Page 175 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

The Technique of the Ming Porcelain 97

(as is nearly always the case) they are made in two sections, or

more in the case of the double forms, with no pains taken to con-

ceal the seam. Indeed, elaborate finish had no part in the con-

struction of these strong, rugged forms, which are matched by the

bold design and free drawing of the decoration. I may add that

sets of vases hardly come within the Ming period. They are an

un- Chinese idea, and evolved in response to European demands.

The mantelpiece sets of five (three covered jars and two beakers)

are a development of the mid- seventeenth century when the Dutch

traders commanded the market. The Chinese altar - set of five

ritual utensils is the nearest approach to a uniform set, consisting

as it did of an incense burner, two flower vases, and two pricket

candlesticks, often with the same decoration throughout.

The Ming bowls vary considerably in form, from the wide-mouthed,

small-footed bowl (p'ieh) of the early period to the rounded forms,

such as Fig. 1 of Plate 74. In some cases the sides are moulded

in compartments, and the rims sharply everted. Others again are

very shallow, with hollow base and no foot rim ; others follow the

shape of the Buddhist alms bowl with rounded sides and con-

tracted mouth ; and there are large bowls for gold-fish {yu kang),

usually with straight sides slightly expanding towards the upper

part and broad flat rims, cisterns, hot-water bowls with double

bottom and plug hole beneath, square bowls (Plate 66, Fig. 1)
for scraps and slops, and large vessels, probably of punch-bowl
form, known as " wine seas." The commonest type of Chinese

dish is saucer-shaped, but they had also flat plates bounded by

straight sides and a narrow rim, which has no relation to the

broad, canted rim of the European plate constructed to carry

salt and condiments.

The Chinese use porcelain plaques for inlaying in furniture

and screens, or mounting as pictures, and there are, besides, many

objects of purely native design, such as barrel-shaped garden seats

for summer use, cool pillows, and hat stands with spherical top

and tall, slender stems. But it was only natural that when they
began to cater for the foreign market many foreign forms should

have crept in, such as the Persian ewer with pear-shaped body,

long elegant handle and spout, the latter usually joined to the neck

by an ornamental stay : the hookah bowl : weights with wide base

and ball-shaped tops for keeping down Indian mats, etc., when

spread on the ground and at the end of the Ming period a few
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