanical motifs, including chain designs around the outer perimeter, stylized Tudor rose, and four housecats. There is a 6.5 cm undecorated rim in a European design indicating the tray may possibly have been made for a Western famioly by a a bazaar artisan. The copper work is not of high quality. The handles on either end were made separately and attached by copper studs.

171.	Coral Guanyin	Research in progress.

172.	Covered container	Research in progress.

173.	Covered jar with famille rose bird-and-flower designs	This covered jar has a teakwood cover, a short neck, slanting shoulders, a deep bulging body tapering to the bottom, and a footring. Its teakwood cover with its lotus flower-shaped knob bears an engraving of raised cloud collars in the center against a background of incised checked patterns. The exterior of this jar itself is excellently glazed and decorated, while its interior is roughly made and thinly glazed in white. The base of the footring is in a white glaze as well. The bulging body of this covered jar is elegantly decorated with multi-colored famille rose* designs. Two long-tailed golden pheasants are delicately represented in yellow, iron red, blue and green. One is shown perching on a pomegranate tree branch and looking back with eyes closed, while the other is descending between the branch and what appear to be two cherry trees. To the left two birds, one green and one light blue, are flying around between one of the cherry trees and a peach tree. Under them is a grotesque rock with pine needles as well as rouge red (yang hong or foreign red) and greenish yellow lingzhi fungus. Another light blue bird is flying among the peach tree. On the bottom of the bulging body are wave patterns, which suggest the setting of these designs. On top of the short neck there is a narrow band of continuous classic scrolls in iron red. It is followed by a wide band of two adjoined sets of oblique lines in the opposite directions, the set of densely rendered ones on a black background. In considering the complex iconography of the designs on the bulging body, this covered jar evidently once served as part of some special occasion, possibly a wedding celebration. To name a few, the pomegranate is a symbol of fertility and of numerous progeny, and in this sense commonly appeared on betrothal gifts. The peach denotes longevity and immortality. It was an early Taoist emblem of marriage, and considered protectorate of the virginal qualities of maidenhood. The cherry blossom symbolizes feminine beauty. The Lingzhi fungus is an ingredient of the elixir of immortality and thus, a symbol of longevity. It resembles the ruyi (as you wish) scepter, or wish-fulfilling wand, popular in later Ming and early Qing art. Like the lingzhi fungus, the pine is also an emblem of longevity. The rock is a symbol of permanence and solidarity. Generally depicted as yellow and red, the golden pheasant was embroidered on rank badges of civil officials in the Ming and Qing courts. It represented a second-rank civil official during the Qing period. To sum up, the combination of pomegranates, peaches, rock, lingzhi fungus, and pine needles conveys a wish for a happy and lasting marriage, many sons and long life. The cherry blossom and golden pheasants may signify the beauty of the bride and the high official rank of the groom respectively, the so-called nang cai nü mao in Chinese. On the base of the footring there is an inscribed "jia" character within a green Kangxi style ai ye (Artemisia leaf). Ai ye is the Artemisia leaf that was used by the Chinese as a fragrant plant that brought good omens and prevented disease. The leaf here is outlined in black. Dr. Chao-ming Chen suggested in his letter to Dr. Kramer that it may stand for the Jiaqing reign (1796-1820) of the Qing dynasty. Although it is the same as the first character of Jiaqing, it cannot necessarily be concluded that this character stands for the reign mark. As a matter of fact the reign marks are always inscribed using their full name on Chinese porcelain. Furthermore, the shape of this covered jar is a typical Daoguang style (1821-1850), later than the Jiaqing reign. It is a Chinese tradition that much esteem would be held to their previous reigns, especially during the Qing dynasty, the last feudal dynasty of China. Accordingly, it was not the practice to just use one character of the late Emperor's reign mark to represent convey the full name. Therefore, Dr. Chen's hypothesis is not substantiated. It is hard to tell what this character "jia" means on this object. It most likely came from the name of the potter or workshop that produced this piece. Or, as Dr. Chen mentioned in his letter to Dr. Kramer, perhaps it was used "to show that the workmanship of this porcelain was in good taste or as a fine specimen" since "jia" literally means "good" in Chinese. As mentioned above, the shape of this covered jar is that of the typical Daoguang style. Further, when observed against the light, the glaze on it does not appear exceedingly bright as that found on recent porcelains. Thus, this piece may be an antique, and was possibly made during the Daoguang period. * Famille rose (fen cai ) refers to a palette developed in the same basis of the famille verte palette (kang xi wu cai ) of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty and which was under the direct influence of the enamel decoration ware. In the last years of the Kangxi reign, foreign rouge-red enamel was used to color flower petals. This started the trend toward a new palette (known in the West as famille rose) during the succeeding Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. The famille rose is characteristically used in this way: glassy white (bo li bai) in which an opaque white enamel (lead arsenate) is employed as the base for coloring garments or flower petals; also, rue oil is used as the drying oil in mixing some pigments. Many enamels of the palette include certain imported materials, such foreign red, foreign yellow, foreign green, and foreign white. Compared with the famille verte, the new palette fires at a lower temperature and has a wider color range. It also appears softer and gentler, hence its other name 'soft colors' (ruan cai). During the Yongzheng reign, famille rose wares reached their zenith, replacing the famille verte of the Kangxi reign and becoming the dominate palette in overglaze decoration. The decoration was painted not only on a white background, but also on such colored backgrounds as coral, red, light green, caramel, black, etc. During the Qianlong reign, new techniques continued to develop. As a departure from the earlier simple washing method, flower petals in rouge red were outlined. More colors began to appear as the background. The designs also grew increasingly complex, especially in the case of wares with a red or green phoenix tail design as the background (feng wei wen), which was fashionable in the late Qianlong and early Jiaqing period. As this new decorative technique used many imported materials, and it method of mixing pigments was also 'foreign', it acquired the name 'foreign colors' (yang cai) in the Qianlong reign.	Qing dynasty; Attributed to the Daoguang reign

