Part 2

Two other pieces bearing the mark of Hsüan Tê are to be seen at South Kensington, but although they belong undoubtedly to the Ming dynasty, it cannot be regarded as certain that the mark upon them indicates their actual age. One of these is a bowl painted with a design of trees, the pine, peach, and bamboo, symbolising long life, and the pomegranate, which is the emblem of fecundity; by a quaint conceit the trunks of the trees are distorted into the form of the characters _fu_ (“happiness”) and _shou_ (“longevity”). The other specimen is a tall cylindrical vase, bearing the mark in a _cartouche_ on the border, as it is sometimes found on porcelain of the later Wan Li period. It is decorated with conventional lotus-flowers in three horizontal bands, painted in dark cobalt-blue and the underglaze crimson obtained from copper, which ranks with cobalt as one of the earliest pigments used in Chinese ceramics. A noticeable feature of the painting is the way in which the leaves and petals are darkened by a stippling of dots over a lighter wash of colour.

Another interesting jar, of six-sided form and undoubtedly early in date, has floral ornament executed in dark blue, approaching to black where heavily laid on, which recalls the designs occurring on the hexagonal tiles from the Great Mosque at Damascus. The Persian chased brass rim with which the jar is mounted indicates the channel through which it has come to the West. The Damascus tiles are believed to date from the fifteenth century, and the resemblance between them and the jar in question is so striking as to suggest that they were painted under direct Chinese influence. This view is confirmed by the occurrence among the motives upon them of the Far Eastern chrysanthemum.

Advancing to the sixteenth century and the reigns of Chêng Tê, Chia Ching, and Wan Li, we find surviving “blue and white” specimens by no means rare. To the first reign are attributed certain objects made for Mohammedan use, as shown by the occurrence upon them of Arabic inscriptions, and some large globular jars with conventional lotus designs under a glaze usually of pronounced bluish tone. The Chia Ching period is characterised particularly by a blue of great intensity, sometimes verging upon violet; it is seen in several large jars at South Kensington in which the strong painting harmonises with the massiveness of the form.

The bowl figuring in Plate 3 shows that a more refined style was also in vogue at the same time. It is fashioned with the utmost delicacy and painted in a free manner, but with unerring sureness of hand. On the outside are seen the mythical _fêng huang_, or phœnix, of Buddhist lore, and other smaller birds flying amid bamboos; on the bamboo stems grows the sacred fungus or _ling-chih_, like the bamboo itself an emblem of longevity. In the medallion at the bottom inside is an exquisite drawing of a song-bird perched on the branch of a blossoming tree. The bowl is marked underneath with the words _Ta Ming Chia Ching nien chih_ (“Made in the Chia Ching period of the great Ming dynasty”). The soft grey-blue recalls the bowl of the Hsüan Tê period to which reference has already been made. Form and painting alike are executed with spontaneity and directness, qualities as attractive as the technical finish of later periods, when a loss of sincerity was the inevitable price paid for exactness of workmanship. This difference of quality may be well appreciated by a comparison of the bowl with the “egg-shell” plate of the Yung Chêng period reproduced in the same drawing, to which reference will again be made.

Another drawing (Plate 4) shows a typical example, formerly in Sir Charles Robinson’s collection, of the better kind of “blue and white” produced during the reign of Wan Li, who was contemporary with our own Queen Elizabeth. That this elegant wine-pot found its way to Europe at no long interval after it was made is proved by the bronze mounting, which happily accentuates its gracefulness of contour. The domed cover of ogee outline and the crested borders indicate that the mounting is of German origin, and was done probably at Augsburg in the early years of the seventeenth century. The six sides of the body form panels filled in with a variety of flowers, among which may be distinguished such oft-recurring emblems of longevity as the lotus and the _ling-chih_ or miraculous fungus; the slender neck is painted with conventional flames. In the hollow beneath the foot is the word _fu_ (“longevity”), written in seal character.

