Page 306 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

great majority of the specimens distinguished by

Hsuan-te, Chen-hwd, and Chia-ching dates. The only

porcelains of modern (i.e. 1830-1860) manufacture
at all are likely to deceive are those with coloured
crackle and comparatively sparse enamelled decora-
tion, and the so-called " medallion bowls," that is to

say, bowls whose outer surface is covered with lustre-

less green, yellow, pink, or red pigments, laid over
floral scrolls or arabesques engraved in the paste, and
interrupted by medallions containing enamelled or

painted designs. These bowls probably represent the
best achievement of the Taou-kwang and subsequent

potters, and in their own inferior fashion doubtless

merit admiration.

It must be noted, however, that during the past
ten years Chinese potters have succeeded in producing
itpohnregce"olfaFitanhmseilecllheaabrRoarocastteeer"lyotdfyepbecoso.trhatteLhdoeawd"ietFdhameiwnlialtmehelVseo,rrtnepaam"retanantk,d-
in which formal and pictorial styles are hopelessly
confounded, these pieces nevertheless have enamels
so brilliant and so cleverly applied that the amateur

may possibly be deceived if he estimates them by

their surface decoration alone. Examination of the

pate where it is exposed at the base of the specimen,
should at once remove all doubt. It will generally
be found artificially discoloured, and its rough, granu-
lated character can be detected by the least experi-
enced collector. Naturally, if inferiority of pate were
the only fault to be laid to the charge of these mod-
ern reproductions, they might still possess some claim
to admiration. But they are bad in every way,

above all in their lack of either artistic feeling or

decorative instinct. The surface of the vase has been

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