Can you put water in them?

Most antique ginger jars will hold water just fine. The hard-paste porcelain and interior glaze create a waterproof barrier. It pays to check the base for hairline cracks first. Even a tiny star crack on the bottom can cause a slow leak onto your furniture.

I have one that has a wooden lid instead of a porcelain one and I was wondering if that means the lid is a replacement or if they were originally sold that way?

Wooden lids are almost always later replacements. When an original porcelain lid broke or went missing during the nineteenth or twentieth centuries, owners often commissioned a carved wooden cover to complete the silhouette. These carved replacements are quite common and have become an accepted part of the antique's history. Some are finely made from hardwoods like rosewood, featuring intricate fretwork.

Do they all have blue patterns?

Blue and white is the most common colourway you'll encounter. The cobalt underglaze was durable and highly popular for the export market. Other palettes exist. Famille rose, famille verte and monochrome glazes turn up frequently. The decorative style usually depended on the specific decade and the intended market.

My grandmother gave me a jar that has quite a large metal staple holding a crack together on the side, is this a normal way to repair pottery from back then?

Metal stapling was a standard repair technique before modern adhesives existed. A craftsman would drill small holes on either side of a crack and tap a brass or iron staple in to hold the tension. It takes considerable skill to drill into porcelain without shattering it. Many collectors appreciate these old staple repairs as part of the object's social history. Today restorers use epoxy resins. The old staples remain a reliable indicator of an early approach to keeping household goods in service.

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Antique Ginger Jars

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Antique ginger jars are bulbous ceramic vessels with high rounded shoulders and fitted lids, originally made in China to store and transport spices across the globe.