15th-Century Ming Dynasty Longquan Celadon Dish

Appraised on: August 13, 2005

Appraised in: Los Angeles, California

Appraised by: Dessa Goddard

Category: Asian Arts

Episode Info: Los Angeles, Hour 1 (#1007)

Originally Aired: February 20, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:14)

GUEST: My family come from China, Canton. And I heard that, like, in the 1930s, my father was well-to-do, that was before I was born, and he loaned some money to a friend. And sometime later the friend came back and said, "I cannot afford to pay you back, but just take this dish." So my father took it home and he give it to my grandfather and he used it to keep the bean curd, tofu, you know.

APPRAISER: Really?

GUEST: Yes. (chuckling)

APPRAISER: Well, this is a Ming Dynasty Longquan celadon dish probably made in the 15th century. Now celadon is a glaze that's made out of iron oxide as a colorant fired in a reducing atmosphere, and it is one of the most popular glazes in China. It's made in Zhejiang province in the Longquan kilns. And the Longquan kilns were located near the capital city of Hangzhou. This was a highly-prized glaze. This glaze was also used on pottery and porcelain, both for imperial use and for domestic use. Sometimes you can achieve his little crackler that you see on the surface of the glaze through this firing, which is also a coveted result of the firing. And here you have a decoration of peony blossoms and beautiful leafy foliage around the exterior. This is a molded decoration with some hand carving and a beautiful example of its type. About ten years ago, a flood of these came on the market, and so the price went down at auction. Ten years ago, this piece might have only been worth about, oh, a thousand to $1,500. But now with the influx of new Chinese, mainland Chinese, bidders at auction, currently I would estimate this piece to bring between $5,000 and $8,000 at auction.

GUEST: Whoa. Amazing.

APPRAISER: It's really a wonderful example. Thank you very much for bringing it in.

GUEST: You're welcome. Thank you.