Page 219 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

produced prior to the emergence of a major forgery market. Due to this provenance, the

collection at the Potteries Museum serves as additional representation of the continuation

of late dynastic porcelain. Additionally, correspondence between Copeland, Sparks, and

the curator of the Potteries Museum survives, establishing the thoughts behind the

collection. The survival of dialogue of this variety is not common and offers valuable

insight into how the collection was curated. One letter from Sparks to Copeland reads,

He had such a love of the very fine examples in this special china made at Ching-
te-Chen during the reign of the late Dowager Empress, that during the number of
years I have already stated, he made this completed collection. I can confidently
say that is quite a unique collection and another will never be seen, as such quality
and fineness has not been produced since the time of the late Dowager
Empress. 281

It is evident from the correspondence that while Sparks spoke highly of porcelain

produced under the patronage of the empress dowager, he did not believe that this quality

continued strongly into the early republic. Ironically, Sparks’ stance is completely

unsupported by Copeland’s collection. This collection allows for the establishment of

shared imagery that transitions into the early republic era, proving that artistic endeavors

continued beyond the fall of the Qing dynasty. Historically, traditions passed from one

ruler to the next, creating a lineage that paid homage to the past. These traditions did not

stop with the Golden Age but rather passed from the empress dowager to the briefly

reigning Yuan Shikai.

The porcelain of the Copeland collection predominately dates to the 1920s and

1930s. The wares were created at Jingdezhen. Scholar Claire Blakey has emphasized

th
that the success of porcelain during the early 20 century was mostly achieved by
attaching imperial pedigree to each object. In this regard, the porcelain Copeland

281 Blakey, 36.
180