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J.F. Blacker

CHATS ON
ORIENTAL CHINA

BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS

With Coloured Frontispieces and many Illustrations.
Large Crown 8vo, 5s. net.

CHATS ON OLD CHINA.

By Arthur Hayden.

CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE.

By Arthur Hayden.

CHATS ON OLD PRINTS.

By Arthur Hayden.

CHATS ON COSTUME.

By G. Woolliscroft Rhead.

CHATS ON OLD LACE AND NEEDLEWORK.

By Mrs. Lowes.

CHATS ON ORIENTAL CHINA.

By J. F. Blacker.

CHATS ON MINIATURES.

By J. J. Foster.

LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN

DESCRIPTION OF VASE.

High-necked vase with melon-shaped body and double protuberance above. One of a pair. Formal handles on the neck in imitation of bamboo-work. The body and protuberances decorated with bamboo stems having yellow and green reserves decorated with flowers and plants. The neck decorated with diaper pattern, yellow on green. The flattened top ornamented with black and green triangle-work.

Period, (Kang-he) 1662-1722.

Chats on
ORIENTAL CHINA

BY

J. F. BLACKER

AUTHOR OF THE "A B C OF COLLECTING OLD CHINA," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

LONDON

T. FISHER UNWIN

ADELPHI TERRACE

MCMVIII

(All rights reserved)

PREFACE

If there is one regret that accompanies the issue of these "Chats on Oriental China" it is that the illustrations could not be given in all the beauty of their magnificent colouring. In a photograph, however fine it may be, it is obvious that only the shape and the decoration can be given. Roughly speaking, the illustrations represent in its Ming and Kang-he specimens about £100,000 in value. The pieces represented are the most admirable and the rarest. The reader is advised to bestow much attention on the reading of the descriptions accompanying each picture. There is no form of instruction more valuable than this analysis, which forms the basis of the sale catalogues of the most recherché collections.

The collector who masters this book may betake himself to the museums with considerable confidence that he will be in a position to understand; in fact, to read the pieces which he wishes to study. Take for example, the unique Salting Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. To the ordinary visitor interested in porcelain the specimens present an exquisite, if embarrassing, assembly of choice pieces whose colour, decoration, and age cannot be grasped, they can only be admired. The eye may be trained, but the understanding never. The absence of a catalogue handicaps and indeed baffles the amateur. But if the knowledge previously obtained is sufficient to enable him to master the subject, the style, form, and colour, nothing can give more pleasure than the investigation of such a collection which has been brought together at a vast expense of time, money, and knowledge. In the British Museum the descriptive labels are helpful.

In this book the reader will find some statements repeated perhaps over and over again. When we chat about anything we do repeat the points on which we want information, or in which we may be specially interested. The information is concise, so that, section by section, the range of Oriental porcelain will pass before the student, the chief consideration which regulates the letterpress being the space at our disposal.

Naturally the labour bestowed on repression is considerable. When we consider the National Collections of England, France, and Germany alone we find material for many volumes. Perhaps of all the museums that of Limoges, where the Jacquemart and Gasnault collections are so well cared for, is one of the most instructive, and the lover of old Oriental could not do better than spend a holiday at this delightful old French town with the object of really learning what these two friends teach.

With regard to books of reference, all of the recognised authorities have been studied, especially the Jacquemart and Gasnault catalogues and descriptions, and the Petit Guide Illustre au Musée Guimet. The visitor to Paris should make a point of visiting this museum, so little known, so intensely interesting, at the junction of the Rue Boissière and the Avenue d'Iena. Its aim is to propagate a knowledge of the civilisation of the East, to facilitate the study of ancient historical religions largely by means of images, statuettes, or figures. There we see classified methodically, in chronological order, representations of the various divinities in which form and attitude both have a meaning. The specimens are old and rare. The catalogue of the Franks Collection is referred to in the various chapters. Formerly exhibited at the Bethnal Green Museum, the collection is now distributed in the British Museum, where the pieces may be recognised as having a printed description. The two volumes by the late W. G. Gulland are delightful and very helpful, and it was the privilege of the writer to have spent some hours in his company shortly before his lamented decease.

I owe sincere thanks to Mr. Edgar Gorer, of S. Gorer and Son, Bond Street, for his constant courtesy and his kindness in supplying most of the fine illustrations in the book, and for securing permission from other collectors to use their photographs. And more than this, his practical knowledge has been put at my disposal in every way, and specially in reading the proofs. To Messrs. Duveen Brothers, of Bond Street, I am indebted for specimens specially noted. To other friends who have helped recognition is due, especially to Mr. C. H. McQueen, whose knowledge of Chinese porcelain has been altogether at my disposal.

The marks are those given in the Franks catalogue, in Mr. Gulland's books, and in the Guimet Museum guide. The vastness of the subject here shortly treated may bring many collectors into touch with one another, and the author hopes that they will avail themselves of the opportunity of using him as the medium for this intercommunication.

Finally, with regard to the illustrations and the lessons they teach, the reader will note that vases have been selected wherever this has been possible. Generally speaking the vase, being an ornamental and purely decorative object, has received from the Chinese potter that artistic—one is almost tempted to say that reverential—treatment which embodies all that is best in his ceramic art. For the rest, it may be that the mythological aspects of the Oriental decoration, its divinities and their attributes, have received unusual attention. The Buddhist faith, here feebly exposed, embodies the highest truths, and Taoism, the more popular religion, cannot be neglected by any student of Oriental porcelain. The Japanese section is not illustrated. Japanese collectors are keen in collecting old Chinese specimens.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE

5

SECTION I

CHINESE PORCELAIN

CHAPTER

I.

INTRODUCTORY

21

II.

HARD PASTE

29

III.

RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

35

IV.

A SKETCH SHOWING PORCELAIN CLASSED ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE COLOURS AND GLAZES

43

V.

THE FOUR CHIEF FABULOUS ANIMALS AND TWO GODDESSES

51

VI.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF PORCELAIN

89

VII.

THE MING DYNASTY AND ITS PRODUCTS

95

VIII.

THE TSING DYNASTY, KANG-HE PERIOD

103

IX.

THE YUNG-CHING PERIOD

109

X.

THE KEEN-LUNG PERIOD

119

XI.

MANDARIN PORCELAIN, YUNG-CHING PERIOD AND LATER

131

XII.

KEA-KING, TAOU-KWANG, AND THE LATER EMPERORS

139

XIII.

CHINESE WHITE PORCELAIN

147

XIV.

SINGLE OR SELF-COLOUR GLAZES

153

XV.

CHINESE CRACKLE

175

XVI.

BLUE AND OTHER COLOURS UNDER THE GLAZE

181

XVII.

CLOBBER WARE OR REDECORATED PORCELAIN

201

XVIII.

RETICULATED PORCELAIN

203

XIX.

DECORATED WITH COLOURED ENAMELS

211

A. THE BLACK FAMILY—"FAMILLE NOIRE"

B. THE GREEN FAMILY—"FAMILLE VERTE"

C. POWDERED AND MAZARINE BLUE WITH ENAMEL COLOURS

D. THE GREEN AND YELLOW FAMILY—"FAMILLE JAUNE"

E. CORAL RED GROUND—"ROUGE DE FER"

F. THE ROSE FAMILY—"FAMILLE ROSE"

G. OTHER ENAMEL COLOURS

XX.

PORCELAIN OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY

285

XXI.

IMITATIONS OF ORIENTAL PORCELAIN

291

XXII.

SYMBOLICAL DESIGNS

297

A. EMBLEMS IN ANIMALS

B. EMBLEMS IN TREES

C. EMBLEMS IN FLOWERS

XXIII.

DATE MARKS ON ORIENTAL PORCELAIN

307

XXIV.

SYMBOLICAL MARKS AND ORNAMENTS

323

XXV.

THE IMMORTALS OR CHENS

337

XXVI.

THE DRESDEN COLLECTION

345

SECTION II

JAPANESE PORCELAIN AND POTTERY

XXVII.

JAPANESE PORCELAIN AND POTTERY

349

IMARI, ARITA, OR HIZEN

HIRADO

NABESHIMA

XXVIII.

SATSUMA

357

KYOTO

AWATA

MARKS, FIRST SET

XXIX.

BIZEN OR IMBE

367

KUTANI

KENZAN WARE

YEIRAKU WARE

XXX.

KISHU

375

BANKO

SOMA

SANDA

SHEBA

VARIOUS

MARKS, SECOND SET

SECTION III

XXXI.

