I bought some similarly marked tea bowls from an elderly Chinese antiques
dealer.  He told me the items were kept in a public tea house, and were used
by the vessel owner when visiting the tea house.  American men did the same
thing with shaving mugs at barbershops.
I suggest you contact Priscilla Wegars of the Asian American Comparative
Collection at [log in to unmask] for further help.
S. Walter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gina Michaels" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 11:36 AM
Subject: overseas Chinese peck marked vessels


> Hello all,
>         I am a graduate student at Stanford University currently
> working with artifacts from the excavation of a 19th century overseas
> Chinatown from San Jose California. In this collection there are
> several porcelain bowls and plates that have Chinese characters pecked
> into their surfaces, presumably by the people who owned the pieces. I
> have not been able to locate any literature on these sorts of markings.
> Is there anyone who has either studied overseas Chinese peck marked
> vessels or knows of any reports done on the topic that would be willing
> to give me some direction with my study?
> Thank you,
> Gina Michaels
>
> [log in to unmask]