We will be putting up for auction about 20 Oriental Ceramics that were found in the Philippines, most imported from ancient China, Qing to Song Dynasty. We purchased these from 1986 to 1989, when we lived in Manila. Please read everything, ask questions, and request more pictures. If you are in Japan or China, and want this piece, please write to me before bidding. The shipping cost does not include for overseas shipping. An adjustment must be made to shipping. Also, I can do combined shipping but the rate needs to reflect the larger shipping box and higher weight. We will ensure the piece is packed well.

This wonderful finely hand painted blue & while "Mingyau" piece is a glazed plate, ~250 mm wide and 40 mm high. The piece is genuine Qing Dynasty, made sometime between 1830-1860. The interior form shows a Phoenix, Peonies and boulders-water (?) forms, as seen in Images 1 thought 4. Its in great condition, bright glaze, no chips or cracks, and with few signs of wear. Image 7 does show a minor glaze imperfection on the back. When you flick the side of the piece it has a bright ring to it. We had this piece authenticated by Peter Combs, an expert on Chinese and Asian antiques, who also runs Bidamount in Massachusetts. We acquire this piece in the Philippines. 

The shiny glaze is a bright, in nice condition. This bowl has slightly rounded or tapered sides and great proportions, standing on a low foot-ring. The foot ring is not glazed as seen in Images 5, 6 and 7. The bottom is glazed, with blue & white and several manufacturer Chinese markings. The exterior features a symmetrical group of brush strokes, seen in Images 5, 6 and 7.

The piece is being listed below its appraised market value.

Our story:

We lived in the Philippines for nearly a decade beginning in 1985. From 1986 to 1989, we collected a number of old oriental ceramics, mostly from China. Our pieces were represented as being from the Sung to Yuan to Ming Dynasties, some in the Qing Dynasty. We are now selling these pieces as we downsize. We are not experts, we cannot authenticate our pieces. These pieces look old, and are not the type or quality of ceramics one would fake. We genuinely believe these are vintage genuine pieces, each with their own charm. Just holding an item that may be hundreds of years old from the Ming (or an earlier) Dynasty makes for great conversation. 

One source we've relied on is author Elizabeth Wilson's book, published in 1988, entitled, "A Pocket Guide to Oriental Ceramics in the Philippines. Another source is Eskenazi.co.uk, see their online-gallery song-ceramics/glazed-white-porcelaneous-stoneware-cup.

Our purchased pieces originally came from ancient China, and a few possibly from Vietnam. But the pieces were found on the Philippine islands of Luzon, Samar and Cebu. In most cases we don’t know where they were found. We purchased from established store front dealers of good reputation in Manila. Back in that time, the Philippines traded for ceramics with rice, coconut, bird nests, metals, and hard wood lumber. Almost all of these ceramics according to experts came from the provincial kilns in Guangdong and Fujian in southern China. Compared to the refined ceramic wares manufactured exclusively for the more sophisticated Chinese domestic market, these export porcelains were of lower quality but nevertheless have a terrific charm of their own and are now more collectible. Most of these items to be sure were utilitarian while some were nicely decorative. Many pieces found in the Philippines come from excavated sites, some from centuries old grave sites. But some of the utilitarian pieces we purchased came from the Mountain Province on Luzon.

For more information search for “The Charm of the Chinese Export Porcelain to Southeast Asia” by Lam Pin Foo, April 2, 2008.

We learned that Chinese porcelain and stoneware reached the Philippines as early as the 9th or 10th century. During the Song and Yuan periods from 960 to 1368, trade with the Philippines reached its peak.  In the 14th century Ming (1368–1644) emperors of China took control of this trade and exports to the Philippines diminished. At that period, ceramics from Viet Nam were exported to the Philippines as trade from China diminished save for limited blue & white ceramics continued into the Qing period (1645-1912). We will be listing to such pieces from that period.

Most imports to the Philippines were prized celadon (green), blue and white, white or very light gray ware with and without decoration, some over-glazed, and brown ware. Our pieces are from these categories. We will describe them to the best of our ability. More photographs are available upon request.

Thank you for looking.