HELP APPRECIATED WITH CHINESE MARK

[excalibur1661]

Dear Board Members,

I would appreciate your input on the following mark which appears under an enameled cage.

Thank you.

Fred

http://s1102.photobucket.com/user/fsepa ... 1.jpg.html

http://s1102.photobucket.com/user/fsepa ... x.jpg.html

[davidross]

The mark is very hard to read, it looks to me like the ancient Shang numerals for 120, rather than a maker's mark per se.

Shang numerals were sometimes used by merchants or craftspeople as an in-house code.

Someone else may provide a more satisfactory answer, in particular if he or she could examine the piece.

Regards
DR

[excalibur1661]

Dear DR,

Thank you so much for taking the time to decipher the mark.

Here is a clearer picture. I would appreciate your comments:

http://s1102.photobucket.com/user/fsepa ... 4.jpg.html

Kind regards,

Fred

[davidross]

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a well-taken photo must be worth a million.

That is 內府 (Neifu, literally "inner court") a mark commonly found on Chinese porcelain, pottery, brass and metal work bound for what is now Vietnam. This mark was used on porcelain as early as the 18th century, much more commonly in the 19th century, and I believe well into the first decades of the 20th century.

My guess is that the bird cage would be very late in that chronology, probably around 1900.

Cheers,
David R

[excalibur1661]

Dear David,

Thanks ever so much for your insightful comment. I really appreciate it.

Fond regards,

Fred

[excalibur1661]

Dear Dave,

The cage is of small size-- only about 6.5" in height. I believe it is a cricket cage.

Furthermore, I had it acid tested for silver and it is above 900.

Be that as it may, could it not have been made for the Chinese market?

Thank you in advance for your input.

Fond regards,

Fred

[davidross]

Hi Fred

Yes of course, based on the size, it would be a cricket cage.

The Neifu mark was first applied at Jingdezhen on Chinese export porcelain commissioned by the Vietnamese court in the 18th century, but as with Chinese marks designating an imperial connection, the Neifu mark was copied locally in Vietnam as the middle class demand for "royal" quality wares increased.

In other words, it seems highly unlikely to me that Chinese craftsmen would copy an export porcelain mark and put it on a cricket cage, especially one intended for the local Chinese market. I can't imagine that this mark would carry much meaning in the Chinese marketplace. If anything, most probably this cricket cage was made in Vietnam for the Vietnamese market and given this Neifu mark, something akin to "fit for a king" or "high class goods."

Please bear in mind that this is only one opinion.

Cheers
David R

[excalibur1661]

Dear Dave,

Thank you for your illuminating reply. It is, in my humble opinion, quite logical.

Fond regards,

Fred