174.	Crane	This crane stands upright with its round head turned backwards. It has a sharp beak, stiff wings and tail, and pointed plumes carved with angular incised lines. The crane stands on a mound. In Chinese tradition, the crane is the symbol of longevity. Carvings like this are generally for a decorative purpose.	Republican period

175.	Cricket cage	Carved gourd cricket cage with a wire screen top. The carving depicts two Fo-dogs in a nature setting. The screen top form a spiral of concentric circles.

176.	Cricket cage	This object is a wooden cricket cage with an ivory carved lid. The ivory lid is the most intricate part of the object, and that is why it is classified as an ivory and not a wooden object. The cage is in the shape of a gourd, which is a common shape which would usually be used in the winter months. There seems to be a lattice pattern carved in ivory which serves as screen to allow air and light into the cage. One can really notice the ivory grain on the lid. The object comes with a silk cover which would help insulate the cage during the cold months.	Qing dynasty

177.	Cricket cage	Carved gourd cricket cage with a carved ivory screen. The body of gourd is carved with an intricate floral design of lotus petals and a ballustrade design at the top. The elephant tusk ivory top is carved into a beautiful floral motif in the design of prunus blossoms.	Qing dynasty; Daoguang reign;

178.	Cricket cage	Smooth gourd cricket cage with an ivory screen top. The design of the screen is made of interconnected wan symbol.

179.	Cylindrical brush holder	This kind of small tapered cylindrical brush holder (Pi-Tung) is not precisely paralleled in the archaeological record of jade carving of any previous or later periods. However, this object can be dated back to the Early Ming period, when the character of jade carving possesses a fine natural color-graining. It has a typical mottled grey-green or usually classified as "Dark green," Ji Yü of the Ming period. Unlike most intricately carved cylindrical brush holders of the later Qianlong period, it is a bolder, cruder, less artistic type, and noticeably of archaic semblance. Yet, easily discernible to the expert when compared with the truly archaic jades of earlier times. It is elongated and slender and does not bear any literary symbols or mythological metaphors, but rather a military character. The sides are divided into three registers divided by negative spaces. The bottom and top registers are narrower than the main one in the middle. Within each register is an unusually bold and simplistic design of incised angular interlocking scrolls. It indubitably does not belong to the Qing period, (in which Emperors were renowned scholars; especially the Emperor Qianlong, also a poet and essayist). Jade objects, particularly the Four Treasures of the Chinese scholar's study (wenfang sibao)* were intricately sophisticated during the Qing period.	Attributed to the Ming dynasty

180.	Cylindrical brush holder	This is a cylindrical brush holder with a flat base. The wide rim of the mouth depicts four evenly spaced bamboo branches in foreign red (yang hong) on a white background. The top of the cylindrical body is adorned with an overglaze blue hui wen (key fret patterns). The rest of the body is primarily decorated with two panels of theatrical scenes as primary motifs. These are surrounded by medallions containing floral designs (such as chrysanthemum, plum blossoms, peaches, pomegranates, etc.), bats (a pun for fu meaning good fortune) and the shou symbol (longevity) as supplemental motifs, against a black brocade background. One panel depicts a noble man dressed in foreign red prostrating in a small fenced-in area at the bottom of a mountain. There is an incense burner on a grotesque rock stand. There are pine trees and flowers in the background. The other panel contains a woman who sits on a pink garden seat at the end of a table. There is a pile of books, a cup, and a ruyi scepter (wish fulfilling wand) on the table. An extra blue garden seat is located on the side of the table. There are also two men standing at the end of a blue bridge who seem to be discussing the female. One of the men dressed in yellow and light blue is pointing in the direction of the woman. There are mountains, flowers, and pine trees in the background. The floral designs in the medallions convey a wish for a long life, many sons, good fortune, etc. The chrysanthemum is a symbol of autumn and of fortitude; it blossoms in the fall despite "the onslaught of frost and icy winds". It is also known as the hermit of flowers because of its association with Tao Qian (style name yuanming), a fourth-century poet-recluse who resigned his official post and retired to his small farm to write poetry. A number of his poems are about the chrysanthemum. The plum blossom, one of sui han san you (Three Friends of Winter, namely pine, bamboo and plum, which still keep their integrity when all other plants wither and their leaves fall), is important to the Chinese as a symbol of longevity and good fortune. The pomegranate is symbolic of fertility and numerous progeny, and in this sense commonly appeared on betrothal gifts. The peach denotes longevity and immortality. It was an early Taoist emblem of marriage, and protectorate of the virginal qualities of maidenhood. The bottom of the flat base contains a red double-framed seal mark "qian long nian zhi" (Made during the Qianlong Reign; 1736-1795) on a white background. The rest of the bottom is unglazed, exposing the wheeled yellowish brown body. The interior of this cylindrical brush holder is white glazed. The double-framed four-character Qianlong seal mark is commonly found on the porcelain made during the mid 20th century. Therefore, this piece should be a recent copy.	Republican period