CERAMIC ART TN CHINA. 847 



of small dimensions, such as snuff bottles, wine cups, vessels for wash- 

 iiio' pencils in, etc. The vitreous nature of the body imparted a tone 

 and l)rilliancy to the colors used in the decoration which was greatl}^ 

 admired; and, under the auspices of T'ang-ying, all the artistic and 

 technical skill of the government factory was lavished upon these lit- 

 tle gems, whic-h are certainl}' among the masterpieces, if not the mas- 

 terpieces, of ceramic art in China, being valued more highly than jade 

 by Chinese connoisseurs of the present day. The decoration of the 

 best specimens of this ware will well repay minute stud}'. The choice 

 of groundwork is effective, the grouping of the colors soft and harmo- 

 nious, the introduction of European figures is interesting, and the 

 arrangement of flowers evidences the highest artistic skill. Nos. 324 to 

 327 are admirable specimens of this very rare ware. The earliest pieces 

 were marked, usually in red, ta-ch^ing-nien-chih^ "Made during the 

 great Pure (the Ch'ing or present) dynastj%" as in No. 323; the later 

 pieces, during Chienlung's reign (1736 to 1705), had the mark within 

 a square seal-like border, GMen-lung nien-chih, "Made during the 

 reign of Chienlung," engraved in the foot, and filled with a thick, 

 bright-l)lue enamel glaze. It is said that when specimens of this ware 

 were submitted to the Emperor Yungcheng he expressed his high 

 admiration of their beauty, but at the same time a regret that it should 

 not 1)6 possible to obtain the same brilliant transparency of color upon 

 the ground of greater purity which was afforded by the best porcelain 

 as compared with the vitreous composition employed. T'angying's 

 energies were immediately devoted toward fulfilling the Emperor's 

 desire, his efforts being certainly crowned with a very large measure 

 of success. He appears to have employed for his purpose a very pure 

 glaze of a highly vitrifiable nature, and to have thereby obtained an 

 enamel brilliancy that no other porcelain shows, and to have also 

 secured to a considerable extent the same soft transparency in the 

 decorative colors which was so much appreciated on Ku Yiieh-hsiian's 

 vitreous ware. The manufacture of this porcelain appears to have been 

 carried on simultaneously with that of the Ku Yiieh-hsiian proper, 

 some dating from Yungcheng's reign and some from Chieidung's. 

 The marks it l>ears correspond exactly with the later products of vit- 

 reous composition, and, indeed, owing to its origin, it is known as 

 fang-Ji-H-yueh-hsikm, "modeled on the pattern of the Ku Yileh-hsiiau." 

 Specimens of this porcelain, which is quite rare, are held in very high 

 esteem by the Chinese, alike for the purity of the paste, the brilliance 

 of the glaze, and the beauty of the decoration, and are considered 

 among the finest productions of the period during which the manufac- 

 ture attained its highest excellence. Nos. 328 to 336 are good speci- 

 mens, and afford a fair criterion of the merits of this porcelain. 



The three-quarters of a century above mentioned (165)8 to 1773) was 

 marked by the production of articles which are masterpieces of Chinese 