This piece belongs to the same class of finer porcelain made under Wan Li as a melon-shaped wine-pot, mounted in silver-gilt, bearing the London hall-mark for 1585-86, and the well-known set of bowls, also with Elizabethan silver-gilt mounting, which were formerly in the possession of the Cecil family at Burghley House. In addition to this finer porcelain, vast quantities of “blue and white” ware of inferior quality were made for export. It went eastwards to Japan, where it provided patterns for some of the porcelain turned out from the kilns of the province of Hizen, and westwards to Persia, to be imitated in earthenware by the native potters of the time of the great Shah Abbas II. The decoration, rough and careless as it often is, has generally a certain attractiveness on account of its freedom from the fault of over-refinement. Roughly-sketched landscapes with deer, hares or birds in shaped panels are frequent motives.

A dish at South Kensington, probably of the Wan Li period, is doubly interesting. Its decoration of floral ornament on scrolled stems is identical with a design not uncommon on Damascus earthenware of the sixteenth century. The back exhibits an unglazed surface of deep reddish-yellow, and bears, sharply cut into the paste, the Persian word _naranji_ (“orange-coloured”) and a Persian name, probably that of a former owner.

The next illustration (Plate 1) stands for another process of decoration invented in the Ming period, which opened the way to wonderful developments in later times. This new method consisted in painting over the glaze in enamel colours, necessitating a second firing at a lower temperature than that required for fusing the glaze. The colours employed are a dry scarlet obtained from oxide of iron, green, yellow of straw-coloured tone, and manganese-violet, which, together with underglaze cobalt, constitute the scheme known as the “five colour” decoration. In some cases only two or three of these colours are used, but generally the predominant notes are given by red and green. This style anticipates the _famille verte_ order of the time of K’ang Hsi; it is specially associated with the Wan Li period, when it came into general vogue, but instances of it occur dating from the reign of Chia Ching, and in these the red is of a more neutral tone sometimes verging on orange.

The jar figuring in Plate 1 is altogether exceptional by reason of the manganese-purple ground on which the ornament is painted. The predominance of this colour gives a splendour of effect which is accentuated by the points of bright red and green distributed with such sureness of judgment over the surface. The powers of the Ming dynasty potter are here displayed at their best. Scattered flowers of the winter plum, one of the numerous emblems of long life, are interspersed among the “Eight Precious Things” (_Pa Pao_), tokens to the Buddhist of all that goes to make up mortal felicity. Visible in the drawing are the pair of books strung together, standing for literary accomplishments; the open lozenge, a symbol of victory or success; and the pearl or jewel of the law. The remaining five objects, not appearing in the view of the vase shown in the illustration, are the “cash,” figuring as a square enclosed by a circle, for pecuniary wealth; the painting, representative of the arts; the _ch’ing_ or musical stone, a kind of gong considered lucky on account of the identity of its name with the word for “prosperity”; the pair of rhinoceros-horn cups paralleled by the classical “horn of plenty”; and the leaf of the artemisia, a fragrant plant believed to be efficacious as an antidote against harmful influences. Below these symbols are waves of the sea, tossing in green foam against jagged rocks; spiral eddies painted in black outline under a wash of transparent purple form the background to the composition. The jar was bought in Persia, and is mounted with a brass neck and domed cover of Persian workmanship, chased with arabesques and pierced with grotesque figures in a row of medallions.

Mention has already been made of the celadon-glazed wares made from the Sung period onwards in imitation of green jade, which are perhaps the most widely distributed of all the wares produced in China for export. To this category belong the great rice-dishes and jars for storing grain, often of extraordinary weight in proportion to their size, frequently met with in India and Persia, and everywhere along the shores and islands of the Indian Ocean. This class of porcelain was known to the Arab traders of the Middle Ages as “Martabani,” from the name of the Burmese port which was one of the centres for its distribution. This nomenclature finds its parallel in the name “Gombroon ware,” by which it was called in England in the seventeenth century; the establishment of the East India Company’s factory at Gombroon on the Straits of Ormuz first opened the way for its importation in any considerable quantity into this country.