SALE PRICES

385

INDEX

403

ILLUSTRATIONS

VASE, IN PROPER COLOURS, KANG-HE

Frontispiece

PAGE

PAÔ-YUEH-KOUANG AND TIEN-KONG

40

THE DRAGON

54

THE TRUE KYLIN

55

THE COREAN LION

56

THE HO-HO OR PHŒNIX

57

KWAN-YIN, MING

60

ANOTHER KWAN-YIN, MING

62

KWAN-YIN, WITH ATTENDANTS

63

SI-WANG-MU

64 OD

-D

PAG-MED

AMITÂBHA OR AMIDA

68

WAN CHONG, THE GOD OF THE LEARNED

71

KUAN-TI, THE GOD OF WAR

72

WEN-TCHANG, THE GOD OF WISDOM

75

PIU-HWO, TAOIST GOD

76

HAN SEANG-TSE (2) AND CHANG KO-LAOU

79

BUDDHIST DIVINITIES (2) AND HAN CHUNG-LE

80

THE TAOIST IMMORTALS (8)

83

THE DOG OF BUDDHA OR COREAN LION

84

EMBLEMS IN BIRDS, PHEASANTS

87

WHITE PORCELAIN, KWAN-YIN

151

"SANG DE BŒUF," SELF-COLOUR

157

"CLAIRE DE LUNE" CRACKLE, SELF-COLOUR

163

TIGER SPOTTED OR SPLASHED GLAZE

167

PEACH BLOW, WITH WHITE AND CELADON

171

CRACKLE VASES, &C., MOUNTED IN ORMOLU

178

BLUE AND WHITE BEAKERS; DISHES AND COVERS

186

BLUE AND WHITE VASE; WATER EWER AND COVER

189

BLUE AND WHITE VASES, WITH LANGE-LYSEN

190

BLUE AND WHITE GINGER JAR, OR OVIFORM VASE

193

BLUE AND RED UNDER-GLAZE, CONICAL VASE

194

RED UNDER-GLAZE, ENAMELS OVER-GLAZE, CYLINDRICAL VASE

197

RETICULATED INCENSE BURNER

207

RETICULATED VASE

208

BLACK FAMILY, "FAMILLE NOIRE," TEAPOTS

218

BLACK FAMILY, "FAMILLE NOIRE," BOWL

221

BLACK FAMILY, "FAMILLE NOIRE," VASES, TAPERING SQUARE

222

BLACK FAMILY, "FAMILLE NOIRE," VASES, PEAR-SHAPED

225

BLACK FAMILY, "FAMILLE NOIRE," VASES, TWO

226

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," VASE, OVIFORM

230

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," LANTERN, EGG-SHELL

233

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," VASES (3), SQUARE-SHAPED

234

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," VASE, BEAKER-SHAPED

237

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," HEXAGONAL, ARROW-STAND

238

GREEN FAMILY, "FAMILLE VERTE," VASE, GOURD-SHAPED

241

POWDERED-BLUE, WITH "FAMILLE VERTE," AND BLUE DECORATION

246

POWDERED-BLUE, WITH "FAMILLE VERTE," DECORATION, PLATES

249

MAZARINE-BLUE, WITH "FAMILLE ROSE," DECORATION, VASES

250

GREEN AND YELLOW FAMILY, "FAMILLE JAUNE," VASE, SQUARE-SHAPED

254

GREEN AND YELLOW FAMILY, "FAMILLE JAUNE," JARDINIÈRE

257

CORAL RED, "ROUGE DE FER," VASE, CYLINDRICAL

261

CORAL RED, "ROUGE DE FER," VASE, CYLINDRICAL

262

ROSE FAMILY, "FAMILLE ROSE," RUBY-BACK PLATES, &C.

266

EGG-SHELL, "ROSE" "VERTE," VASE

269

APPLE-GREEN GROUND, MING BISCUIT, TEAPOTS

273

APPLE-GREEN GROUND, LANG-YAO, VASES

274

DELICATE GREEN GROUND, VASE, GOURD-SHAPED

277

DELICATE GREEN GROUND, VASES, KEA-KING

278

AUBERGINE GROUND, VASES, FLAT-SHAPED

281

MANDARIN CHINA, VASES, CONICAL, EGG-SHELL

282

THE IMMORTALS: HAN CHUNG-LE; LEU TUNG-PIN

340

LE TEE-KWAE; TSAOU KWO-KIU

341

LAN TSAE-HO; CHANG KO-LAOU

342

HAN SEANG-TSZE; HO SEEN-KOO

343

FIVE CLAWS; HO-HO BIRD

354

DOG OF FÔ; THE KYLIN

355

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The chief books referred to in this volume are:—

Franks, Sir A. W. Bethnal Green Collection. Catalogue of Original Pottery and Porcelain.

Gulland, W. G. Chinese Porcelain. 2 vols. With Illustrations.

The small Guide to the Musée Guimet. Paris.

GLOSSARY

Base. The solid support or bottom of any vessel either simple or ornamentally shaped.

Beaker. The Chinese beaker is a trumpet-shaped vase, having neither handle nor spout nor beak.

Biscuit. Porcelain unglazed, having no gloss.

Body. The part of a vase which corresponds with the body in the human figure. The shape may be simple, or two or more forms combined.

Bottle. A vase with spheroidal body, long neck and narrow mouth. The gourd-shaped Oriental bottle may be double, having three bodies diminishing from the bottom upwards.

Burnt-in. A term used to distinguish the painted from the enamelled porcelain, the first being burnt in with the glaze, the second having the colours laid over the glaze.

Celadon. The soft green colour upon pieces of old Oriental. See further in the section dealing with colours mixed with the glaze and burnt in at the first firing. European glaze is nearly always transparent and colourless.

China or Porcelain Paste is translucid, in pottery it is opaque.

Colours. Five colours:—green, yellow, aubergine, blue, and red. Three colours:—green, a curious shade; yellow, varying from pale to bright; aubergine, also varying in tone.

Egg-shell China first appeared in the Yung-lo period, and later it was as thin as bamboo paper. Under the Lung-king and Wan-leih emperors pure white porcelain of this kind was called "egg-shell." In many pieces the paste is so thin as to appear to be only two layers of glaze.

Enamel. Mixed with a glassy composition were certain transparent or opaque colours which were used in over the glaze decoration. In pottery they are used in the glaze.

Fen-ting. Soft paste, or more correctly, soft glaze porcelain.

Figures, Figurines, Magots, Statuettes, are single, grouped, or attached as ornaments to a piece; such as the eight immortals, etc.

Forms. These are diversified. Cylindrical, globular or spheroidal, egg-shaped or ovoid; apple-shaped or pomiform, pear-shaped or pyriform; cubical, hexagonal, etc.

Glaze. The composition used for coating porcelain or pottery. It literally means covering with glass or any vitrifiable substance having similar properties.

Grand Feu. The kiln at its greatest heat in which the clays were acted upon so as to produce porcelain or pottery. The decoration was often fixed in the "petit feu," or muffle kiln. The hard firing, when less than the maximum heat was required, was done in the "demi-grand feu."

Graviata. This name is given to patterns traced or cut on the porcelain or on the enamel.

"Hundred Antiques." A form of decoration, consisting of utensils, symbols, vases, &c., called "po-ku."

Kaolin. Porcelain or china clay, derived from the decomposition of granite rocks.

Kiln. "Grand feu" first baking, temperature about 4717° Fahrenheit. "Demi-grand feu" for fixing colours which could bear intense heat which were applied before glazing. More delicate enamel colours were applied for firing in the "petit feu" or muffle kiln.

Mandarin. A term applied to Chinese porcelain decorated with a certain class of figure subjects.

Mice China has ornament, in high relief, of the branches, leaves, and fruit of the vine, with squirrels or foxes, so-called mice, also in relief. It is Mandarin eighteenth century as a rule.

Moulds. These are used for figures and for the various ornaments which are fixed upon the piece.

Naga. This word translated means Dragon, which is dealt with under that name.

Neck. In the bottle, flagon, and flask, the neck is of different length and form. The throat may be narrow or wide, inclining inwards or outwards, or even perpendicular.

Ornaments. These are very varied. They may be in relief, reticulated, impressed, engraved in the paste; or they may be arabesque, grotesque; or they may be lines in angles, lozenges, zigzags, ribbons, and paintings of every kind.

Paste. The body of which porcelain or pottery vessels is made. Hard paste cannot be scratched or filed and resists the action of great heat. Soft paste is easily scratched and is melted by intense heat.

Pekin Ware is graviata of the Taou-kwang period. It was never made in Pekin, but the name is still used.

Petuntze. Pulverised "china rock" forming a white paste (pe-tun) made into bricks (petuntze). It melts in the heat of a porcelain furnace into a milky glass.

Pin-points are tiny holes found on the bottom of early Chinese porcelain.

Porcelain. A compound of kaolin and petuntze. The kaolin is not fusible, the petuntze vitrifies and envelopes the kaolin, producing a smooth compact body which is translucent.

Pottery. This is formed of a mixture of clays. Ordinary potter's-clay is used for common earthenware, and a blue clay, of a greyish colour, is much used in making flint-ware.

Saucer. The old Chinese form of the plate is always saucer-shaped. The flattening of the rim produced the dish and plate. Raising the sides gave the bowl, basin, and cup. By adding a handle we have the tea-cup.

Seggar. This is the protective vessel or case in which the pieces of porcelain or pottery are burnt in the kiln.

Slip. The liquid clay which is applied to the piece, under or over the glaze, either by pouring or painting.

Stoneware. Hard pottery which forms the link between porcelain and earthenware. In Chinese products stoneware is used with self-colours applied in the glaze.

Vases. All vessels used for drinking cups and goblets, for ointments or perfumes, for holding, carrying, or pouring wine, oil, or water; and similar or varied forms used solely for ornament.

Willow Pattern. A popular decoration of Nankin blue services. There are several varieties, but all have the weeping willow.

Yao-pien. The Chinese name for splashed, "shot" silk, or variegated glazes.

I

SECTION I

INTRODUCTORY

CHATS ON ORIENTAL CHINA

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

This book does not pretend to do more than to indicate to the collector the lines on which collections could or should be made, for "Chats on old Oriental China" scarcely imply a scientific treatise. Incidentally one point will lead on to another, but with always this object in view, to send the collector to the museums to train his eye as well as his understanding and to bring him in touch with all that makes for beauty in Oriental porcelain, a porcelain teaming with mythology, having decorations saturated with that mythology, full of emblems of all that concerns the best and highest life of the Chinese, pointing, we may say, to a religion which, although feebly understood in Europe, has been for centuries a real moving factor in the national life of the Oriental peoples. Hence, when we find the earliest European copies framed on Chinese mythology, and birds and flowers and beasts all unknown to the Occidental mind figuring upon vases at Dresden, at Chelsea, or at Sèvres we are struck with the incongruity of the association. All European factories, at the first, strove to imitate that porcelain which had been in existence in China long before history in Europe had begun its accurate chronology.

