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NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 07210724 HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF CHINESE PORCELAIN s ^ (r i M....i .*! si.ZSy'. ,Ci/J?>r:'>''VV'VV-.(2r4;, / W to y^-Aey ^^^^ ^/-^ ^/rjJucy ^^<^yg^ This Edition is limited to 1,000 copies, of which this is No. /jr.U.rrf' IPUBUC UBR^R^' AND ASTOR, LENOX PLATE I. Group of Sung Porcelain. Buddhist Vase of Ju-choii porcelain (in centre) modelled in strong relief, with a circle of twelve standing figures round the shoulder, a seated figure of Sakyamuni Buddha with two attendants on the neck within a ring of alternating lotus flowers and serpents, and a dragon coiled round the rim guarding a disk supported on clouds. Covered with a celadon glaze of greyish-green colour and crackled surface, terminating below in a curved unctuous hne before it reaches the foot of the vase. On the stand is carved in " gilded letters Jii-yao Kuan-yin Tsun— i.e. Kuan-yin vase of Ju(chou) porcelain," and underneath, in relief, the seal of Liu Yen-t'ing. (H. 19 in.) Quadrangular Vase of Tmg-chou porcelain (on right), with brocaded grounds and borders of spiral fret lightly en- graved in the paste under a characteristic, soft, minutely- crackled glaze of creamy Avhite tone. Also from the collection of Liu Yen-t'ing. (H. 13i in.) Shallotv Bowl of Ting-chou porcelain worked in relief with panels containing fruit, flowers, and butterflies within a spiral border. Rim bound Avith a copper collar. (Diam. n in-) Tazza-shaped Boivl of Lung-ch'iian ware, with a small floral medallion engraved inside, invested with a green celadon glaze. (H. 5 in., d. 5^ in.) Small Vase of Kuan-yao covered with a thick, finely-crackled glaze of pale purplish blue. (H. 3 J in.) (Bushell Collection.) HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF Chinese Porcelain BY COSMO MONKHOUSE WITH NOTES BY S. W. BUSHELU C.M.G. CONTAINING TWENTY-FOUR PLATES IN COLOURS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS Edition for America A. WESSELS COMPANY Imported by 7-9 West i8th Street NEW YORK THEr • I The Three-Colour and Half-Tone Blochs for this work were made by Messrs. Andre & Sleigh, Ltd., Bushey, Herts. CONTENTS. PAGE Preface ix Introduction Part I.—HISTORICAL. Period I. Before a.d. 960 13 „ II. 960-1367 (Sung and Yuan) 17 „ III. 1368-1643 (MlNO) 25 „ IV. 1644-1901 (Ch'ing) 38 Part II,—DESCRIPTIVE. Class I. Porcelain Not Painted : Section A. Plain White 49 „ B. Single-coloured Glazes .... 54 „ C. Glazes of Several Colours ... 64 „ II. Crackle Porcelain 66 „ III. With White Slip Decoration 69 „ IV. Painted Porcelain : Section A Painted in Blue under the Glaze (Blue and White) 70 „ B. Painted in Blue, with other Colours UNDER the Glaze 116 „ C. Painted in Colours over the Glaze . 118 „ V. With Pierced Ornament under the Glaze . 136 Other Classes of Chinese Porcelain 137 Marks on Chinese Porcelain 140 Mythical Personages represented on Chinese Porcelain . 152 Fabulous Animals represented on Chinese Porcelain . 156 Glossary 159 Bibliography 161 Descriptive List of Half-Tone Illustrations .... 164 — LIST OF COLOUEED PLATES. PLATE I. —Group of Simg porcelain ..... (Frontisp II. —Roiind box and cover of Ch'eng-hua blue and white III. —Large jar of Chia-ching blue and white IV.—Vase, jars, and beakers of Ming " five-colour " porcelain V. —Massive pierced jar of early Ming period VI. —Wine jug, mounted in Elizabethan silver-gilt VII.— Small sang-de-boeuf vase ...... VIII.—Plum-blossom jar, with bell-shaped cover IX. —Egg-sheU plate, decorated in over-glaze blue. X.—Large vase, with black enamelled ground XI.—Large vase, with bright green ground . XII.—Four-sided dragon-handled vase, with j-ellow ground XIII.—Vase painted in colours of the grand feu XIV.—Vase, with figures executed in relief XV.—Beaker-shaped vase, with magnolias on blue backgrounds XVI.—Blue and white vase and cover, with ladies and flowers XVII.—Tall vase, famille verte, of the K'ang-hsi period . XVIII.—Vase, decorated in coral red ..... XIX.—Pilgrim vase of turquoise crackle .... XX.—Small crackled vase of streaked fiamhe purple XXI.—Openwork lantern of the Ch'ien-limg period. XXII.—Ruby-backed egg-shell plate, with seven diapered border XXIII. Famille rose jar, with cover ..... XXIV.—Six small monochrome vases ..... Till LIST OF BLAOK AND WHITE FIGURES. riG. To face page 7. —Tiger-spotted dish of imperial ware ....... 16 8. —Purple and turquoise figure of Lan Teai-ho ..... 25 9. —Imperial dragon fish-bowl of the Wan-li period, decorated in colours 28 10. —Ming "five-colour" beaker, with ladies and children, flowers and fruit 30 11. —Jar of Ming period, painted with polychrome enamels ... 33 12, —Peach-shaped wine-pot: turquoise and aubergine .... 