PLATE 11

Bowl, Italian, dated 1638, probably made at Pisa, the design on the exterior borrowed from Turkish earthenware. Height, 2½ in. Willett Collection.

No. 341-1905. See p. 42.

The mark and the medallion inside are reproduced below the elevation of the bowl.

The long-necked vase of celadon ware from the Jones Collection in Plate 5 may fitly be described here, as it probably dates from the latter part of the Ming dynasty, though the refinement of the form suggests that it may have been made in the earlier years of K’ang Hsi. The surface of the vase is entirely coated with a crackled glaze of bluish-celadon tone, running down in thick waves round the edge of the foot. On this glaze is a design delicately traced in white slip, thick enough to stand out in sensible relief, with details incised by means of a pointed instrument. This decoration, spread over the whole of the vase, is composed of archaic dragons, from the mouths of which issue scrolled stems with leafy terminations having in some cases the outline of the sacred _ling-chih_ fungus. The rich ormolu mounting is characteristic French work of the period of Louis XVI. Below the mouth of the vase hang festoons of drapery, passing through handles which are finished downwards with a bunch of grapes and vine-leaves; the foot is chased with a band of guilloche pattern above a square plinth with incurved corners. This is probably the workmanship of Levasseur, one of the host of artist-craftsmen to whose talent the furniture of eighteenth-century France owes its dignity and refinement. Their taste and judgment was never better displayed than when objects of beauty or rarity were handed to them to be enriched by their skill. The vase before us is a typical case; the porcelain loses nothing of its own loveliness in becoming the medium for displaying the beauty of the metalwork.

* * * * *

The numerous minor factories existing in China before the Ming dynasty were unable to hold their own against the great imperial factory at Ching-tê-chên. Since the time of its establishment there has been only one other factory of artistic standing, that of Têhua in the province of FUCHIEN. It is devoted to the production of plain white porcelain with a creamy surface, resembling ivory in texture, but varying considerably in shades of colour. Quantities of Fuchien china were brought to Europe during the seventeenth century by the various India Companies. In France, where it received the name of “_blanc de Chine_,” it provided models for the porcelain makers of St. Cloud, and among the earliest output of many other European works will be found plain white cups and teapots with applied sprays of Chinese plum-blossom in relief, faithfully copying the models of the Têhua factory. Statuettes and groups of divinities always formed a large proportion of its productions; the royal collection at Dresden contains a fine series of such figures, many of them nearly two feet in height, which were among the porcelain collected by Augustus the Strong of Saxony, through the agency of the Dutch East India merchants.

The smaller objects made at Têhua are delightful by virtue of their very simplicity. In the absence of coloured decoration of any kind, the full charm of the soft white surface can be appreciated. The specimen illustrated in Plate 6 affords proof that this ware was highly esteemed by early European collectors. This piece, one of a pair in the Jones Bequest, was doubtless originally a bottle or rosewater-sprinkler with bulbous body and narrow tapering neck, but it has been cut down and fitted with silver-gilt mounts to adapt it to the purpose of a pastille-burner. The neck has been removed and replaced by a silver-gilt knob of finely-chased foliage. The shoulder has been drilled with holes; lower down the porcelain has been cut away for the insertion of a band engraved with delicate cartouches and rosettes. The foot of the bottle is raised on a tripod silver-gilt base, ornamented with three lions’ heads and three grotesque _mascarons_ exquisitely chased. When the piece is turned up, further enrichment is disclosed underneath it in the form of an engraved design of a type much in favour about 1700, representing, in a half-grotesque manner, a squirrel, birds and a hound among trees. The hall-marks with which the mounts are stamped in several places are unfortunately very indistinct, but from their form it is clear that they are Parisian marks of the early years of the eighteenth century. The initials of an unknown silversmith “P. B.” can easily be made out, while another mark appears to be that of Étienne Baligny, _fermier général_ from 1703 till 1713; but no marks are necessary to show that we have here French work in the finest style of the age of Louis XIV. The care bestowed upon the mounting is sufficient evidence of the value set upon Fuchien porcelain by European collectors of the time. Further testimony of this is afforded by the fact already noticed, that the designs and methods of decoration in vogue at the Têhua potteries were extensively imitated in the earlier stages of several Western factories. In the blossoming sprays of plum applied to the body of the piece in our illustration we recognise the favourite emblem of longevity which is of such constant occurrence on Chinese objects, lending them a felicitous significance appropriate to things destined to be given as presents or tokens of congratulation. The same motive is familiar in the early white china of Meissen, Bow, and Chelsea, and of St. Cloud, Vincennes, and Sèvres.