There are collectors of the European productions who revel in the delights of fine Dresden groups, of marvellous Chelsea or Worcester vases, of Bristol figures and the other magnificent productions of the European factories in earthenware and porcelain, but we may safely say that the collector who takes up the study of Oriental porcelain relegates all these European productions into oblivion, and has only one desire, to secure the best possible specimens from the land of far Cathay.

The collection of Oriental porcelain is not easy, especially with regard to the finer productions. The old figures, vases and dishes made hundreds of years ago, decorated with taste and skill beyond all comparison, these can be purchased only by the few. But there are many genuine old pieces still unrecognised, but valuable, each telling its own story, and that story one that can be learnt. We said that there were dangers to the collector, and this is true; for centuries the Chinese and Japanese have reproduced with minute accuracy the early productions—the Ming and the Kang-he—and the European factories have, in these later times, poured out upon the market many marvellous forgeries which would deceive, possibly, the very expert. The German imitations are passable, but those produced in France, especially in Paris, are so excellent that it would be well for buyers to judge of them, by daylight only—in fact, in buying any fine porcelain this rule should be adhered to. Remember this, there is no forgery existing which would deceive an expert worthy of the name, as there is, without exception, always a failure in some point, either in the colouring, glazing, paste, or drawing, which betrays the copy to a thorough student of Chinese porcelain. The best imitations are those made in Hungary about forty to fifty years ago; the German copies by comparison are very inferior and weak. Never buy by artificial light, for "colours seen by candle-light do not look the same by day." Marks on porcelain should always be ignored, except when the piece bearing the said mark is beyond doubt; it is an added interest to have a mark of the proper period. Not alone are patterns forged, but marks are forged; hence when pattern and mark both agree with the old example, something more is required than a mere superficial knowledge of pattern and mark—that is, the paste or body has to be known, and more, the eye has to be trained so as to distinguish the special character of the piece—in fact, it is the tout ensemble which to the finest judges is the surest guide. They cannot tell why they know, but by a look they do know. It may be that the atmospheric influences extending over long years has softened and modified the colours and taken from them their boldness, so that when paste and glaze and colour all please the trained eye the purchase may be made in safety. And here we should advise our readers rather to buy from a respectable dealer than at auction sales. In the excitement of auction sales higher prices may be paid than would be prudent, or, indeed, it may be that the quality of the specimen bid for is not exactly that which the buyer requires, and the difficulty of changing it is accentuated when the purchaser buys at an auction. In fact, to a beginner with money to spend, no advice can be better than that he should put himself in the hands of a respectable dealer, informing him of his wants, telling him the price he is prepared to pay, and leaving him to deal squarely and fairly. Not only is there danger of the marks being forged and the pattern copied, but really old pieces of Oriental porcelain are often redecorated, so that upon an old piece is found the most elaborate decoration. This to the collector is most puzzling. He sees the porcelain is rare, and, as we have said, really old, and that the pattern and colour of the decoration is what he has been accustomed to either at Exhibitions, such as those in the National Museums, or in illustrations as given in the best books, yet the specimen is not right and it can be tested. The enamel decoration on a re-decorated piece produces a different effect from that upon an old piece. In the latter the enamel colours do not stand out like modern oil painting, but they lie flat and agree in general character and tone with the porcelain itself. Sometimes, in these re-decorated pieces, traces of the old decorations, covered up under the modern enamel decorations, may be found.

Amongst other hints to the collector of old Oriental porcelain must be one with regard to cracked and mended porcelain. By this we mean not alone those pieces which are built up as far as some particular part is concerned, and which can be tested by striking the various parts with a coin, when the difference between the ring of the original part and the dull sound from the composition used in mending may be easily detected. Further, the sense of smell may be brought into play. Generally, the composition used in mending old porcelain in this way smells of oil or turpentine. The third test may be applied by means of a magnifying-glass which will at once reveal the difference between the smooth original glaze and the varnish glaze added to cover the mend. But this is not all. Some mending is done at the factories, where a piece of porcelain of the same tone and colour, with the same decoration, is built and fixed on to the sound piece in such a way as to leave no trace that can be detected by sound, sight, or smell. In this case it really matters very little, as the character of the old porcelain is so well preserved that the piece may be regarded as being perfect. A very simple test for detecting a repair in porcelain is to pass the point of a pin, not too heavily, over the suspected part, when if the original has been at all interfered with, scratches and marks of the pin will be easily seen.

II

HARD
PASTE

CHAPTER II

HARD PASTE

Nearly the whole of Oriental porcelain is hard paste. By this we mean it cannot be cut with a file. Both paste and glaze are hard, and although some people speak of soft-paste Oriental porcelain our observation teaches us that it is so rare that it may be neglected by the ordinary collector, who, if he should accidentally find a piece, will remember that this soft paste is of a very white colour with an opaque look, and for painting under the glaze seemed to have the disadvantage that the colours were more liable to run than on the ordinary description, which is just like what has been found on early English soft-paste porcelain, where the colours are liable to run upon the paste. In the Chinese soft paste better effect was produced by the hatching and stippling style of decoration which was adopted in later times and superseded the broad washes adopted in the Kang-he period.

Porcelain in China was usually formed of two materials, of which one—Pe-tun-tze—resembles our China stone. It is a white fusible material, a mixture of felspar and quartz, obtained from pounded rock and formed into cakes or bricks, hence its Chinese name.

The other material is named Kaolin, or China clay. It is infusible, and is derived from the decomposed felspar of granite. This is also formed into cakes. When these two materials, China rock and China clay, have been thoroughly ground, cleansed, sifted and refined into an impalpable powder, they are kneaded together in varying proportions to form a clay ready for the potter. The wet clay is turned on the potter's wheel or table, then is passed through the hands of various workmen who add handles and other decorations made in moulds, who smooth the surface and so work upon it that the next process—the drying process—is preparatory to the under-glaze decoration. In this semi-soft state the foot remains a solid mass. Any decorations in blue or red or other colours which can be applied under the glaze are then used for painting the under-glaze decoration. The glaze is next applied in various ways by dipping, by blowing on with a tube, by sprinkling, and so on. When these processes have been completed it only remains for the potter to fashion the foot upon the wheel and to inscribe any mark which may be adopted. These being then coated with glaze, the piece is ready for the furnace.

Porcelain placed in the kiln to be fired has to be protected in strong clay vessels called seggars, which admit the heat but protect it from injury. Every piece is placed in the kiln according to the temperature which is necessary for its complete firing. Some pieces would be placed at the top of the kiln, other pieces at the tip-top of the kiln, very much in accordance with the practice in our English potteries at the present time. The furnace when full is entirely bricked up and the whole contents of the kiln are kept at a great heat, usually for a night and a day, after which the kiln is allowed to cool off, and in due time the porcelain is removed. In speaking of white porcelain, or porcelain decorated under the glaze, the process is now complete, but if enamel colours are used further burnings in a kiln take place. After the enamel decoration has been applied over the glaze—and the painters who use the enamel colours may take long weeks or months in decorating a single piece—and until the whole is finished, the piece is fired again and again in a kiln at a much lower temperature, the process being quite similar to the previous one, although the heat is much less. Colours which are applied with the glaze, as we shall see later—self-colours, such as the Celadons—pass only through the first process and need no second firing.

In Chinese porcelain it is well to note that no distinction is made between pottery and porcelain; the European distinction is that whereas pottery is opaque, porcelain is translucent. It is often difficult to say when heavy Celadon colours are applied to pieces of Oriental manufacture whether the body is porcelain or pottery. The pieces decorated with heavy Celadon colours are very often on a porcellaneous stone ware, which is generally accepted as marking the evolution period between pottery and the hard porcelain. There are many examples of fine pottery—stone ware—dating from the Ming period which are unmistakable.

III

RELIGION
AND
MYTHOLOGY

CHAPTER III

RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

We have noted previously that the decoration of Oriental porcelain is largely bound up in mythology, nay, more, it is largely connected with religion. The religions of China must therefore receive some attention from those who would really understand the beauty of the decorations used by the Chinese. China possesses three principal religions, of which two are national—Confucianism and Taoism—one imported from India—Buddhism. Although Confucianism may be said to be the official religion of the Court, of the functionaries, and of the learned, it is not a religion in the sense which we attach to the word. Confucius was the reformer of the ancient national religion, which was really fetishism. It is a code of practical morality based upon the duties and obligations of mankind, and respect for both ancestors and antiquity. Idols such as images of gods and spirits are put on one side. Confucius recognised implicitly the existence of a God creator of the world—Chang-ti, the Emperor Supreme, or Thien, the Heaven; the Emperor alone as "Son of Heaven" was, as it were, the priest, acting in the name of all his people, addressing to the Creator of the world prayers and thanksgivings, at the winter and summer solstices and at the spring equinox.

Not alone does the God of Heaven partake of these ceremonies in the Imperial worship, but the goddesses of the earth, and the various genii of the waters, of the mountains, and stars, and the Imperial ancestors. No images are made of these, and they are only represented on the altars by tablets on which are their names. Confucianism orders respect and veneration for ancestors, who ought to be cherished and treated as if they were living, so that the ancestral worship was an incessant witness of gratitude and thanks, which has become the only real religion of the followers of Confucius in China.

Confucius was born in 551 B.C. After his death the gratitude of the sovereigns and the admiration of the peoples gave him a rank almost divine. Every city built temples to him, not as a god whom they worshipped, but as a man whom they venerated as a benefactor, and as the master respected by the nation as a great saint in civil life. There are not to be found many images or pictures on Oriental porcelain of Confucius or his followers, for the reason stated that Confucius simply settled a system of morality.

