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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AuDragon, post: 375908, member: 6974&quot;]Good morning Nathan.</p><p>Of all the Chinese ceramics, this style is my favourite. The under-glazed cobalt blue, the graphic illustration (which is usually an elaborate landscape or family or scholarly design), the overall proportions and the weight of these jars make them very special and I think collectable. I have several in my collection which I have bought over the past 20 years and in different countries. Unfortunately they are in storage or I would have posted pics for you. Overall, it is really difficult to tell if they are genuine or one of the thousands of reproductions.</p><p>Because these jars were originally very functional and used for export, there are many around, with and without lids. Cat Street in Hong Kong is still full of them.</p><p>Wax sealing on ginger jars was common for food stuff on the Australian (and Californian) goldfields in the 1850&#039;s where Chinese prospectors flooded into the country. I have a couple of these &quot;goldfield finds&quot; but they were more often in a dark green glaze.</p><p>As the quality of reproduction &quot;ageing&quot; is generally so good, I always check inside the jar first. I generally use a small torch I always carry with me (along with a tape measure). Is there a lot of dust and dirt? A good sign. Are there any stains or discolouration? Another good sign. Clean and smooth would be a caution. Are there moulding ridges on the inside wall like finger marks from the turning of the pot or machine marks? These little clues give you an indication on authenticity. Obviously, the outside is important. Yours seem to have a fairly regular colour and ageing around the neck and base. The few little base chips seem quite clean and fresh, but also look for dirt in other chips as a good sign.</p><p>If these jars were used commercially they sometimes had labels attached to the base to identify their contents. Is that a hard paste/glue residue I see on one of yours? A good sign. The overall colour between them seems a bit different to me, which is good.</p><p>I&#039;d like to see lots more pics, but I suspect these do not have a lot of age, (maybe mid 20thC, but could be yesterday). The one of the right looks older to me based on the first photo.</p><p>However, when I asked a well respected archaeologist friend once about collecting only genuine as opposed to fake Asian ceramics, he said, &quot;Always love the object first, then it doesn&#039;t matter.&quot;</p><p>I&#039;d grad your ginger jars in a heartbeat.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wink.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=";)" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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