Page 286 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

174 CHINESE PORCELAIN.
tiers of cartouck-shaped ornaments, six in each tier, the
spaces Letween in the lower being filled in with black on
green ; while, from a red and green collar halfway np the neck
a row of in red and The mouth
springs sweet-flags green.
and is recurved so as to the contents
protrudes, prevent escap-
when the is tilted to from the This is
ing piece pour spout.
decorated with flowers in
eight compartments.
"
T
Davis, vol. i. p. 305 : The w ine in the meanwhile circu-
lated . . . We drank it in little the
freely. gilt cups having
of an vase with two con-
shape antique handles, and kept
stantly filled by attendants holding large silver vessels like
coffee-pots."
No. 295. Cup with cover, spout, and handle. Height, 4^
inches ; diameter, 4 inches. No mark. This is similar in every
way to the above, but the design, although marked off by reel
from a blue line at the base. There are two blue
lines, springs
lines above the wide green and black band, while the top of
the knob on the cover, as well as the two blue lines below it,
are all in blue under the In this piece, also, the flowers
glaze.
do not from rocks.
spring
These are probably eighteenth-century pieces ; in colouring
they are similar to Nos. 292, 293, and should, properly speal V"
"
ing, be in the famille verte class, but, of course, rich pseony
is a useful name which to this of
very by distinguish style
decoration.
Famille Verte.
So called from the decoration in
being chiefly green
enamel. Although some pieces are ornamented merely with
flowers and this be called the historical
diaper-work, may great
class, for in it we find the emperors, statesmen, scholars, and
warriors of China, with scenes from the famous and
plays
romances for which Chinese literature is so justly celebrated,
all depicted in the most brilliant colours. In fact, in this
section we have the life of China for hundreds of
years past,
with its social customs and most
history clearly illustrated,
the to the needed
only difficulty being supply interpretation.
Some of the most beautiful are those where the
specimens
green enamel is combined with blue under the glaze. This
class may be divided into three sections — green without blue,