Page 232 - The art of the Chinese potter By Hobson
P. 232
PLATE XLV
Bowl of conical form with small foot. Ivory white glaze
with moulded design of flying phoenixes among flowers
border of key fret or thunder and cloud pattern (lei wen)
a flower in the centre ; bronze band on the lip. The ware is
a fine white porcellanous material, translucent in the thinner
parts, and the glaze has collected in well-defined " tear drops "
on the back.
This particular bowl was evidently highly prized at the
Imperial Court of the Emperor Ch'ien Lung (1735-1795) for
on its base engraved through the glaze is an inscription of which
the following is a rendering :
" Amid accumulated pollen and massed flowers the two
phcenixes droop their wings. The colour is confined to
that prized by the Yin dynasty (i.e. white, which was the
Imperial colour in that dynasty), simple and unadorned.
It is not till we come down to the Chu dynasty of Hsiian
(-te) and Ch'eng (-hua), that we get elaborate painting and
the employment of the five colours.
Composed by the Emperor Ch'ien Lung in the spring
of the cyclical year ting-yu (i.e. 1777 A.D.), and inscribed by
his order."
Pai Ting ware. Sung dynasty. D. 7".
In the possession of Mr. P. David.
