TOY DOGS IN CHINESE ART 



master, and will be allowed only one-tenth of the charac- 

 teristics of the actual subject. 



It must be mentioned that modern Chinese artists and 

 picture dealers are the most inveterate imitators, counter- 

 feiters and forgers in the world. The western collector 

 usually falls an easy prey to their deceptions, which can only 

 be guarded against by the closest of specialized study. Some 

 years ago Frau Olga Wegener collected several pictures of 

 the famous local breed of dogs in Peking. The Wegener 

 collection was exhibited in Germany, and a small, but very 

 inaccurate catalogue issued. The collection was acquired in 

 part by the British Museum, and, in consequence of this, too 

 much reliance has been placed upon the statements of the 

 collector regarding the authorship and dates of the pictures. 

 As regards other collections, it appears more than possible 

 that the Sung Dynasty (thirteenth century) " Pomeranian 

 Type of Dog," * by Mao I in the Fukuota Collection at 

 Tokyo, is genuine. No authentic painting of Pekingese dogs 

 older than the eighteenth century is known to exist outside 

 the palace in Peking. The Wegener pictures, ascribed to 

 Shen Chen Lin and said to date from 1700, are obvious 

 counterfeits of recent date, for there has been only one well- 

 known Chinese painter of this name, and his pupils now 

 living in Peking testify to the fact that he died only thirteen 

 years ago. Chinese pictorial art has been almost dead for 

 two hundred years, and to this fact must be ascribed the 

 paucity of Chinese animal paintings showing individuality 

 and artistic merit. The Chinese pictures are, for the most 

 part, not portraits of individuals, but they more nearly 

 represent the artist's idea of type. 



The eunuchs of the palace endeavoured to obtain type 

 pictures to which they might refer in the effort to improve 



* " Toy Dogs and their Ancestors," p. 284. 



180 



