Choosing a quality Chinese Vase
Some people enjoy a variety of ethnic and cultural decorations representing various time periods in history. Other people enjoy art work that represents a particular philosophy. All this can be found in one or more Chinese vase designs, and often are sold at different prices, and created with a variety of different glazing processes. Furthermore, there is a little Chinese culture for every decorating budget, but the more money you have to spend on one the more likely you are to purchase a more rare one.
One of the most recently created style of vase representing Chinese culture and philosophy is the Wishkeeper vase, created by a Hawaiian artist in 1992. It is a ceramic vessel into which people's written wishes are inserted. Many different variations of this type of vase still are being sold today, and are fired with the century old process of Raku.
The Raku process came from a 16th century process of making very special cups for sacred tea ceremonies that took place in the orient. Raku is a type of firing in which each piece comes out unique with its own crackles and patterns and cannot be duplicated. These pieces are then cleaned very carefully, forming a vessel that is just right.
The forming of a vase using the Raku firing method takes a lot of patience on the part of the creator to make a perfect work, but is worth the wait for the recipient. After the Wishkeeper is thoroughly cleaned, the artist carves in wood to create a stamp to seal the vessel for a lifetime of good wishes. Each of these pieces is signed and distributed with the Wishkeeper's story, and the artist's own personal story. This vase can bring some good cheer to someone who is feeling down.
Another type of Chinese vase made is called the Jingdezhen Color Glaze, representing artistic styles from the Ming Dynasty which reigned from 1368-1644. This is a glaze that is made with a variety of colors to represent intricate art designs of this period.
Following that Era was the Qing Dynasty which reigns from 1644-1911, which often used the Wucai and similar glazing processes. The word "Wucai" means five colors. This is an overglaze often consisting of five colors at once. Those colors that a Chinese vase fired by the Wucai process include red, yellow, blue, green, and purple.
Another style of Chinese Vase is the Emperor's Furniture, which is a replica of vases made within the same Dynasty reign of the Wucai fired vases. These are hand painted in famille rose glaze on a white glazed vase, and then fired in low temperature. Variations of this represent the four seasons of the year.
Other Chinese vases made include the Yellow Ground with Underglaze Blue style made popular after the Qianlong reign, and the Crystalline vase imported from Jingdezhen, China, which is a more contemporary style vase. The Crystalline vase is actually a glaze process in which a glaze is quickly melted and then quickly cooled to cause a variation of crystals to form within the texture of the vase.
In case you are wondering whether or not you could afford a vase designed so carefully as the Chinese Vase, you have no need to worry. Many of the Chinese vase handmade replicas are sold for as low as thirty dollars, depending on the demand at the time. Some of these vases are of comparable quality to the more expensive ones, but sometimes more are often available, or they are not considered rare or antique so the price is lower. On the other hand, if money is no object to you, you may consider purchasing a rarer piece, such as a Chinese vase actually made from the time period of which it represents.
Regardless of how little or how much money you have you are sure to find a quality Chinese Vase. However, you definitely have an advantage if you have a little more to spend, because you are more likely to be able to purchase a rarer piece than you would if you only have a little money to spend. The choice is up to you, and depends on your taste and decorating intentions.