Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain collector's help and info page

GLOSSARY

Rolwagen

Straight sided cylindrical "sleeve vase" with a gently waisted neck and of the Transitional period (1620-1683), with typically underglaze blue and white decoration, drawn continuous around the vase.

The exact meaning of this word has been discussed and the possibility of a typo, rollvazen, referring to its cylindrical form have been put forth. However, as likely as a writing mistake seems, the name rollwagen could as well be referring to the Dutch words for trundle or roll. Words that would refer to the cylindrical shape of the vases, that was novel at the time.

The shape might have become popular among the porcelain artists since it lent itself well to reproduction of prints and paintings, in a similar way as the late 19th century vases and hatstand's lent itself to the qianjiang decorations of that period. The purpose in that case being the same, as transferring printed and painted art onto porcelain.

HOME

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z