Page 94 - Chinese porcelains collected by Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft, Cincinnati, Ohio, by John Getz

A CATALOGUE OF

No. 20

Tall Blue and White Vase, club-shaped, companion to the preceding:
fine-textured paste of rare pellucid quality, displaying the same bril-

liant deephblue painting, under an equally perfect glazing.
The pictorial subject, carried around the vase, shows a garden terrace. The central
figure is a lady of high rank, surrounded by attendants, receiving an elderly messenger,
who is kneeling ; one of the attendants at her side holds a long tablet, and another be-
hind bears a tall fan of state. The drooping standard is held by a young man, while
two others, bearing barmers, suggest the arrival (or departure) of some accredited per-

son or official.

The accessories include a long table with vases (one holds the two symbolical feathers

and coral stick), a garden seat, and a large, spiral-bordered screen, which forms the
background, helped by large palm trees and other plants.

The picture, composed with decorative skill, is also admirably rendered in the vary-

ing tints of the rare cobalt-blue, and exactly corresponds with its companion in this par-

ticular.

The neck sustains the fretted cmd other ring-bands, with dots, as in the foregoing.
The foot is also uiunarked, and shows the white, perfect porcelcun that amateurs praise

so much.
Era of K'ang-hsi (1662-1 722).
8
Height, 1 ',4 inches.
Diameter, 8 inches.

22