PLATE 6

Vase of white porcelain of Têhua in the province of Fuchien, mounted in silver-gilt of the period of Louis XIV. as a pastille-burner. Height, 7½ in. Jones Collection.

No. 816-1882. See p. 18.

Unmarked.

In addition to applied reliefs the Fuchien potters decorated their porcelain with delicate incised designs, sometimes scarcely perceptible until closely examined, or with ornaments impressed by means of small stamps. An instance of the latter method is seen on the foot of the piece under consideration, which has a repeating border of fret-pattern lightly impressed in the paste.

* * * * *

The reign of Wan Li was followed by an epoch extending over nearly half a century which is almost devoid of significance in the history of porcelain. The invasions of the Manchu Tartars brought to an end the native Ming dynasty, and gave its last two emperors little leisure for the patronage of art. The establishment on the throne of the still-ruling Ch’ing dynasty of Tartar emperors was the opening of a new era, and the accession of its second monarch, K’ANG HSI, was the signal for a brilliant artistic renaissance, nowhere more apparent in its effects than in the wonderful achievements of the imperial porcelain works at Ching-tê-chên. K’ang Hsi’s reign of sixty years’ duration covered roughly the same space of time as that of his illustrious French contemporary, the _Grand Monarque_, who gave the impetus for a similar revival in the arts of his own kingdom. It was an age of peace and order following after years of strife and confusion. Energies no longer required to be spent in warfare were free to be diverted to the pursuance of the arts of peace.

In the domain of porcelain the outcome of these favourable conditions is seen in an extraordinary advance along technical lines unparalleled in the history of ceramics. A white body of the utmost purity, a glaze fusing so perfectly on to the surface of the paste as to give an appearance of deep luminosity, underglaze colours and overglaze enamels unsurpassed in brilliance and liveliness, brought within the reach of the potter a wonderful variety of effects far beyond anything that had been attained before. Yet the very technical skill which made the triumphs of the K’ang Hsi period possible, opened the way for the artistic decline of the following half century. Virtuosity took the place of aesthetic spontaneity; while there is undeniable beauty in the new achievements, they generally lack the vigour and sincerity of earlier periods when the principles of technique were less well understood.

The characteristic qualities of K’ang Hsi porcelain are well illustrated by the vases chosen for the drawings reproduced in Plates 7 and 8. The first of these is a “blue and white” covered vase, formerly in the collection of Mr. James Orrock, with decoration in shaped panels reserved on a “powdered blue” ground. Of the four large panels, two are filled with sprays of flowers, and a third with a selection from the curious assemblage of objects known as the “Hundred Antiques” (_Po Ku_), symbolising the elegant arts and accomplishments. In the remaining panel is a mountainous landscape rendered in the conventional manner customary in Chinese paintings; the conventions are not such as we are familiar with in Western art, but once accepted, they will be found to suggest nature and to perform a decorative function no less effectively than those of the European designer.

