A Very Rare Shunzhi Transitional Porcelain Gu Vase Incised With An Hu Decoration, Jingdezhen Kins, Shunzhi Period (1644 - 1661). This Transitional white Gu shaped porcelain vase from Jingdezhen with An Hua (secret or hidden decoration) is very rare indeed. Even the Butler Collection possesses only three examples. There are many white porcelain objects from the mid-17th century that look similar, however these objects were made at the kilns in Dehua in Fujian province. Superficially, they look rather similar, especially if you are comparing them by photographs. The pieces, like the present gu vase are made from a less granular clay, where the porcelain body touches the glaze there is a thin but distinct neat orange-brown iron deposit. You can see this in the form of a concentric line around the base. The glaze is bluish with a slight green tinge, the glaze is smoother than the Blanc de Chine examples from Dehua. In essence, the Jingdezhen examples are neater and more carefully made. The piece on offer here has similar decoration to the blue and white porcelain examples, even the arrangement of the design is similar, it's just that the decoration is incised with fine lines, rather than painted with cobalt blue. The lines are just as confidently and aesthetically pleasing as the blue and white examples, you need to look more carefully. I can see that to a Chinese scholar this subtlety would have been very pleasing. The decoration can be seen because the depth of the glaze is thicker where it falls into the incised lines. The top rim of this Gu shaped vase has been dressed with an iron-oxide glaze, of around 3 to 5% iron. SALE PENDING See Below For More Photographs and Information