Page 37 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

Introduction xxv

Ming and Cli'ing porcelains. It is fortunate in having the splendid

Pierpont Morgan Collection and the Avery Collection, and when the

Altmann Collection is duly installed in its galleries it will be un-

rivalled in the wares of the last dynasty. The Natural History

Museum has a good series of Han pottery.

—Chicago. The Field Museum of Natural History has probably the

largest collection of Han pottery and T'ang figurines in the world.

It has also an interesting series of later Chinese pottery, including

specimens from certain modern factories which are important for

comparative study. These collections were formed by Dr. Laufer

in China. There is also a small collection of the later porcelains in

the Art Institute.

—Boston. The Museum of Fine Arts has a considerable collection

of Chinese porcelain, in which the earlier periods are specially well

represented. The American collections, both public and private,

are especially strong in monochrome porcelains, and in this depart-

ment they are much in advance of the European.

To acknowledge individuallv all the kind attentions I have

received from those in charge of the various museums would

make a long story. They will perhaps forgive me if I thank
them collectively. The private collectors to whom I must express

my gratitude are scarcely less numerous. They have given

me every facility for the study of their collections, and in many

cases, as will be seen in the list of plates, they have freely assisted

with the illustrations. I am specially indebted to Mr. Eumorfo-

poulos, Mr. Alexander, Mr. R. H. Benson, Mr. S. T. Peters, and

Mr. C. L. Freer, who have done so much for the study of the early

wares in England and America. Without the unstinted help of

these enthusiastic collectors it would have been impossible to pro-

duce the first volume of this book. What I owe to Mr. Eumor-

fopoulos can be partly guessed from the list of plates. His collec-

.

tion is an education in itself, and he has allowed me to draw freely

on it and on his own wide experience. Of the many other collectors

who have similarly assisted in various parts of the work, I have to

thank Sir Hercules Read, Mr. S. E. Kennedy, Dr. A. E. Cumber-

batch, Mr. C. L. Rothenstein, Dr. Breuer, Dr. C. Seligmann, M, R.