Page 179 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

Pallet Water Bottles with couchant dragons, jewel-bearing

elephants and figure scenes.

Betel-nut Boxes with historical scenes, fragrant plants and

lotus petals.

Hat Boxes with brocaded ground in round patterns and

dragons coiling through the flowers of the four seasons.

Handkerchief Boxes with, outside, brocaded ground pat-
" Ever
terns, a pair of dragons supporting the inscription,
"
preserving long life : tribute arriving from the four seas ! ;

historical scenes and the flowers of the season ; inside, the

fungus of longevity, the fir, bamboo, plum and orchids.

Garden Seats carved in openwork with dragons grasping

pearls, flying dragons, lions, and sea-horses.

The mark of the Lung-ching era is Ta-Ming Lung-

ching nien chi, and .that of the Wan-li era, Ta-Ming

Wan-li nien -chi. The former occurs much more

rarely than the latter, which is not only found on a
tolerably numerous class of authentic specimens, but
has also been extensively forged. Even at this time,
when the markets of China have been so persistently

and diligently exploited during a quarter of a century,

the collector may still procure good examples of
Wan-li blue-and-white. They are solid, and in many
cases somewhat clumsy, but these defects are often

relieved by brilliancy and decorative boldness, and

choice specimens support comparison with the work
of other eras. The glaze, too, is rich and lustrous,
though lacking in purity of tone. From the factories
of these eras Lung-ching and Wan-li came the
comparatively small number of surviving Ming blue-

and-white porcelains that attain any considerable di-
mensions. All the pieces that remain from preceding
eras are small, the great majority not exceeding a few
inches in height. This is absolutely true of soft-paste
porcelain in respect of every reign in the dynasty.

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