Page 249 - J. P Morgan Collection of Chinese Art and Porcelain

OF CHINESE PORCELAINS [CASE XX

painted on over the glaze, and fixed by a second firing
in the muffle stove. The latter comprise a full, deep

green, a brownish red, and a pale yellow, all three
roughly put on with the brush, and subsequently de-
fined and tilled in with pencilled lines of black. The

floral background is mainly composed of sprays of
peony and chrysanthemum, and the decoration is com-
pleted by diverse bands of formal ornaments, foliations
and fret peculiar to the age. The piece shows evident
signs of having been fashioned in four separate sec-
tions, made to adhere by "slip," and covered with a

thick, fluescent glaze, which, according to the ceramic

records of the time, required at least seven days for its

first firing.

Mark: In oblong panel beneath the lip, Ta Ming IVan-
li nien chih (Made in the reign of Wan-li of the great

Ming dynasty). Height 34K inches.
Wan-li (i 573-1619).

(plate xxviii)

509. LARGE OVOID VASE, with tall neck and

spreading mouth. The whole invested with a dark

opaque-rose ground, closely sprinkled with sprays of
leafage and flowers in transparent enamels. At the
foot a cartouche border, and under the lip a row of ju-i

heads.

Ch'ien-lung (1736-1795). Height 30 inches.

510. BEAKER VASE, with long neck and spread-

ing mouth and base. Decorated with red, yellow, and
rose peonies, with deep green leaves, supporting two
large quadrilateral white reserves showing lake and
mountain scenery, with boats and foreground rocks.

In the right-hand upper corners are two red seals. On

the sides are two circular reserves enclosing red carp,
and below them two, pomegranate-shaped, with dark
green shrimps. The neck is decorated, like the body,

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