Help with Cloisonne bowl marked with Ming Dynasty

I'm relatively certain this is a 19th century or later piece. However, that certainty is tenuous and based simply on the function of the piece. I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to be reliable.

I picked this beautiful bowl up at a charity shop in England. It's a 10 inch float bowl. We use it for our keys. I've had the mark translated twice and am told it's Ming. That can't be, right?

I'd like to asses it's value and if necessary, insure it and take better care of it. Thanks much.

 

stunning bowl....
u may need to insure it...

BUT...

we'll need more and better and bigger..photo's
that we can see here....

 

We use it for our keys

u must be wealthy..........or have foam keys....

 

Standby for more pics

 

It's a fairly well known design, I have had several over the years, they date from the 50's to the 70's although the earliest ones may be inter-war. Some have these marks, others have Made in China, some say China, some say nothing. There are various quality levels. There are always plenty on ebay, and as usual some people trying to claim they are Ming and/or imperial. They sell for around £50-100 in the UK.

 

Here's a few mor e. Hopefully they're better quality.

 

Thanks, that's what I figured. I've seen some on Ebay that don't mention the Ming mark as apocryphal. The keys can keep their home!

 

Question follow up - do you know why these pieces were marked with the Ming Reign dynasty marks when they are so obviously quite modern?

 

In Chinese culture it can be to honour your ancestors. It can also be because tourists/Western customers like it as it adds an air of authenticity, or it can be just a marketing thing, like we add 'ye olde' to things. It's not a serious attempt at a forgery as it would never get past even the greenest of Chinese appraisers.

 

Yes, this is correct. If you want to impress your friends it's 大明年造 Dà míng nián zào - Made in the Great Ming dynasty

For fun I just did a google search for that, and it brings up lots of these bowls, different colours and marks. This is probably as it would not have been a usual way to mark an old item - they would have the reign mark, not dynasty.

https://www.google.com/search?q=大明年...M2KQKHesrC6IQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1880&bih=1090

 

Thanks everyone for your help!