Page 21 - Chinese porcelains collected by Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft, Cincinnati, Ohio, by John Getz

PREFACE

HE private Collection of Chinese Porcelains formed by

Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft of Cincinnati, described
and illustrated in the following pages, contains uni-
formly important specimens as well as interesting and
noteworthy groups that exemplify the high technical

skill attained during the early periods of the ceramic art
in China, and which are held in great esteem by all

connoisseurs to-day.

Covering so many centuries in the history of this art, these objects in
porcelain, by their surpassing qualities and preeminence, fairly indicate
that the transcendent success of their kind, whether owned in private or
museum aggregations, contributed largely to the glory of those past epochs
to which they are ascribed by native and other authorities.

The creations of Chinese ceramists justly enjoy universal celebrity and

favor, their singular beauty and exquisite richness making them harmoni-
ous adjuncts to tasteful and estheric surroundings the world over. Deco-
rative applicability, together with a subtle charm of refinement, is always

gratifying ; and we know that such objects won the enthusiastic admira-

tion of kings and emperors, in Europe as in the far E^st.