Page 244 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

this nature : a lamp in the form of a lotus flower,
with green leaves and delicate pink petals; a wine-cup
in the shape of a magnolia yulan flower, purple outside
and resting on a brown stem with green leaves, and so

on. But, in addition to these charming fashions, the

enamels now began to be used for picture painting.

This is well exemplified in a tazza-shaped cup of pure
white, round the lobe of which runs a band of green

vine-leaves and tendrils with purple grapes. Thus the

student is brought into contact with the enamelled
porcelains familiar to Western collectors and divided
by Albert Jacquemart into the three families of

Chrysanthemo-Pceonienney Verte, and Rouge. Not yet,

indeed, is there any question of those large, elab-
orately ornamented pieces, fondly ascribed by Occi-

dental collectors to Ming factories. Such things are

conspicuous by their absence from H'siang's Cata-

logue. Nevertheless, the tazza-shaped cup depicted

by him, if not actually a member of the Famille Verte,

would probably be regarded as a very near relative.
Dr. Bushell, commenting on H'siang's Catalogue,

says : " One may be disappointed to find among the

pictures none of the large vases and jars of the early

reigns of this (the present) dynasty of which so many

are included in European collections. These are
really more modern, and the finest belong to the reign
of Kang-hsi, so that one of a pair is often found with
a Ming mark beneath, the other with a censer, flower,

or other emblem : yet some connoisseurs pride them-
selves on being able to distinguish the genuine Ming

in this class from the false, confessing, however, that

it is a difficult matter. The reign of Hsuan-te has

always been celebrated for its blue-and-white, the

reign of Cheng-hwa for its paintings in enamel colours,

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