does anyone no?

[faye redden]

i heard this is chinese and the writeings are the 5 movements?- what are the movements? is it old? its crased but?  5 1/2 in tall opening 2in from the outside-

 thanks much- i dont read chinese or japanese-i thought it was japanese- but i apprcieate your time!-nothing on bottom

[tomsantiquesetcetera]

Now you NO (know) Japanese...have fun!

http://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+letters&hl=en&clien...

[Deb Jani]

He could have meant "Noh", which is a form of Japanese theater.  LOL

[faye redden]

 ok- lol-  guess im not understanding but  -they being bad?- lol-  ha, i thank you 4 your time!!

[Deb Jani]

I know nothing about the "5 movements", perhaps you could Google that and find more, but it seems, from the pix, that there are 4 long and 4 short lines of characters. Is that right?  Have fun trying to read the text -- put it in our Japanese group and maybe someone will read some of it.

[tomsantiquesetcetera]

Looks like a tea pot for two.  Crazing makes it look old but can be added...to make it look old. Can't tell from pics.  Hidden in the crazing I see one long line, a crack, that goes the whole length,top to  bottom.  Originally it would have had 2-4 small handle-less cups for tea.

Why don't you look up some of the characters?  I see 3 characters that look like 2K (or zK).  Copy some of them and then you (not me) search for them.  You will find them.

I would guess there is more writing on the backside of the pot.

[Deb Jani]

Hmmmmmm - I respectfully disagree with all of your first paragraph. Saki maybe, but not tea. A container for tea would have a handle - to hot to hold without one.

[tomsantiquesetcetera]

OK, I'm entitled to one misteak; I meant sake, not tea...do you disagree with the crazing too, and the crack too?  They're in the first paragraph also.

[Deb Jani]

Well - kinda, sorta - modern ceramicists have glazes that create a crackled or crazed glaze  from the get-go; the formula has been around for centuries, and is no sure sign of age(so here I AGREE). IMHO the "crack" is just a very long, continuous craze line, look at how evenly sized the "blocks" are flanking it. The OP can easily tell if it is cracked though or just part of the surface finish.

Hey ---  if one mistake is all I make every HOUR - I consider it a GREAT day!!

[faye redden]

 thanks!!!  well i didnt no- a thing about chinas 5 movements- but its like wood- fire- earth- rain-lol one more i cant think of- its awesome to learn something new- anyway!!

-thought i knew it all- ha!!- no just kidding- it can mean 5 elements- but its same thing-

thanks again!

[faye redden]

hi!! well guess its I CHING- wished it was cha ching!!  but the chinese language is I CHING- and hard 4 them to read it? mercy- i didnt realize the different laguages!!- but -lol- now i know, its been fun!!

[faye redden]

had a question who or what is OP??- and yes its not cracked its the surface- but dont no who is o p?- thanks

[AntoinettesWhims]

OP = Original Post / Poster  ~ Which would be you in this case.

When the surface has that kind of crackled surface it is known as crazing.  Some Chinese pieces were made specifically to do that, part of the glazing technique.

Other pieces it happens naturally to as a piece is exposed to temperature differences.