Wall vases are flat-backed ceramic vessels designed to hang on a vertical surface. They usually have two or several pierced holes at the back or near the rim for suspension. Their intended purpose varies with size and form. Over time the term "wall vase" has come to cover several related types. The form appears in both Chinese and Japanese ceramics and was sometimes imitated in European porcelain from the 18th century onward.
Although commonly called "wall vases" in modern collections, the identification is not always certain. In Asia the larger examples - often standing 20–30 cm high - were used in domestic settings, for example in kitchens as holders for chopsticks or cooking utensils. Small wall vases was made as interior decoration inside sedan chairs.
Most "wall vases" or rather chop stick holders, appears - based the number of on extant examples - to have become popular during the late Qing dynasty, as in the late 19th century. A common shape are somewhat funnel shaped with straight sides and an elaborate shield at the top resting to the wall. The decoration is foremost in overglaze enamels - in rare cases in qianjiang style, with landscapes, birds, and garden scenes with Chinese ladies. Some have inscriptions that sometimes include cyclical dates which can provide valuable information on their period of manufacture, the actual artists, and where they were decorated.
Wall vases, both large and small continued into the Republic period and remains popular among collectors and can still be found today, sometimes preserving the same shapes and themes as their 19th-century predecessors.
Actual wall vases as I have got to know them were usually fairly small and flat, since they were made for decoration inside sedan chairs, and the porters did not want to carry unnecessary dead weight.
In old China, sedan chairs were a common form of personal transport, especially for officials, wealthy individuals, and women of higher status. These were carried by porters or chair bearers (often two or four men, depending on the chair's size and the passenger's rank.
The popularity of small wall vases started to decline with the Qing dynasty. In Shanghai, rickshaws began to replace them in the 1910s. In photos taken by westerners sedan chairs were still seen where the topography or geography called for their use - in narrow alleys and hilly areas. They still remain part of folk performances, temple festivals, and tourist reenactments. Wedding sedan chairs, painted in red lacquer, are still made for ceremonial or decorative purposes.
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