Of the well over 4 million sites on the Internet that mention Chinese porcelain, there seems to be no information detailing the inscription on this important vase. I'm providing the information so the viewer can realize exactly how the vase was dated to Jingtai. Because the description and translation comes from literature provided by the Chinese authorities in 1937, it is in Wade-Giles transliteration, not Pinyin.  Therefore, so not to lose any of the correct translation, I am showing it exactly as given.

Annam Vase

Topkapi Museum

Istanbul, Turkey

Inscription

" Painted for pleasure by Chuang, a workman of Nan Ts'e-chou in the 8th year of Ta Ho' "

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Nan Ts'e-chou is in Annam and the Annamese Nien-hao T'ai Ho, for which Ta Ho is a common variant. This is A.D. 1443-54. This gives the date 1450, and makes it clear that the vase was made by a Chinese potter in Annam.

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