Page 587 - Chinese Porcelain Vol II, Galland

MANDARIN.

eagle with the motto of the United States, and a halo of stars.
This is the stars in a mist of
very beautifully painted, being
rays. Like ours, these vases have a festoon of 'husks,' in
colour and the Unlike
gilding, blue-and-gold handles, etc.
ours, the porcelain surface is not wavy, and it has a few sprigs
in raised blue enamel and scattered over the white
gilding
body of the vase. This pair is about 17 inches high, and the
decoration elsewhere like ours, but the of
exactly porcelain
better
quality."
"
No. 869. In the same house are the remains of the two
finest Chinese dinner services that I am acquainted with, both
decorated upon the glaze. One service has vignettes of land-
scapes and English country houses in stippled bistre, set in
circular medallions, with the initials of the in
family gilding
set in a in the border. The dessert dishes include some
panel
pierced baskets, such as I have lately written you about, and
custard with the twisted handles and
cups, strawberry knobs,
all the models of the usual
being recognized type.
"
The other service is more elaborate, having a very broad
border of in small
diaper gilding, interrupted by oblong panels
containing bright-coloured Chinese flowers, these last being
the only part of the decoration that has a Chinese character.
This last service is of the thin so fre-
grey-tinted porcelain
quently seen coming from China the plates very flat, with a
much hollowed '
marly.'
"The invoice of these two services is in existence, dated
1815. The service that I have
spoken of first is so absolutely
bound to the other by the vignettes and other points of
resemblance to Nos. 866 and 867, that there can be no doubt
of their of the same date, with decoration the same
being by
hand.
"
I am a defective of one or both of these
promised piece
services to take to
England.
"
In the same house is a good set of five blue and white
'
'
beakers and slender covered vases, with
kylins on the covers,
the bodies thrown into panels by the common butterfly
Chinese border, in blue under glaze; but in the centre of
the is a vase and flowers a
large panel affecting European
character in thick enamel the and in the small
upon glaze,
panels are sprigs in the same blue enamel. These last resemble
VOL. II. p 2