Dear Ruth,

You have a Chinese censer in Sancai color scheme. Sancai means three colors but also a fourth color is possible. Sancai can go back to Tang Dynasty when only these colors were ''invented'' on pottery and others not. Tang dynasty = around 900 AD. Your censer is made late 19th century. It is made for export and therefor the addition CHINA is added. Chinese characters is the hallmark of emperor Yongzheng ( 1723-1735 ) but it is not made in that period. It is common practice to use older marks on pieces to honor the old emperors or just say that it is a piece of good quality. Your censer is appealing for quite a big group of potential buyers. I believe if it came to auction it would fetch a price around the estimate. Piece must be in good condition ( no gluet parts, cracks or chips ) to get that sort of price.