Taoism.

Taoism differs from the doctrines of Confucius in that it is a gross religion made of superstitious local beliefs in fetishes and demons curiously amalgamated with the higher metaphysical doctrines of the philosopher Lao-tseu, who was born 604 B.C. He included nearly all of the old Chinese religions, which Confucius had reformed by taking away its superstitions. This he did in order to fight more advantageously against the reforms of Confucius. In reality, this religion agrees with others; we may say that all the doctrines of all the religions make a great difference between the beliefs of the common people and those of philosophers and of learned men, for in the higher sense the doctrines of Lao-tseu and his eminent disciples were able to be maintained without danger of comparison against those of Confucius or the most illustrious thinkers of ancient India. Taoism in its popular form recognised a supreme God creator of the world, similarly named to the God recognised by Confucianism, Thien, Heaven, or Tien-kong, God of Heaven, but above him he places a Trinity called the "Three Pures," really the "Three Pure Ones," of whom Lao-tseu was one, representing the spirit of knowledge or of wisdom. Below this Trinity is found a multitude of gods, genii, demons, spirits of Heaven, of the earth, of the sea, of the waters, of the mountains, of the rivers, of the provinces, of the cities, of the villages, &c., all designated under the collective name of Chens, "spirits." For the most part these are ancient heroes, literary men or philosophers deified; hence the gods, such as the eight immortals, are often found as images, or used as decorations, upon vases and other pieces of Oriental porcelain. We give two figures as illustrations.

Buddhism.

The earliest history of Buddha is an account of his death written in the Pali language, four centuries B.C. Neither this, nor any of the other histories ranging through the ages to our own times is an authentic story of his life and work—it is simply a legend more or less embellished. The mythology is as follows: Gautama, named Siddhârtha, the highly gifted son of a Thâkur, or noble of the Rajput tribe, quitted his father's house in order to meditate upon the evil in the world—upon its origin and its extirpation. He went to ask the advice of two Brahmins who were renowned for their piety, but they were unable to satisfy his yearnings for a higher life. He rested, it is true, faithful to their doctrines—the fundamental truths which they taught—transmigration of souls with a final emancipation, but he saw that their asceticism led only to the enfeebling of the higher powers of the mind, so he decided to find some place where he might find peace in meditation. After a long period spent in reflection, he decided to quit his refuge and preach his faith. He found in Benares, in the "Woods of the Gazelles," his first disciples, and accompanied by them he journeyed through Western Bengal, during forty-five years, honoured by princes, loved by the people, in whose language he preached, till he died of old age probably about 477 B.C. You will note, later, the mille cerfs decoration of Chinese porcelain made in remembrance of this beginning of Buddhism.

CHINESE POTTERY, ENAMELLED IN COLOURS.

Paô-yueh-kouang, Goddess of the Moon. Tien-kong, God of the Sun.

Buddha taught four truths. First, of evil. Birth, sickness, and death produce pain, so does the separation from those we love and the desire to secure what we cannot obtain. These joined to the knowledge of existence are the causes of evil. Second, of the origin of evil. The influence of the outside world—suggestion from outside—leads to covetousness and all that sensuality brings. Third, of the end of evil. This is only accomplished by the complete suppression of ardent desires—self-abnegation. Fourth, of the method of suppression. Abstention from humiliating and unprofitable self-indulgence in any form on the one side, and the renunciation of any belief in torture which is ruinous and vain as a means of spiritual growth. Every being is subject to evil, nature in each is essentially the same. Gods, demons, men, and animals are only different degrees of existence. Humanity is the best condition, for only man can attain salvation, he only can obtain deliverance. Regeneration operates only after death and is regulated by the actions done during life. The process is secret, and only step by step, higher and higher, does knowledge of truth lead onwards through the path of salvation to the place eternal—the Nirvana. Only in this blessed abode does the soul rest free from the obligation of being born again, of suffering without cessation the miseries of life.

Buddhism flourished in India during many centuries, especially in the third century B.C., when in the reign of king Açoka, it became missionary, but about 1100 A.D. it was banished from that country and spread through Eastern Asia, where it has at the present time more than four hundred millions of believers. In China there are eighteen principal sects of this religion, so that it is not surprising that the Chinese Buddhists should commemorate upon their porcelain gods, goddesses, and religious ceremonies of various types, especially as it adopted local superstitions and legends, and lent pomp and éclat to the worship of the dead. Its pliancy and activity are still marvellous.

IV

PORCELAIN
CLASSED

CHAPTER IV

A SKETCH SHOWING PORCELAIN CLASSED ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THE DISCOVERY OF COLOURS AND GLAZES

Our first task will be to classify the porcelain according to the order of its discovery, and in this relation we shall be largely guided by form and colour, which in the oldest pieces is naturally less diversified than in the later. Perhaps the oldest pottery is that improperly called boccaro, owing to its resemblance to the pottery which, in Portugal, bore this name, and as we shall see presently the Portuguese were the first to visit the land of far Cathay. The colours on boccaro ware are very varied—and some imitate bronze. Many coloured enamels cover other pieces with a dense glaze which completely hides the shape or body. These pieces are usually moulded, but examples have been found where the decoration has been cut with a tool in the paste when wet. Other specimens have been carved in the paste after it had been dried in the sun.

The second class in order of age would be white porcelain made of kaolins from different districts, which gave different tints to the white, and unequal densities to the ware, some being heavy and some light. Possibly the light ware of this period gave rise to the idea of soft paste. The white itself varies in tint from a fine creamy glaze, which is very beautiful, called "blanc de chine." Then there is a bluish white called "white of snow," and a plain white called "white of flour." The creamy white is valued very highly by the Chinese themselves, and "Franks" mentions an instance where a Hong Kong merchant, after making many magnificent presents to an English gentleman, gave him as an object of great value a white cup of this kind enclosed in a case lined with silk. This "blanc de chine" was highly esteemed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, especially in France and Spain. It is interesting to notice that this kind of white ware was imitated by the early makers of European porcelain at St. Cloud and Chelsea, and many of these specimens of white hard paste have been ascribed to Plymouth, which, with Bristol, was the only factory to make hard paste in England. The Chelsea imitation of an Oriental teapot with raised flowers is the one which has the noted mark of the raised anchor on a tablet.

With regard to colour applied under the glaze, blue was the first to be so employed. Cobalt had a facility for cohering with the body itself, therefore it was utilised for decoration before the glaze was applied. Sometimes the transparent white glaze was replaced by a blue tinted glaze. In that case, the blue decoration, applied under the glaze by painting on the body of the ware itself, could be easily seen through the blue glaze. Red, derived from copper,1 was applied under the glaze, sometimes alone, sometimes with blue, forming the decoration of two colours under the glaze. With these colours used under the glaze, as with the blue alone, the blue tinted glaze was frequently substituted for the transparent glaze. This red was the red derived from copper. At about the same period the reds, derived from iron and gold, were applied as enamel colours upon the glaze at a lower temperature than that used in the main kiln. The second kiln was called a "muffle" kiln. The glaze and the enamel colours were both melted by the heat in the muffle kiln, but the body was not affected. Direct heat was not required, but the melting process was sufficient to unite the glaze itself and the enamel colours so firmly that in some cases the coloured enamel might be taken for the glaze. Generally, however, these enamel colours project far enough from the covering glaze as to be easily felt by the finger.

1 This copper-red is very brilliant, and has an iridescent effect when examined by reflected light.

Next followed the use of gold applied to decorations on the black—"famille noire"—and green families or on other enamels. Amongst the most beautiful of these enamels was the green, which was applied upon the glaze by the fire of the "muffle" furnace. This colour was derived from copper, and is called "vert de cuivre." It soon held a high place in the scheme of decoration of vases, plates, and dishes, as well as figures of the highest quality, and is recognised as a distinct family, "la famille verte." But whilst the reds and the greens were enamelled on the glaze, blue was still employed for decoration under the glaze. These "familles" are separately dealt with and illustrated.

In order of the discovery of the colours next comes violet from manganese, and the yellows from cadmium and iron, creating a new series, which is termed the yellow family, "la famille jaune." All these yellows were enamel colours, but they were not often used alone. Sometimes there is a combination of two groups, as green and yellow or green and red. These have been classified as "jaune verte" and "rose verte." We simply refer to these names in case any of our readers should come across them in the descriptive catalogue or in books dealing with Oriental porcelain. Perhaps the most beautiful of all the enamel colours applied to Oriental porcelain is the rose, a red derived from gold. Bearing in mind that we are roughly tracing the age of the colours, that is, the period of their application, this rose red would bring us to the Yung-ching and Keen-lung periods. Enriched as the Chinese potters were by this superb tint, they simply revelled in dominating their productions with it. It is classified as the rose family, "la famille rose." To these periods belong the beautiful class of pink back plates, to which further reference will be made later.

Onward from this time, the trading relations between Europe and China becoming more and more intimate, foreign influences began to make themselves felt in the Chinese potteries; in fact, the Europeans demanded and paid for European shapes and European designs, so that European subjects were reproduced with more or less fidelity, and "armorial" porcelain, on which the arms or crests of European families were painted in enamel on vases, table services, and decorative pieces of various kinds.

At this period, too, we find evidences of the influence of the Christian missionaries in China, as shown by the religious subjects enamelled or painted on plates, such subjects, for instance, as "The Crucifixion" and other scenes of biblical history. We have stated that the decoration was modified to meet the wants of the European market, and we note also that the various shapes were also modified to suit that market. The Chinese used saucer-shaped dishes, but these were largely replaced, for exportation only, by dishes and plates with rims, so that we finally reach the last class, the porcelain called "East India Company" china, decorated with subjects not armorial, nor scriptural, but European. The Chinese themselves were faithful copyists, imitating exactly the pattern from which they had to work. We shall deal with this subject more fully in a later chapter.

