Page 30 - Chinese porcelains collected by Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft, Cincinnati, Ohio, by John Getz

HISTORICAL

In the fourth volume of (Chinese) " Porcelains made at "
King-te-tchin

(translated by M. Julien) is mentioned a potter, named P'ong-kiun-pao

(or Peng Chiin-pao), who established himself at Ho-cheou, in the prov-

ince of King-nan-tchin ; among the pieces enumerated as made by him are

white vases called "Che-yao," which indicates a form with compressed

center, like a beaker. This artist excelled, however, in copying ancient

vases, such as " Ho-yao " and " Ting-chou " (known as "New Ting-yao"),

and it is recorded that his best copies were difficult to distinguish from

the older products.

The same author also states that a porcelain called "Tch*u-fu-yao" was

made for the Emperor ; and that the material was white and plastic, the

ornamentation-flowers, etc., being modeled in the paste and then enam-

eled.

It is elsewhere recorded that a porcelain called "Shu-fu-yao" was
white and thin, with engraved decoration, said to have been copied from
the white "Ting-chou " examples of the northem Sung dynasty.^ Nearly

all these objects in porcelain were made after ancient models of the Han

dynasty; a large number were sacrificial vessels, incense-bumers, copied
from objects made in the remote bronze era.

Large vases and bowls were also made in brilliant monochrome glazes.

A reference is made to the talent of decoration which developed in his

period, but which appears to have been confined to coarsely painted
flowers or filling out engraved lines with colored enamels for the empha-

sizing of certain details.

Other vases, it is stated by native authors, were made in the countries
east and west of Che-king, or Chien-chang, that had grace and elegance
like those of ancient make ; but the kilns fell into disuse, and not a ves-
tige remains of the factories. It is presumed that the porcelain coming
from some of these provinces was gritty, and therefore counted as unfit

^ Hsiang Tzii-ching, ciher describing a speci- (the Ming), of the reign of Yung-lo and Hsiicin-te,
men of Shu-fu porcelain decorated with dragons decorated with patterns engraved under a white
in the midst of clouds, cind with lion's-head handles, glaze, was made after this Shu-fu porceledn, which
all faintly engraved in the paste under a white was itself copied from the Ting-chou porcelain of
glaze, states that " the porcelain of his own dynasty the northem Sung dynasty."