The cobalt-blue is typical of the finest quality of the period; it has a depth of tone and a limpid brilliancy found only in the reign of K’ang Hsi, compared with which all but the best blue of other periods seems dingy and lustreless. The ground colour is carefully sprayed or splashed on to the vase, and has in consequence on a close inspection a minutely speckled appearance; to this is owing the intense throbbing effect which has often been noticed as the peculiar quality of the blue of this class. This beauty of colour, combined with the faultless spacing of the decoration, compensates for a certain prim formality noticeable when comparison is made with the less orderly designs of the Ming dynasty.

Passing on to Plate 8, we come to a representative of the class of decoration above all others associated with the K’ang Hsi period. This class is derived from the “five colour” group, already discussed, of the later Ming emperors, characterised by painting in enamel colours fired over the glaze at a comparatively low temperature, and hence known to French collectors as enamels of the _demi-grand feu_. From the predominance of green the class is generally termed the “_famille verte_.” The blue comprised among the five colours of the Ming dynasty is always an underglaze cobalt painted on the biscuit before the application of the glaze; but in the majority of pieces of later date, whether strictly of the “five colour” order or of the derivative _famille verte_, the blue, like the rest of the pigments, is an overglaze enamel.

The vase here illustrated is of special interest as exemplifying the use of both kinds of blue; while in the main decoration an enamel blue of greyish tone has been employed, there are also two bands, round the shoulder and base respectively, filled with a diaper pattern in underglaze blue enclosed between ridges in slight relief. The form of the vase is that known as “club-shaped.” The scheme of decoration is of a type which became increasingly prevalent as the eighteenth century advanced, and departs entirely from the traditions of earlier times. Instead of a broadly-treated design proportionate to the dimensions of the vase, the surface is divided into a number of panels of diverse size and outline, set against a figured groundwork and filled in with delicate miniature paintings. Two large rectangular panels contain rocky lake-scenes with figures. Smaller panels enclose some of the “Hundred Antiques” already alluded to, while in two circular medallions we see a carp rising from a cataract, beneath a full moon partly hidden among clouds. This latter subject is an allegory of literary success attained by perseverance and industry. The allusion is to the legend according to which the sturgeon of the Hoang Ho river, when they ascend the stream in the third month of the year, are transformed into dragons if they succeed in climbing the rapids of the Lung Mên or Dragon Gate. The green ground of the vase is figured with a close pattern of conventional lotus-flowers amid small scrolled foliage. The whole is exquisitely rendered, and composes such a beautiful harmony of colour as to compel admiration, in spite of the comparative lack of breadth in the treatment of the design.

PLATE 7

Jar, with Cover, Chinese, period of K’ang Hsi (1662-1722), with decoration in panels reserved on a powdered blue ground. Height, 18 in. Orrock Collection.

No. 67-1887. See p. 20.

Unmarked.

To detail all the methods of decoration in vogue in the K’ang Hsi period, many of them then for the first time introduced, would be beyond the scope of such a work as this; it must suffice to mention briefly a few of the most remarkable. Firstly, there are many varieties of the _famille verte_, the most notable being that in which naturalistic flowers are relieved against a ground of enamel, either straw-yellow, green, or lustrous black. The pieces on which the last-named ground colour occurs form the subdivision known to connoisseurs as the “_famille noire_”; the Salting Collection includes a splendid series of vases of this category. Dignity of form is combined in them with masterly composition in the painting, while the measure of conventionalism necessitated by the limited palette frees this type from the imputation of excessive naturalism.

The “blue and white” of the time of K’ang Hsi has already been noticed. Beautiful effects were obtained where the cobalt was used in harmonious combination with the other high temperature underglaze pigments, a greyish celadon-green and the soft crimson obtained from copper. Another new type of painted ware dating from this time is that in which the design is entirely carried out in the overglaze iron-red, first seen amongst the pigments of the “five colour” order. The red of the K’ang Hsi period, a pure coral-red of the utmost brilliancy, is generally employed in conventional designs, such as dragons and symbols or lotus-flowers, symmetrically disposed over the whole surface of a vase.