V

FABULOUS
ANIMALS
AND TWO
GODDESSES

CHAPTER V

THE CHIEF OF THE FABULOUS ANIMALS AND TWO GODDESSES

We have dealt shortly with the religions of China, and it is necessary to note in this connection how the emblems of the various religions became embodied as part of the decoration of porcelain; in fact, figures of the gods and goddesses were made associated with the symbols which seemed to indicate their work, and these comprised the dragon, the kylin, the lion, and the Fung-Hwang, Fwang-Hwang, Fong-Hoang or Ho-Ho Bird. N.B.—Variously spelt.

The Dragon.

The dragon is a familiar object on Chinese porcelain, and being the Imperial arms it typifies all that is powerful and indeed terrible. Especially sacred is the dragon of heaven—lung; but li, the dragon of the sea, and kiau, the dragon of mountains and marshes, are also worshipped and feared. The dragons are either scaly, winged, horned, hornless, or rolled up before rising to the sky in spring, or plunging into the water in autumn. The Imperial dragon is armed with five claws on each of its four members, and is used as an emblem by the Emperor's family, and by princes of the highest two ranks. The four-clawed dragon is used by princes of the third or fourth class. Mandarins and princes of the fifth rank have, as an emblem, the four-clawed serpent. The three-clawed dragon—the Imperial dragon of Japan—is, in China, the one commonly used for decoration. The sacred pearl, adorned with the Yang and the Yin, representing the male and female elements in nature, always appears to be attracting the dragon.

THE DRAGON.

The Unicorn, Kylin, or Kilin.

The kylin, or k'i-lin, was an animal symbolising longevity and good government. It is often found upon porcelain as a part of the decoration. Its form is more like a deer than anything else, though it has the hoofs of a horse and the tail of an ox. Its head is like that of the dragon, and the body may or may not be covered with scales. In its mouth a bundle of scrolls or some symbol may often be found. Other monsters, notably the Corean lion, also called the Dog of Buddha or the Dog of Fô, are called kylins, but the true kylin is as described above. Though hideous in aspect, it shows the kindest disposition, and is so gentle that it would not step upon a worm.

THE TRUE KYLIN.

The Corean Lion.

This animal, often miscalled kylin, is the habitual defender of Buddhist altars and temples, hence its name, the Dog of Buddha or the Dog of Fô. Its appearance is almost always menacing with its sharp, powerful teeth and claws. In reality it is a sort of lion transformed. It has a bushy, often a bristling, mane and a tufted tail. It is found painted on vases, or modelled in relief on the top of the covers for vases. When found as a figure the lion is usually playing with a ball, the lioness with a cub. He is one of four animals representing power and energy. The others are the elephant, leopard, and tiger.

COREAN LION OR DOG OF FÔ.

The Fung-Hwang, or Phœnix or Ho-Ho Bird.

This bird, pre-eminent for elegance and benevolence, seems to have been a kind of pheasant, or some say a bird of paradise. It would neither injure living insects nor growing herbs, but lived in the highest regions of the air, and only descended to earth as the harbinger of good tidings—happy events to individuals, prosperous reigns to emperors. On Chinese porcelain either one or two birds are used with a decoration of rocks, trees, and flowers, and in such decorations it is known as the Fong-Hoang, or Ho-Ho bird. It is frequently represented carrying a scroll. In the illustration this scroll has fillets around it.

THE PHŒNIX.

Amongst the goddesses were two who were especially esteemed. Si-Wang-Mu, the goddess of the Kuen-lung mountains, was a being of the female sex, the head of troups of genii who held from time to time intercourse with favourite disciples amongst the emperors. She is usually represented as riding upon the Ho-Ho amongst the clouds with her attendants, or she rests by the borders of the Lake of Gems, where grows the peach-tree of the genii, whose fruit confers the gift of immortality which Si-Wang-Mu bestows upon those favourite beings who for self-abnegation and devotion to the needs of others have deserved to be admitted into her presence. From this Lake of Gems, too, she sent out winged birds with azure blue feathers who served as her attendants and messengers.

Perhaps even more popular than Si-Wang-Mu was Kwan-Yin, to whom full reference will be made later. Both Si-Wang-Mu and Kwan-Yin are found as decorations upon Oriental porcelain and also as figures, some of the finest of which, shown in our illustrations, date from the Ming period. The eight Immortals will also be spoken of later. These are found in sets of figures or in a group of eight or nine. In the group of nine, Lao-tseu, the founder of Taoism, is the ninth figure.

KWAN-YIN. MING.

This example is very rare, inasmuch as the two attendants form a part of the actual figure, and this, if not unique, is exceptionally rare. The robe in this instance is decorated with the 100 Shows or Cheous (emblems of longevity) in black on an apple-green ground; the cape has a small floral design in black on aubergine with green border; the head-dress is of brilliant green with lotus flowers in aubergine, yellow, blue, and black; the head, neck, and hands in biscuit. The small figure on the knee is in a yellow robe, relieved with a small design in black; the attendant on the right of the figure has an aubergine robe with a collar in blue; the head-dress and peach which she carries in her hand are in black; the attendant on the left has garments with a small black design on a green ground; the upper portion of the body is in biscuit, except the hair, which is fashioned in a knob at the back and is enamelled black. The pedestal has in the centre panel a reserve containing a sacred carp arising from the waves; this is enamelled in black, yellow, aubergine, and green, on a white ground, and is surrounded with a margin of blue. The front side panels have Joo-e-heads, from which ribbons are depending, in green, black, and yellow, on white ground. The two back panels have chrysanthemums and leaves in aubergine, green, and black, on a white ground.

ANOTHER KWAN-YIN. MING.

So many references are made to the goddess Kwan-Yin, and she is represented in such a number of statuettes, that no collection of Chinese porcelain would be complete without her. Sometimes she is seated, at others she is standing. Often she is found in white of various tints, but the finest specimens are painted with coloured enamels. Here we have a most beautiful and valuable example in enamel colours of a seated figure of Kwan-Yin. The robe is of pale green relieved with a formal floral design in aubergine, yellow, and black. The neck is adorned with a necklet of beads in yellow enamel. The head-dress is of rich apple-green decorated with a swastika in yellow and with Cheou characters in black. There are also medallions, each containing a hawthorn leaf in green on an aubergine and black ground. The hair is of black enamel; face, neck, hands, and sceptre in biscuit. The figure is supported on an oblong pedestal, which is surmounted by an upturned lotus flower; the leaves of this are in pale green and aubergine. The front is represented as a sunk panel, on which is a very early diaper design in yellow, green, aubergine, and black. The four corners are incised. The sides of the pedestal are decorated with branches of hawthorn blossoms in green, black, and aubergine, on a white ground, whilst on the back is a river scene with junk, rock, trees, &c., in yellow, green, and black, unglazed on a white ground. Ming period.

KWAN-YIN.

The third illustration of this goddess—the queen of heaven—shows her again in connection with the lotus, the emblem of purity, also the symbol of creative power. The fish, too, is often associated with her and with the gods. There was a noted carp which lived at the bottom of Buddha's lotus pond, but generally the carp is an emblem of longevity, and figures of fish are amongst the charms which frighten away bad demons. The flowers which rise from behind the nimbus or halo round the head of the goddess is the magnolia, the emblem of sweetness and beauty, which, like the prunus, shows its full blossom before the leaves appear. The illustration is the model of a shrine, the back representing a rock in rich aubergine; this is relieved with bamboo plants in green. In the centre, on an upturned lotus flower, is a seated figure of Kwan-Yin in robes of green and yellow; the other portions of her body in biscuit, as are also the leaves of the lotus flower; under these is a giant leaf supporting the whole; on either side of the Kwan-Yin are two male attendants, the one standing on a lotus flower, the other on a leaf; these figures are in biscuit relieved with green enamel. Under the figure of the goddess is a carp in yellow enamel rising from the waves, which are in green, and immediately in front is a sacred vessel in green enamel on an aubergine base.

SI-WANG-MU.

This fabulous being of the female sex, dwelling at the head of the genii, is often represented in the decoration of Chinese porcelain, attended by two or four young girls, either floating in the clouds or riding on a fong-hoang, or phœnix. The illustration gives an important figure of Si-Wang-Mu. The flowing robes are decorated with the 100 Cheous in black, and panels of flowers in rouge de fer, yellow, and bright green. The whole of the background is of brilliant green enamel, the reserves having a pencilled design in black on a pale blue ground. The vest has white hawthorn blossoms on black and green. The under-garment, which reaches to the feet, has a formal floral design in green and rouge de fer on a brilliant yellow ground. The lining of the sleeves is also in brilliant yellow. Around the shoulders, and reaching to the ground on either side, are lotus stems in rich aubergine. The hair is enamelled black, with yellow and aubergine ornaments. The face, hands, and feet are in a rich white glaze. The base fashioned to represent waves in black and white on pale green; on one side of this is a lotus bud, and on the other a large leaf. In the centre of the back of the figure is one of the Buddhistic emblems in green and black on a white ground. The figure is covered throughout with large Crackle.

BUDDHIST DIVINITY.

Od-dpag-med, Amitâbha or Amida. Amida in the attitude of bearing witness and holding the pâtra or bowl to receive alms.

