Page 448 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

Chapter XIII
CHINESE PORCELAIN IN THE WEST

considering when Oriental keramic productions

first made their way to Europe, the student natu-

INrally led to inquire at what epoch the term
" " employed in
began to be its present
porcelain

sense. The term itself was originally applied to a

species of shell that did duty for money in various

countries. Its subsequent use to denote keramic

manufactures was due to the resemblance between

the latter and the smooth semi-translucency of the

well known shell. But at what epoch was this re-

semblance observed and perpetuated by the dual use

of the word ? According to MM. Brongnard and de

Laborde, as quoted by M. du Sartel, throughout the
"
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the name porce-

lain " was applied in France exclusively to vases, table

utensils, and ornaments into the manufacture of which

mother-of-pearl entered. But from the beginning of

the sixteenth century, it began to be used also for the

purpose of designating glazed pottery imported from

China, which showed the same pearly whiteness as

the shell. If this account be accepted, it would fol-
low that Chinese keramic wares did not come to

Europe until the sixteenth century ; that is to say,

until the middle of the Ming dynasty. M. du Sartel,

366