I have acquired some old (1920’s) Chinese ivory carvings, which I am trying to accurately date and identify. They each have chinese characters inscribed on the bottom, which I believe are the artist’s name. Can anybody translate these for me? Here are links to some pictures:
Inscription on Emporer & Empress
Inscription on Fu Dogs
Ivory Emporer & Empress
Ivory Fu Dogs
Thanks guys!
Here are they:
Inscription on Emperor and Empress: Da4 Ming2 (Great Ming? as in the dynasty)
Inscription on the Fu Dogs (actually they are lions): Qian2 Long2 (reign title of a Qing emperor)
Inscriptions on carvings normally do not carry the name of the artists but rather the time period and the location it was carved. The inscriptions supposedly date these carvings back to the 1700s for the lions and 1500s for the Imperial couple; but judging from the crude handwriting and the fact that they were made in the 1920s, I think it’s safe to conclude that these are imitations.
BTW, IANAExpert on ivory carvings.
