Comprising a Life
The Bonsai, Travels and Haiku of Vaughn Banting
Bulb pot/bulb bowl collecting
During the Chinese Song and Yuan Dynasties and later during the Qing Dynasty bulb bowls (or bulb pots) were used as containers for flower bulbs, such as narcissus. Narcissus blooms were particularly popular around the time of the lunar New Year (late January - February) when the Chinese celebrate the coming of spring. They look a lot like bonsai or penjing pots in their architecture due to their shared characteristic of usually having feet but the similaritiy between the two types of vessels stops there, as bulb pots do not contain drainage holes. But I think my fascination with bulb pots stems in part from my appreciation of bonsai pots.
Bulbs were planted in these pots and then forced into bloom using only a medium of gravel and water. The bulbs sat on top of the gravel and water was added to a level just below them assuring the bulbs did not rot but encouraging root formation instead.
I have always collected bulb pots even while I was maintainining a large bonsai collection and when I had to give up my hobby of growing bonsai for health reasons I simply increased the time I spent investigating and collecting bulb pots. Bulb pots although sharing similar architecture to bonsai pots (as stated above) are usually made of porcelain often featuring Polychrome enameled decorations of one sort or another. The motifs encountered on these pots often feature Chinese figures and reflect the type of day to day activities of the period. Of course these attributes only increase the delight provided the collector of bulb pots.
This is a detail from an antique scroll which featuries a bulb pot. It hangs in my living room serving to whet the appetite of the visitor who will later encounter the real thing as he or she make their way to the back to the den area where I keep my main collection.
A bulb pot planted with Narcissus bulbs was sometimes used as a companion planting to a bonsai as this scroll depicts.
I found this bulb pot offered in an online antique store but I didn't add it to my collection because I prefer my bulb bowls or bulb pots to have individual feet rather than a solid foot, a prejudice I formed while growing bonsai.
I found this beautiful enameled bulb pot in Florida via eBay which featured its own handcarved stand. There were actually a pair offered but I talked the owner into selling me just one which was all I could afford.
It is a beautiful, well detailed, genuine guangxu period, Chinese yellow ground dayazhai ware hand painted planter pot; a rare and highly collectable piece (china circa 1894-1908).
The planter measures 7 1/2 inches long by 4 3/4 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches tall. The original carved wood stand measures 6 inches long by 3 3/4 inches wide by 2 3/4 inches tall.
There are no chips, no cracks, no damage, and no repairs. This piece is over 100 years old and has some fading color inside.
The empress dowager, cixi, was the mother of the tongzhi emperor; with control of the throne from 1861 until her death in 1908. Cixi designed a number of porcelain patterns produced at the imperial kilns at
These were a beautiful pair of bulb pots offered on eBay with intricately carved stands created just for them but unfortunately they exceeded my budget.
Some where I collected another pot similar to this one but which also came with a stand but I still need to have that one photographed.
This was a pot that I bid on at eBay but was not successful in winning it and is only included here for the viewer's edification concerning styles of bulb pots.
This is actually a much larger pot but I did not bid on it. It is covered on all sides with a long poem.
Years ago when I first started collecting bulb pots I found several of these bulb pots at an auction house before their value went up. They all differ a little bit from one another as they were likely hand-painted on an assembly line.
I let this one go by on eBay but harvested the pictures they provided, again as before just to show the diversity in these pots.
I was lucky to find this little gem of a bulb pot because it's quite unique. This pot has a body made out of Yixing clay instead of porcelain.
This handsome bulb pot was listed on eBay but its price was beyond my budget at that time but now that I see it listed again I think I will make an offer.
I did not bid on this small bulb pot because it was chipped and cracked but I have included it any way because of it's interesting motif.
When I saw this unusual purple colored bulb pot I purchased it but when it arrived it turned out to be more blue and less purple.
I do not own this beautiful bulb pot but have decided to own it virtually by including the images of it here.
The following bulb bowls I do not own either accept virtually through these photographs but they are all works of art and each one quite unique.
I was determined to capture this Doucai (contrasting colors) bulb pot when I saw it offered at auction so I left a high enough absentee bid to make sure that I won it whenever the auction started.
This beautiful pot ended up going for $2,200 on eBay; unfortunately I had to stop bidding at $1,200.
Like several other bulb pots in this collection, I do not own this pot but it is a very good example of a Yaun or Song dynasty bulb pot.
This pot came to me through eBay very recently and it is one of my favorites. The double coin motif is highlighted by the fact that this pot features double walls.
This is another pot that I do not own but have included it here to show off the diversity of styles and patterns inherent in bulb pots.
I love the simple architecture of this bulb pot but never the less I did not bid on it and the picture included here is only for the viewer's pleasure.
This is another bulb pot found for me by my friend in Shanghai China. It might actually be a brush holder and not a bulb pot but it doesn't feature a drainage hole and thus could be used for bulbs as well.
I very much regret not having won this pot on eBay but again I include it here for your viewing because it is a very exquisite bulb pot.
I don't own this bulb pot but merely harvested the picture from somewhere as an example of another style of bulb pot.
I harvested this picture of a beautiful blue bulb pot sitting on an equally beautiful stand to show the viewer the museum-like settings in which you will find bulb pots.
I recently acquired this bulb pot and it's another one of my favorites now because of its rich decoration.
This is actually a one of a pair of double walled bulb pots that I acquired through another contact in China.
This is the pair to the first one; you may notice a slight difference in the shape of the mountain from the other one.
This is my favorite bulb pot and I don't even own it. I like it because of the visible structure of the pot and also the way the painting extends down into the pot. When I was new into eBay this pot was up for auction and I didn't know enough about
I found this large and colorful bulb pot through eBay, it now sits among my other bulb pots on the hand made shelves gracing my den.
