Are ginger jars Chinese or English?

Both, and the heading carries the two side by side. Chinese appears in more than four titles in ten, Japanese in about one in ten. The English contribution is concentrated in Royal Worcester fruit-painted jars, sixteen titles of ninety-six. A thinner scatter of other English and European factories fills in behind them.

How old are most of them?

The dated field runs 1800 to 1960, with fifty-two of ninety-six listings carrying a clean year. The single largest bucket is the vague label '19th Century', at twenty-five listings, so half the 19th-century material is only loosely placed. Earlier pieces exist. Four listings sit in the 17th century, including a provincial Ming pottery jar and a pair of Kangxi ovoid jars given as about 1690. The other weight is mid-20th century, almost all of it the Worcester fruit jars.

Why do so many come as pairs?

Pairs were made and kept as pairs for display, and eighteen titles on Sellingantiques are pairs rather than singles. The habit crosses every branch: Kutani, Imari, Delft, Chinese blue and white and Royal Worcester. Pairs are commoner in current stock than in the sold archive, and they sit consistently above comparable singles.

What decoration turns up on them?

Blue and white leads, named in a sixth of titles, often with prunus reserved white against a blue ground. Famille rose, famille verte and famille noire enamels follow. Japanese jars bring the Imari palette of blue, iron-red and gilt, plus Kutani porcelain and crackle-glazed Satsuma with dense enamel and gilding. English jars go their own way, chiefly hand-painted fruit.

Do listings give sizes?

Not often. Sizes are stated only occasionally, and where they appear they are modest, 9 inches and 24cm in the sampled titles. Eleven titles use the word 'large' instead of a measurement. Large examples recur in the upper part of the range.

Which unusual forms appear in the archive?

Single appearances make up a good part of the interest. A Malay-market kamcheng, a wucai jar with Buddhistic lions, and a doucai five-clawed dragon jar each turn up once. So do a Herend tea caddy, a Bernard Moore jar and cover, and a Chinese jar fitted with a carved wooden lid and base. None of these repeats anywhere else.

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Antique Ginger Jars

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A lidded ceramic jar of ovoid or barrel form, usually porcelain, named for the preserved ginger and other foodstuffs shipped from China in jars like it and kept for display once emptied.