The position of the hands designates the functions which are being carried on by Buddha or by his followers at any given time. These gestures are each illustrative of some idea, and are classified under the name "mudrâs." For instance, the hands placed over one another or reposing wrapped up in the lap indicate meditation; the right hand raised, left hand extended downwards, both with palms outwards, imply teaching and charity; the same with the index fingers only extended is a sign of the possession of the world; right hand extended and palm outward signifies charity; fingers clasped with tips together is the world-wide expression of adoration or of prayer for mercy; right palm on the leg of sitting Buddha with left palm held upwards and outwards is the position for bearing witness; the right hand raised palm outwards with fingers extended is the attitude of blessing; the right hand clasping the index of the left is the habitual attitude of the Buddha supreme and eternal; the head resting on the right palm turned upward signifies meditation on the means of saving mankind. Other magical or mystical positions are: Palms upwards, tips of the thumbs and fingers of each hand touching each other, indicating teaching and direction; right hand extended downwards palm outwards, left hand closed, signifying perfection of conduct; right hand elevated and left closed, as in the last attitude, showing love to others in active charity. The study of the "mudrâs" is quite interesting though unfamiliar.

THE GOD OF THE LEARNED.

Amongst the figures of the gods, in a country where literature is the sole passport to success, where examinations on the knowledge of that literature lasted for days, and where the results of the examinations meant so much, it would be quite natural that a high place should be given to the god of literature. Here we have a magnificent specimen, possibly worth about £4,000. It is a figure, of extraordinary size, of Wan Chong (God of Literature). The robe, of exceptionally brilliant green enamel, is decorated with clouds in aubergine, white, yellow, and black; the centre having a large panel containing a flying stork and clouds in rouge de fer, yellow, green, and aubergine, on a white ground, the whole of this surrounded by a narrow margin of aubergine and black. Above this panel, and going round the waist, is a girdle in high relief; this is decorated with small hawthorn blossoms of rouge de fer, raised from a ground of rich aubergine; the borders of the garment contain hawthorn blossoms in aubergine, yellow, blue, and black, on a deep green ground. The exposed hand, which is movable, is of white biscuit, whilst the face is glazed in white, and the headdress and feet are of brilliant black enamel. Attention may be called to the sublime expression and modelling of the features in this figure, which can without doubt rank as one of the finest and most important pieces of the period.

THE TAOIST DIVINITIES.

The first of these divinities is Laò-tseù, the founder of Taoism. He is usually represented holding a book whilst seated on a buffalo. He lived to a great age in a hermitage situated on a mountain side, when one day a buffalo, ready harnessed, came where he was, and when he had mounted it he was carried away to the west. Chang-Ti, the god of heaven, is represented seated upon a horse and holding a tablet. Héou Tou, goddess of the earth, appears in the dress of an empress. The gods of the stars have various names, but they may be found as images, and we give some of them. Sou Sing, god of the Pole Star and of the North, is usually seated on a stool; before him lies a tortoise enveloped in the coils of a serpent. Koéï Sing, the god of the Great Bear, carries the writing pencil, or brush, and an ingot of silver, symbol of the fortune which is secured by knowledge. He also carries a bushel measure. Nan Kiun Lao, or Chô, is the incarnation of Laò-tseù and the god of the Southern Cross. He holds a sceptre and rides upon a mule.

Amongst the very old statuettes may be found some that are very ancient, dating from the Sung dynasty (960-1279). These are of violet and blue Celadon. Fou Hi, the first Emperor of China, is a specimen of these figures in the Musée Guimet at Paris. To him is ascribed the invention of agriculture and writing. Chen Noung, the inventor of medicine; Fô, Lô, and Chô, the three gods of happiness, and many others.

The illustration is an exceptionally fine and rare figure of Kouan-ti, the god of war, seated on a horse. The armour is in green with yellow edgings, belt, &c.; the under-garments in aubergine, and black boots. The head-dress is green. The horse aubergine and black. All the trappings, including saddle and saddle-cloth, in green and aubergine. Period, Ming.

WEN-TCHANG. CHIEF OF THE FIVE GODS OF LETTERS.

A figure of the god of Wisdom; the robe decorated with clouds in aubergine, green, and white, on a brilliant yellow ground; the cape on the shoulders has a gold tracery design on deep rouge de fer, whilst at the back the ornamentation is carried out in formal flowers in green and aubergine on a white ground; on either side of the robe are two sacred dragons, finely drawn and enamelled in green, aubergine, and blue; the under-garment, which reaches to the feet, is decorated with flying storks in black and white, and peaches in rouge de fer and green, on a plain apple-green ground, and the border has a light pencilled design on deep green. Above the folded arms is part of another garment, decorated in the centre with a cheou in gold on a pink ground; the remainder of this has small yellow flowers on stippled green; the left hand, which is hidden under the folds of the garment, contains a Joo-e in gold; the head is of white glazed porcelain, the crown in biscuit, whilst the hair, eyebrows, whiskers, beard, and moustache are in brilliant black enamel. The third eye, which is seen in the centre of the forehead, is supposed to represent the faculty possessed by this deity of seeing more than any other person or god, for with the aid of this third eye he was able to see not only what took place externally, but to read into the innermost depths of a man's soul, as well as the past, present, and future. The figure is supported on a rectangular stand, the front of which is decorated with a bold diaper design in aubergine, yellow, and black, on a pale green ground, whilst in the corners are Joo-e heads in yellow, green, and aubergine. The panels at the sides have in each a large flower in yellow and aubergine, with green lotus leaves on a white ground; in the back panel of the upper portion of this pedestal is a large drawing of a running dragon, which has a yellow head, aubergine tail and mane, and a green and black body; the four remaining panels have flowers and leaves in green, aubergine, and yellow, on a biscuit ground. Ming period. Possibly another form of Wan Chong.

ANOTHER TAOIST GOD.

A figure of Piu-hwo carrying his fly-whisk, with which he was supposed to have the power to revive the dead. He is represented in a flowing robe of a brilliant brownish-black enamel. The head, fly-whisk, hand, feet, and base in unglazed biscuit; the features and expression remarkably well portrayed.

The Taoist divinities are the chief objects of attention amongst Chinese figure-makers, who in beautiful bronze and no less beautiful porcelain commemorated the traditions of past ages. Kwan-Yin, Amitâbha, or Amida, and some others are Buddhists both in China and Japan, but the great Taoist divinities, headed by Laô-Tseù, the founder of Taoism, seem to be specially honoured by the potters. The deities of heaven and earth, the sidereal gods of the constellations, the secondary divinities, such as Fô, Lô, and Chô, the three gods of happiness, and the gods of fortune and letters are all to be found in porcelain. The eight immortals belong to the inferior rank of Chens or Esprits. They are described in a special chapter elsewhere, still, we must remark that in blue and coloured decoration on vases, dishes, &c., they are constantly met with, so that it is well to be familiar with their appearance and with their symbols. Han Chung-le, the president of the pâchens, and Tsaou Kwo-kiu carry fly-whisks beside their proper symbols, and so do the others occasionally.

There still remain the divinities of the earth, of whom Si-Wang-Mu was the chief. The gods of the seasons, the cities, the mountains, and the sea, all had their functions duly recognised. One word of advice is here necessary. The old Ming figures are valuable, and forgeries are numerous. So are the early Kang-he figures such as this.

THE IMMORTALS.

These Pa Sien are eight in number. They attained immortality in various ways, but the eating of the peach, which is carried as an emblem by Han Chung-le, the god of longevity, and whose fruit confers the gift of immortality, seems to have been indispensable. The illustrations show three figures of two of these gods bearing their emblems.

On the right is a figure of Han Seang-tsze. This personage was a nephew of the great philosopher, Han-Yu, who lived in the first century. The robe is of rich green enamel relieved with medallions, each of which contains a fabulous animal in aubergine, yellow, and white, on very pale green ground; the collar is of aubergine with black tracery design; the under-garment, the skirt of which reaches to the feet, is of yellow with a small design in black. In his right hand he carries his flute (Tieh); this, as well as the hand and head, in biscuit.

Another figure of the same god in quite a different style of decoration. Note the flute emblem. It belongs to the same set as the next.

In the centre is a figure of Chang Ko-laou, who is supposed to have lived in the seventh century. His robe is of aubergine, decorated with flowers and flying birds in pale blue, yellow, white, and black; the undergarment, which reaches to the feet, is stippled green ground, with a formal design in black. The head-dress is a brilliant black enamel, as are also the bamboo tubes and rod which he carries in his right hand; the latter and the face are in biscuit, and the beard is aubergine. All of these are Ming.

BUDDHIST DIVINITIES AND HAN CHUNG-LE.

Images in porcelain of Buddhist divinities are exceedingly rare. Gautama Buddha may be found in pictures surrounded by sixteen Arhats and four guardians of the world. These Arhats are five hundred in number, and the sixteen occupy a rank superior to the others, under the name of Sthaviras, or "the seniors." Unfortunately, the details of their lives are little known. In Mr. Salting's Collection there are a number of Arhats, which should be seen.

A pair of seated figures of Buddhistic deities. The robe of one has an aubergine skirt, and the other bright green; the body is ornamented with sacred jewels in biscuit, as are the head, hands, and feet; one has the Buddhistic crown and coronet in green and yellow, whilst the other has only a crown. Supported on pedestals fashioned as tree trunks, on which there is a vase in aubergine and a bird in green and white. In the centre of each panel of the base, which is of bright green enamel, are Kylin heads, yellow in one instance and aubergine in the other. These are early Ming.

In the middle is a figure of Han Chung-le, the first and greatest of the Taoist immortals, who is supposed to have found the Elixir of Life, and lived to attain the great age of 127 years. The robe is of brilliant green enamel, decorated with flying storks and clouds in aubergine, green, yellow, white, and black; the head and hands are in biscuit, the flowing beard is in black, as is also the fan with which he revived the souls of the dead. Ming of a later type.

