Name/Title

Jar, Ceramic Ginger

About this object

This is a blue glazed ceramic ginger jar which features an Oriental cherry bas relief decoration. The blue colour of this jar makes it a very rare Crown Lynn collectible.

There is some controversy over the manufacturer of this style of ginger jar. The jar has a back stamp which states 'CHINA KIENHUA' which translates to 'Made in China', however, Tom Clark, the managing director of Crown Lynn, was known to put false locations on his products. The colours that these jars come in mostly match Crown Lynn colours and the clay is very similar to that used by the company. Crown Lynn shards in the Richard Quinn Collection at Te Toi Uku
Clay Works, the Crown Lynn Museum, seem to prove that the jars were likely made by Crown Lynn. Quinn was a dedicated collector who dug for shards behind the factory. Among these shards are pieces from this style of ginger jars. The shards have glaze defects which is why they would have been thrown away during the manufacturing process at the factory.

These shards seem to be pretty conclusive evidence that this ginger jar was made by Crown Lynn, however, there are some that still dispute this.

Maker

Crown Lynn Potteries Limited

Maker Role

Manufacturer

Date Made

1940-1960

Period

1950s

Place Made

Oceania, New Zealand, North Island, Auckland

Medium and Materials

inorganic, processed material, ceramic

Inscription and Marks

Stamped in black on base: 'CHINA KIENHUA'.
Also Chinese lettering.
Handwritten in black ink on base: 'WY 07001'
Handwritten in black ink on inside of lid: 'WY2007.1.1'

Measurements

See parts.

Subject and Association Keywords

Domestic Life (household chattels, food and drink)

Object Type

containers

Object number

WY.2007.1.1

Copyright Licence  

Attribution (cc)

Add Comments