Antique Chinese porcelain Republic period Xian Shi Marked Bowl Flowers

无货

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Condition Report: 1 chip with line from rim. Some small scratches on the inside, probably because it was used. Size 19.2x8.5CM DiameterxHeight

A very nicely decorated Bowl from the Xian Shi department store in Shanghai. Our friend Michaela Russell wrote a very interesting article about this porcelain. From her website

Shanghai Department Store flagship porcelains –  先施; 永安; 新新; 大新  

1. Xianshi Department store (先 施 Xiān shī  – ‘Sincere’ – its name is a transliteration of the word “Sincere” (honest and reliable)); founder – Ma Yingbaio (Ma Ying Piu):  operated 1917 -1952 (Hong Kong 1899; Guangzhou 1912 )

Zhang Zhongwei, a 90-year-old Zhongshan man who used to be an employee of Shanghai Xianshi Company, told reporters that the Xianshi company also has a special ceramics department, which has a wide variety of products, such as vases, tea sets, tableware, smoking sets, and the four treasures of the study. It was none other than Zhang Zhongwei’s uncle and Zheng Liangjun’s brother Zheng Zizhang who once served as the head of the ceramics department of Hong Kong Xianshi Department Store.

Shi Haigou Shen: The Zhongshan native who supervises the production of “Xian Shi Zhen Porcelain”

The advanced management concept of Xianshi Company has been talked about by Zhang Zhongwei, a 90-year-old Zhongshan native who once worked in Shanghai Xianshi Company. In order to ensure that the goods are genuine and of high quality, Xianshi does not hesitate to send special personnel to the place of origin of the famous brand to directly customize the goods. In its “Global Department Store”, in addition to French perfumes and other imported items, there are also Jingdezhen porcelain made in China.

The porcelain department of Xianshi Company is huge. Zhang Zhongwei recalled that, taking the Hong Kong one as an example, it was the size of the first floor of the One Plus One supermarket in the East Gate. “Zheng Liangjun’s elder brother, Zheng Zizhang, once represented Xianshi Company in Jingdezhen to personally supervise the production of porcelain. After leaving the kiln, it was selected and then packed and shipped to Hong Kong.” Zhang Zhongwei told reporters that Zheng Zizhang was his uncle, and the porcelain plate statue of his grandmother hung at Zhang Zhongwei’s house, also made by Zheng Zizhang in Jingdezhen. As a buyer, Zheng Zizhang spends three months in Jingdezhen every year, and lives in Maoliao with the porcelain workers. At night, the desolation around him often made his heart tremble. 

Zheng Zizhang worked diligently, but unexpectedly one of his own jokes ruined his future in Xianshi. Zheng Gansheng, the director of Xianshi Company, is Zheng Zizhang’s cousin and believes in Christianity. One year, Zheng Zizhang wanted to make a joke with him. He asked a porcelain worker to burn a statue of Luke, a disciple of Christ, and brought it back to the company to ask Zheng Gansheng for advice: “Third uncle, you are a devout Christian, do you know who this disciple is?” Zheng Gansheng was dumbfounded and said no. He thought that Zheng Zizhang had lost his face in public, so he had a grudge, and soon fired Zheng Zizhang. Zheng Zizhang later defected to his younger brother Zheng Liangjun to run the “water pine tree” business….

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