THE TAOIST IMMORTALS.

A large arbour or shrine in brilliant green and yellow enamels. In the various sections are the figures of the eight immortals, wearing green, yellow, and aubergine robes; on the right-hand upper portion is a small figure of a dove in biscuit. At the base, rising from the waves, is a carp, and also a frog.

Although the Chinese potters had at their command an endless list of gods, goddesses, saints, and devils in their mythology, they appear to have loved to draw and to model the eight immortals, Kwan-Yin, Si-Wang-Mu, and other Taoist divinities, to the exclusion of all except a few Buddhist gods. This seems to be due to their intense desire for a long life as the highest good. Constant use is found for the character Show, which is written in a hundred different ways, as shown in the robes of Kwan-Yin and Si-Wang-Mu in the illustrations of those goddesses. Such pieces as those given here are rare, although these divinities and the eight immortals are very often depicted on pieces in blue and white, and on many specimens in coloured enamels. It is curious to notice how, when they are in the heavens, they are carried upon the clouds; when upon earth Han Chung-le and Han Seang-tse ride upon a fan; Tsaou Kwo-kiu on a log; Chang Ko-laou stands on a frog; Lan Tsae-ho on her basket, and carries her symbol, the lotus; Leu Tung-pin stands on his sword; Ho Seen-koo on a willow-branch, and Le Tee-kwae sits on his gourd. Ming.

FABULOUS ANIMALS. THE DOG OF BUDDHA, THE DOG OF FÔ, OR THE COREAN LION.

The fabulous animals and birds are few; most of them are, however, met with so frequently on porcelain that it is necessary to be quite familiar with these fantastic creatures in order to grasp the meaning of the Chinese decoration. The fong-hoang, a singular and immortal bird, is dealt with elsewhere. The animals are four in number—the dragon, the kylin, the dog of Fô, and the tortoise with a hairy tail. The last was an emblem of longevity, and is usually an attendant on the god of longevity. Another power was its ability to assume various transformations, and still a third was its enormous strength. We shall only emphasise here the differences between the kylin and the dog of Fô, to which the name kylin is so often erroneously applied. The kylin resembles a stag in its body, whilst the dog of Fô is much more like a lion; in fact, with its head, face, mane, teeth, and claws, it does not require a vivid imagination to take it for a lion. The lion and the unicorn may fairly indicate the dog of Fô and the kylin.

We show a pair of so-called kylins, the one playing with a cub and the other holding a sacred ball; the bodies of brilliant green enamel, with decorations of aubergine, yellow, and black; supported on square pedestals, the fronts having a bold diaper design, the sides decorated with butterflies and flowers in aubergine, green, yellow, and black, on a pale apple-green ground; on the back of each pedestal are four sacred emblems in aubergine, green, and yellow, on biscuit. Ming.

EMBLEMS IN BIRDS.

Amongst the symbols used in decoration a bird on a perch is frequently found. The meaning of the symbol depends upon the kind of bird. The parrot—the speaking bird—warns women to be faithful to their husbands. The stork and crane are emblems of longevity, ducks and geese are types of conjugal affection, and as such they are carried in wedding processions. Quails were valued because of their fierceness in fighting. The magpie was a bird of good augury, which is regarded as sacred by the present reigning family, whilst the crow was a foreteller of evil. The peacock is largely valued for the tail feathers, which designate official rank. A piece of coral and two feathers indicate the promotion of a mandarin three steps at a time, a similar coral and four feathers means five steps at a time. The pheasant is an emblem of beauty, it is often used instead of the phœnix or fong-hoang. Amongst the Chinese, gold and silver pheasants of extraordinary beauty give the motif for the rich decoration of "pheasant plates," and the varieties of the colours remind them of the duty of practising the various virtues.

Here are a pair of pheasants, the plumage in yellow, black, brown, and green, the bodies of pale apple-green. Each bird is seated upon a tall rock enamelled in rich olive green; this is covered with flowering branches in high relief, or decorated in varied colour enamels. Supported on ormolu bases, Louis XVI. period. Other birds, such as eagles, falcons, and hawks, may be found in figures or groups. Early Kang-he.

VI

EARLY
HISTORY OF
PORCELAIN

CHAPTER VI

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF PORCELAIN

Perhaps what we have said will inspire our readers with the desire to know something of the origin of the potter's art in China. This cannot be definitely fixed. It is lost in antiquity. Far back, centuries before the Christian era, possibly when Egyptian civilisation was at its height, legendary history refers to the invention of pottery and, indeed, places the invention of pottery thousands of years B.C. We have no definite information as to what was made, but we may fairly assume that in those remote times the vessels made were only course clay, rude in form, sun-dried or badly baked in an open fire. Then, possibly, the first efforts at glazing were produced and ornamented, the surface was decorated by drawings with a stick in transverse scratches or concentric rings, and simple bits of clay stuck on to the soft surface formed the first applied ornament, gradually developing, and ever far in advance of Western barbarism. The manufacture reaches the period where actual records were available during the Wei dynasty, 220 A.D., when two potteries were recorded as making porcelain for Imperial use. The string of dynasties which follows have but slight interest for the collector. The marks we give (see Marks) range from the Sung dynasty, 960 A.D., to the Tsing dynasty, which came into power in 1644 and continues to the present day. Though we read of porcelain blue as the sky, shining as the looking-glass, thin as paper, giving a sound like a musical stone, we could scarcely hope to find a specimen after the lapse of so many hundred years. Besides, if we did, the piece would be unique and even the experts would doubt its identity. Still, the tiny fragments of this precious ware are recognised in China, and are so valuable that the Chinese have them mounted as personal ornaments.

The first of the dynasties shown in our list has a real claim for consideration, that is, the Sung dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279 A.D. The Emperor Chin-tsung, who reigned from 954 to 1007 A.D., adopted as his title name, or nien hao, on coming to the throne, King-te, and he founded the royal manufactory at Chang-nan-Chin, henceforward known as King-te-chin. This city remained for many centuries the greatest manufactory of Chinese porcelain. Here, then, we have definite history of a city in the Chinese provinces of Kiang-si, with a present population of 500,000, in which porcelain has been manufactured for centuries, and where the manufacturing is still carried on, although, through wars and insurrections, the work has now and then been suspended for varying periods. There were numerous other factories in thirteen other provinces, notably in Ho-nan, which had no less than thirteen. Historical incidents occur which show that Oriental porcelain was by slow degrees making its way Westwards. Saladin (1137 to 1193), Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who defended Acre for two years against the Crusaders, sent forty pieces of finest porcelain to Nur-ed-din Mahmud, who recovered Syria from the Crusaders. That celebrated Venetian traveller and author, Marco Polo, writing in 1280, described a visit to a Chinese factory, and stated that the porcelain was exported all over the world. The Yuen dynasty (1279-1367) saw the advent of Roman Catholic missionaries and Florentine traders. They came to Pekin and Hang-chow; and far off Cathay, the land of mystery, romance, and poetry, first made acquaintance with the Western barbarians. We read of porcelain of this period having been moulded, modelled, and painted with flowers. The most noted potter, Pung, was not famous for his own individual work of designing new forms or inventing new colours, but for copying the older wares, and we shall never have an opportunity of seeing his work, which, though beautiful, was very thin and brittle.

VII

THE MING
DYNASTY

CHAPTER VII

THE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) AND ITS PRODUCTS

The story of the overthrow of the Mongol dynasty by a rebellion headed by a native named Hung-woo, the son of a labouring man, introduces the great Ming dynasty. This man, a former Buddhist priest, captured Nankin in 1355, and thirteen years later he took the title of Emperor. During this dynasty, which lasted till 1644, the progress of the manufacture of porcelain was very marked; indeed, the Chinese themselves are keen collectors of the Ming products, considering them to be the finest ever made. They scarcely exist outside the treasures of the cabinets of princes or of the collections of mandarins. Whether this is due to the extreme devotion of the nation to past history and to their love of ancient relics more than their appreciation of what we consider beautiful, the fact remains that, in the early times, Ming porcelain was rarely exported, so that we have very little to guide us in determining what is or is not porcelain of the Ming period. True, there are the marks, but the marks were copied just as much as the forms and decorations were. The best periods of Ming porcelain arranged in order of merit, and not in order of date, were Suen-tih (1426-1436), Ching-hwa (1465-1488), Yung-lo (1403-1425), Kea-tsing (1522-1567). Ching-hwa is the first in order of reproduction; his mark is most frequently copied.

At about the period of Ching-hwa, Europeans were making efforts to reach the East by sea, and in 1498 Vasco de Gama sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, and thus made an opening, by which eventually trade was carried on by sea to China. The Portuguese were the first to settle in China in 1516. From their factory or settlement in Macco, or Macao, at the entrance to the Canton river, the first sea-borne pieces of Oriental porcelain were sent to Europe by way of the Cape. The conclusion, therefore, must be, in view of these dates, that the earliest pieces found in England and on the Continent were carried overland, by camels, thousands of miles over mountains and through deserts, till at last they reached their European owners. The earliest porcelain found in England—that is, a Celadon bowl presented to New College, Oxford, by Archbishop Warham, and the bowls of Oriental china given in 1506 by Philip of Austria to Sir Thomas Trenchard—came by land. The Portuguese vessels were not content to sail only to China and to exchange its products for those of Europe, for in 1542 they appeared in Japan. Fernam Mendez Pinto in his "Travels," published in 1545, states that he and his companions were cordially received by the Prince of Japan. Evidently, then, at the time when Queen Elizabeth was reigning in England the Portuguese were pushing their trade in the East as the Spaniards were in the West, and, as we have seen, the Portuguese, amongst other commodities, sent Oriental porcelain home, and brought European products back. They brought the Jesuits too. Christian teachers had been at work in China for long years before the Jesuits came, but the activity and knowledge of these gave them great influence amongst the reigning class practically from the close of the sixteenth to the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is said that they had much to do with the evolution of the beautiful enamel colours of the next dynasty, the "Tsing," though the evidence of this is of the slightest. On the contrary, the development appears to have had purely a native origin; an unusual step, it is true, to be taken by a nation which seemed all along the line to be reproducing earlier forms and earlier decoration. From the period when the vases of the Yung-lo period were in demand, painted as they were with lions rolling a ball, with birds or with dark blue or red flowers, we find progress being continually made.

