Chinese? Red vase id help

Hi, I picked this vase up today at my local thrift shop. I didn't realize there was fish on it at first as they are kind of hard to see. Im not sure if this is Chinese or not. It is marked on the bottom but not sure what it reads. Also is this red paint original to the vase? On the brim there are some spots where the paint rubbed off and it is pure white so I didn't know if someone went over it with red paint or not. If anyone has any information that would be great! Thanks.

 

I think it may have been sprayed red? foot looks weird

 

Mark looks good though, Guangxu 1875-1908 ..style looks like it could be that, expect fish to be orange once you get the stripper out.

 

Thanks blooey! How do I go about removing the paint?

 

paint stripper ..shouldn't affect the porcelain or enameling. Restorers soak porcelain in that stuff to remove old repairs and glue, so no need to worry ..just a bit smelly and mucky with lots of red slop to dispose of afterwards! worth it though imho....

 

Ok awesome will give it a go. Thank you. I'll post pics when I'm done.

 

Look forward to it!

 

Is there a specific paint stripper I should use? On the bottle it said it would remove enamel.

 

I use Circa 1850 stripper and it's pretty strong (well it used to be before it got greenwashed) and that was safe to use ...I think when they say "enamel" they just mean "enamel paint", like tremclad etc, in other words just common or garden oil based paint ..The vase is decorated with vitreous (fired) enamels that have more in common with glass than paint, so don't worry, just slop it on.

 

Try a soak in hot water first. You may find much of the paint will peel off with the judicious use of a finger nail.