Page 165 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

Shonzui, the originator of tphoerce"lHaianwtmhaonrufna"ctudreesiginn
his country. In his day

was certainly employed by Chinese decorators, for it

figured conspicuously on his own pieces, though not

as a principal motive.

The high reputation enjoyed by the Cheng-hwa

ware led to its extensive imitation in later times.

No mark, perhaps, has been more forged than that

of Ta-Ming Cheng-hiva nien-chi. Even the potters

of the Kanghsi era (16611722), whose productions

were well worthy to stand on their own merits, did

not hesitate to manufacture imitations of the cele-

brated Ming wares. Reproductions by such experts

were little, if at all, inferior to their originals. But
the case is different in the present modern times,

when a hopelessly deteriorated art endeavours to con-

ceal its palpable shortcomings behind the cachet of

famous periods. It may be well, therefore, to warn

collectors against the delusion that large vases, big

bowls, and imposing jars which bear the Cheng-hiva
mark, really date from that era, or reproduce the fine

qualities of its manufactures. The rare examples of

genuine early Ming blue-and-white hard-paste porce-
lain that come into the market, are small pieces, not

at all likely to strike the eye of an ordinary connois-

seur, and generally commanding prices out of apparent

proportion to their merits. On the other hand, it is

difficult to furnish any written data whereon to base

an accurate estimate of the period of a hard-paste

specimen. The pate of the Cheng-h<wa porcelain,
like that of all the Ming wares, is hard, heavy, and

close grained, and the timbre remarkably sharp and

clear. Occasionally one finds clinging to the bases
of bowls and plates, fragments of the sand with which

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