Suen-tih, whose reign is the most celebrated for the production of Ming porcelain, produced very fine examples, with flowers in pale blue, having red fish moulded as handles. Then comes the fine colour paintings of Ching-hwa, through which we reach the perfection of the Kang-he in the Tsing dynasty. It is remarkable that only a few Ming specimens seem to have been identified with enamel colour decoration, though in recent, indeed, quite late times, authorities are ascribing many pieces with green and yellow enamel set in black outline to Ming, rather than to Kang-he. White, green, and crackle pieces are often mentioned in the historical records.

We read that Lord Treasurer Burleigh, William Cecil, Secretary of State for nearly forty years to Queen Elizabeth, offered as a New Year's gift, in 1588, to his royal mistress "one porringer of white porselyn garnished with gold," and another gift of a similar kind was made to the Queen by Mr. Robert Cecil, "a cup of grene pursselyne." Later, we read that amongst the effects of Lady Dorothy Shirley were "purslin stuffe, Chinese stuffe, two dozen of purslin dishes."

It will be noted that it was only with the advent of Shakespeare and the Authorised Version of the Bible that our English spelling took anything like uniformity. The last note regarding Lady Shirley's possessions was made in 1620. In the time which had elapsed between these records much had occurred in the Orient. The Dutch, in 1595, sent out their first expedition to the East Indies, and Queen Elizabeth, not to be outdone, despatched three English ships to China in 1596. Three years later the East India Company was founded, a company which at first could not trade in India or China owing to the fierce opposition of the Portuguese and Dutch. They therefore made their headquarters at Gombron in the Persian Gulf. The china ware was brought overland or by coasting vessels to Gombron, which gave the early name "Gombron ware" to porcelain which was universally used before the adoption of the name "china."

During the Ming dynasty the practice of placing marks upon the porcelain was first adopted, though the rule seems to have been to mark only one piece in a set, yet the method of marking porcelain was far from being universal or methodical. In acquiring Ming porcelain the buyer must be especially careful. For many centuries the old forms were copied, and in counterfeiting the porcelain and decoration it was quite easy to imitate the mark. Here, then, we must once more advise the collector to rely upon sight and touch. We have stated that it is the inspiration of the educated eye regarding the tout ensemble which was largely to be trusted. On the other hand it would not be well to dispense with the necessity for actually handling the piece with the view to detecting differences between the old and the new work. In dealing with fine pieces there is one advantage: they are submitted to expert after expert, whose opinions may vary, but truth is great and will prevail.

The end of the Ming dynasty was rapidly approaching. The Tartars, with shaven head and pigtail, were "as the storm clouds which had been collecting for some time," and at length they "burst over the Empire." The space of time between the years 1616 and 1644, when the struggle for supremacy between the Ming and Tsing dynasties was at its height, leaves the identification of porcelain made during that period a matter of considerable difficulty. In a national struggle, art manufactures are the first to suffer, so that it is quite probable that only a small output of porcelain took place during those troublous years. In revising the Ming period note should be made that Hung-woo preferred black, blue, and white ornaments; and that gold used as the decoration for a dark-blue ground was first employed. In Yung-lo's time intense patches of colour were used, and there was a development with regard to the reds; a dark red was widely adopted. The paintings of flowers and of birds and beasts, mainly used figuratively as emblems, became far more delicate.

The Ching-hwa potters seem to have adopted a delicacy and a mastery over the art of porcelain decoration scarcely ever met with in history. It is true that the supply of blue failed, the cobalt was of an inferior quality, but the coloured painting reached high perfection. The marks and designs of the Ching-hwa period furnished unexampled opportunities for copying, for although the later Kang-he showed, without doubt, the finest blue and white with regard to colour that was ever made, the pattern generally adopted can be distinctly traced to Ching-hwa.

Kea-tsing was noted for the use of enamel colours of a beautiful depth and quality. About this time pure white cups were made imitating white jade, but the quality of the porcelain is inferior to many of the other periods because one of the sources of supply of porcelain earth failed.

VIII

THE TSING
DYNASTY

CHAPTER VIII

THE TSING DYNASTY. KANG-HE PERIOD (1661-1722)

Bearing in mind the struggle between the Mings and the Tartars, which lasted, as we have seen, from 1616 to 1644, we may take Shun-che (1644-1661) as the first real Tsing Emperor. Properly, the title of the dynasty, which has existed to our own times, would be the Manchu, Manchoo, or Tae-tsing or Ta Tsing dynasty, which is the twenty-second Imperial dynasty. The most distinguished Emperor in connection with the manufacture of porcelain was the second, named Kang-he, who had a long and peaceful reign from 1661 to 1722; in fact, he is the only Emperor who reigned for a complete Chinese cycle of sixty years, and we shall find amongst our marks that the sixty-first year is distinguished by a cycle mark and not by the "nien-hao," or name mark. Note Fig. 1 in the marks.

Under Kang-he's guidance the porcelain manufacture received an immense impetus. Many improvements were adopted and new colours introduced, especially the enamel colours. Amongst the noted potters living long before his reign were two whose names have come down to us, although identification of their work is impossible. The famous Pung, as before noted, was an excellent potter, but he was only copyist of old forms. Chow was a later potter who, near the end of the Ming dynasty, also excelled in imitating ancient vases. The work of these two old potters were copied at first by potters of the Kang-he period. "Franks" says: "It is probably to this reign that we must refer most of the old specimens of Chinese porcelain that are to be seen in collections, even when they bear earlier dates."

What generally were the qualifications and characteristics of the productions of King-te-chin in this reign? Our illustrations, which should be read carefully, will give guidance to the careful student regarding the Chinese porcelain that was then produced. There seems to have been little doubt that the three-coloured pieces, decorated with yellow, green, and aubergine, were direct copies of the Ming products. Aubergine is a puzzling word and requires explanation. It is a transparent enamel resembling the egg plant in the variation and gradation of its colours, from grey to purple or having various shades up to a rich brown. It will be found in the trees, stems, and branches, forming a principal part of the scheme of colour decoration. The black family—"famille noire"—is of the same period. The black may be composed of other colours, but it is usually coated with a transparent green enamel. Notice that there is a dull black, a mirror black, and this black covered with green enamel. Kang-he black will receive due attention in the illustrations. It is rare and very valuable.

Perhaps the finest porcelain produced during the Kang-he period was the green family, sometimes used with blue under the glaze. Wan-leih, the Ming Emperor, is sometimes credited with introducing this green enamel. This, however, seems very improbable, for twice in his reign the Japanese invaded Korea, and the Tartars were always in rebellion. On the whole the balance of evidence points to the green family as being a genuine product of the Kang-he period. Another product of the same period was the green enamel used with blue enamel over the glaze, so that it is well to note that the fine greens which are classified as "famille verte" are usually ascribed to this period. The blue and white of the Kang-he period has been noted before. The most lovely quality of this decoration must be always referred to this period.

Whether we consider the cobalt blue as a colour, as in the celebrated ginger jar with prunus flowers sold at Christie's for 5,900 guineas, or such pieces as we show in our illustration from Mr. Duveen's collection, worth £2,000 each, from 1720 right down to our own times this ware has been copied and ever recopied, but there is something in the blue used for decoration, something, too, in the quality of the white porcelain itself, and again something in the glaze, an intense brilliancy. These furnish a combination which has never been rivalled.

The Kang-he period was noted for a very rare biscuit Celadon, in which the surface of the panels in relief is unglazed, though the remainder of the decoration is blue under the glaze. Another fine quality of porcelain was that with archaic decoration having conventional flowers and bands in black and green. The marks of the Kang-he period vary. In the earlier part of his reign the double blue circle and the Kang-he nien-hao are frequent, but collectors must note that many specimens of this period have no date mark at all. If the two blue rings are used there are no letters inside. The reason of this is rather curious. In 1677 the superintendent of the works gave an order to the factories at King-te-chin, in which he forbade the inscription of the Emperor's name or the characters which gave the history of their sacred great men. This order was given because it was thought that if the porcelain was broken it would be reflecting upon the honour of the Emperor or of these sanctified persons who were represented not alone by inscriptions, but by paintings used in the decoration. However, this law did not remain in force for a very long period. When a piece is found with empty rings or with the symbol marks of the fungus leaf, &c., it can be assigned to a few years later than 1677. The importation to Europe had reached considerable dimensions before this.

We read that in 1664 nearly 50,000 pieces of rare Japanese china were imported into Holland and about 17,000 more of various kinds from Batavia by the Dutch East India Company. In this connection the rivalry between the Dutch and the Portuguese must be noted, because it affected the Oriental trade in porcelain very considerably. Stirred up by the Dutch, the Japanese, in 1640, excited by their fears of the ultimate designs of the Portuguese and the Spaniards, who had later appeared upon the scene, banished them in favour of the Dutch. Some thousands of Christian converts were massacred, and the Dutch were fully established at Nagasaki, where they laid the foundation of that progress towards Western civilisation to which the world, and especially Japan, owes so much.