Page 207 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

beyond the fall of dynastic China. The pair displayed at the Metropolitan depicts the

same insects, but the coloring is entirely different from that of the vases at the British

Museum. The shading of each set is unique. The brushstrokes are distinct with differing

breaks within the line work, indicating that they were painted by different hands entirely.

Due to these similarities, it is evident that imagery was reused and was possibly made on

mass scales. Another similar cricket motif was analyzed in the previous chapter (Section

2.5, Figure 38). While this example places the cricket within a floral scene, the crickets

appear nearly identical in composition. Glaze application, brushwork, and style are

distinctly consistent in all the documented objects. Each ware presents similar

iconography but has individual characteristics that would only be evident if a different

artist painted each ware. It is clear from this study’s comparisons that each vessel

th
produced during the 20 century were not always poorly crafted. Instead, visual analysis
conducted in this research proves that an extraordinary level of artistry was produced

during the late Qing dynasty and continued into the early republic. The stark difference

between the wares produced during the Qing period and those from the early republic is

the lack of patronage, which to scholars has invalidated the skillfulness behind the

porcelain itself. The inclusion of Yuan as an imperial level patron during the early

republic provides a new interpretation of porcelain from this era.

Later in his life, Sir Percival worked to create a center for Chinese art studies in

order to promote a wider understanding of China within the West. His wishes resulted in

the University of London being presented with his collection in 1950, which opened the

collection to the public. 268 The Sir Percival collection was on long-term loan to the

268 Loretta Hogan, “Revealing the Past and Enhancing the Future: The Conservation of the Sir
Percival David Collection,” Orientations 40, no. 8 (2009): 78.
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