Antique Shiwan Lohan on White ElephantThere is a lot to be said about Shiwan wares, one of the more misunderstood Chinese pottery art. People north of the Guangdong province, the southernmost province of China are not familiar with the artistic pieces of the Shiwan potters. Just to give a brief history, the potters in Shiwan claimed to be descended from the Southern Song potters who created the most famous glazes of Chinese ceramics. When the Mongols invaded south of the Yangxi River,

the design painted on the plain white enamel background

The blue frosted glass bottle is attractive with its white overlay designs of butterflies

a Daoist Immortal who has a three legged toad

good evidence it was string cut which was a practice of that time

18inches deep and 25 inches high

a whole fish

The complete inscription reads "painted in the winter month of the 丙寅 year

But this is an ink box for a scholar

This is a contemporary wood carving that is expertly done

Although I cannot find out the meaning of twelve magpies in Chinese literature

one is laughing

The opening is flat and it is clearly well hollowed