740 The Dog Book 



length or formation of the legs. The date of this piece is given as the Ming 

 dynasty, 1 368-1 644. Possibly a more definite date may be forthcoming 

 when we are better acquainted with the progress of Chinese art, but that is as 

 near as the authorities care to say at present. In the same Bishop collection 

 will be found another dog and puppy (No. 557) also misnamed "lions." 

 This is a thinner piece of crystal and is not so good a carving as the other, it 

 is also much later, the assigned period being 1 736-1 795. In one of the 

 centre table cases will be found a carved ivory girdle appendage (No. 338) 

 showing a dog with a massive head and tail over its back. 



The Morgan collection is all porcelain or earthernware, on the former 

 of which the best illustrations of Pekinese dogs are to be found. In cases 

 16 and 18 there are a number of beautifully painted plates and as there are 

 more than one of some of the patterns they must have been made in sets. 

 In case 16 there are two plates showing a dark fawn dog with plenty of coat. 

 In case 18 there are four plates, all drawn to pattern and each showing a 

 Pekinese, lion or biscuit colour, the shade varying as is bound to be the 

 case in china painting when the firing gives the tone of colour. All four 

 dogs have identically placed irregular blotches of colour on the body, but 

 while two are black blotched the other two are white. There is an inclina- 

 tion to a peaked muzzle in two of them but in one of the others the muzzle 

 is short and blunt and they leave no chance for dispute as to what they are. 

 in fact the catalogue names them sleeve dogs. These plates are placed in 

 the 1 736- 1 795 period. These are the only dogs shown on porcelain that 

 are positively Pekinese but we might as well mention another small dog, a 

 red toy, smaller than the Pekinese apparently, very clean in the neck and 

 foxy faced with a very gay carriage of tail which is plumed, but not heavily. 

 One of these dogs is shown on a plate in case 20 playing with a slipper which 

 has fallen from the foot of a lady reclining on a couch. In case 40 two of 

 these dogs are shown frolicking with each other. There is also a teapot in 

 this case the figures on which must have been copied from some drawing or 

 painting brought from Europe as the man, woman and child are all in 

 European costume and in front of them is a larger red dog which if it was 

 a German drawing we should put down as a dachshund. All these pieces 

 are of the 1736-95 period. 



The earthenware figures which approach the dog shape are in cases 

 23 and 24 and are all stated to be lions. Many of them were so placed as 

 not to be properly seen but many which can be seen are Pekinese or at least 