35 13. —Squirrel and grapes: San-ts'ai water-pourer . .35 14. —Triple gourd vase, painted in brilliant enamel colours with gilding . 40 16. —Yung-chSng fish-bowl, painted in colours ...... 44 16. —Ch'ien-lung vase, 62 in. high, decorated ia. famille rose enamels . 46 17. —Figure of Kuan Ti, god of war, in Fuchien blanc de chine ... 53 18. — Group of Fuchien and Ching-te-chen white 50 19. —Four-legged censer, with cover of turquoise crackle .... 56 20. — Blue and white, with bands of brown and rings of crackled and plain celadon .......... 21. —Celadon vase sur decoree with enamels of the mufile stove . 22. —Old yellow crackle vase [mi-se) ...... 23. —Chocolate with white slip in relief {pdte-sur-pdte) 24. —Blue and white aster dish ....... 25. —Kuan Yin, the Chinese goddess of mercy .... 26. —Lung-ch'ing blue and white, with imperial dragons and phoenixes 27. —Powder blue, with polychrome decoration in reserved panels 28. —Blue and white gi»ger jar 29. —Jar inscribed "wedded joy," for trousseau .... 30. —Blue and white flanged bowl ...... 31. — Blue and white "Hawthorn bottle" 32. —Medallions on a green ground strewn with a hundred flowers 33. —K'ang-hsi vase, decorated with lions and brocaded balls 34. —Lion-handled wine-pot, enamelled with black and yellow ground: 35. —Three snuff-bottles, painted in blue and white 36. —Maitreya Buddha, the Buddhist Messiah .... 37. —Tai-po Tsun : a writer's water-pot ..... 38. —Three-colour decoration snr biscuit ..... 39. —K'ang-hsi vase, decorated with po-ku emblems 40. —Vase enamelled with the flowers of the four seasons . 41. —Thi-ee egg-shell dishes, painted in enamels of the early famille rose style 42. —Vase entirely painted with copper-red of the grand feu 43. —Imperial Ch'ien-lung vase, decorated in Ku-yueh HsUan style 44 & 45. —Peking graviata ware of Ch'ien-lung and Tao-kuang periods 46. —The Crucifixion : Chinese copy of European engraving 47 & 48. —Two plates of "armorial china" from Guernsey 49. —K'ang-hsi vase: Laquve biirgautee porcelain 50. —Wine-pot in the form of Fu character . 51. —Wiae-pot in the form of vShou character .... 52. — Ch'ien-lung blue and white, with eight Taoist emblems, etc. 53. —Chinese lion in white porcelain ...... 64. —Kylin proper in white porcelain ...... PREFACE. I CANNOT begin a preface to the last work of my much-regretted friend Mr. Cosmo Monkhouse without a word to express my deep feeUng of his irreparable loss. The vanished hand will be more especially missed as that of a cultivated critic of the fascinating art of the Chinese potter. His loving appreciation of the decorative value of the porcelain of the Far East was fully shown in the scholarly introductions he wrote for the catalogues of the collections of " Blue and White " and " Coloured Oriental Porcelains," which were exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1895 and 1896. No pen has ever painted more vividly the charm of the changes which the Chinese ring with varied tones of cobalt blue pulsating from the depths of a pellucid glaze; the brilhant ruby-like depth of the sang-de-hoeuf and the soft sheen of the peaio-de-peche, in which they have ennobled the copper silicates ; or the perfect harmony of the pictures painted with delicate enamel colours upon a translucent egg-shell ground, which marks the cul- minating point of their consummate mastery of the technique of the potter's art. But all these points are better emphasised in the pages of the book which it has been my privilege to look through before its publication. The text was really ready for the Press, and I have only ventured to add an occasional ex- planatory note, always carefully initialed. The coloured plates were also finished, so that it only remained for me to X PREFACE. select a series of typical pieces for reproduction in black-and- white, and to write a short description of the illustrations. There is such a wonderful exhibition of Chinese ceramic art at the present moment in the halls of the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington that it must be my own fault if a fairly representative series is not presented here. I am sure that Mr. Monkhouse would not have been sparing in his thanks to Mr. G. Salting for the generous way in which he has placed his magnificent collection at our disposal, and to Mr. A. B. Skinner for the personal interest he has taken in furthering the preparation of the pictures. Acknowledgments are also due to M. Solon, foremost of art potters of the day, for kindly revising the proofs ; so that any of the technical points involved may be taken without further question. Chiuese porcelain has always attracted artists. Jules Jacque- mart, the prince of etchers, lavished no little skill in the many illustrations which he supplied for his brother Albert's interesting but somewhat discursive works on the subject.

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