CHINESE IDEAS OF ANTIQUES 63 



new article comes into existence, and is called a Kai Ch'iu 

 Tse (Bfc fft -?-) " altered and adopted," This work needs con- 

 siderable ingenuity and is reckoned to be of a supernatural 

 character. The principles on which the Suen Teh (j§£ ^) 

 copper wares were produced are very difficult to understand. 

 The work of manufacture and rubbing must have been done 

 by clever and well trained workmen. This is demonstrated 

 by the large number of small and even tiny articles produced 

 "by them. Pertaining to this class the following are worthy 

 of mention. The hundred layer sacrificed urns (1? ^f l& fit). 

 These articles are bespattered with spots of gold resembling 

 -spots of rain or flakes of snow. The crescent ear sacrificial 

 urns ($$ J£ £H fit). Those with legs made of the hance tree 

 ■(Iff 18 &) are the most valuable specimens. The small round 

 urns or tripods are as follows : 



Urns, Siang T'eo Keh Lu II flg it. 



Plates, Wu Kong Yang Sz Yao Soh X ft £ ft R & & 



Boxes, Ts'an Kin Shung Ch'i Shih Kia £&IEJRflfi%f ft. 



Vases, Shi P'ing P'an Ch'i Chen Chi fi ft If M M tf . 



These are all of very fine quality. The largest speci- 

 mens are the urns with perpendicular corners and adorned 

 with the figures of some animal while the ears and handles 

 ;are square. 



The Shang Ts'ong (M %, H) cup is elegant and much 

 -coveted, because the rubbing is both ancient and artistic. 

 On the bottom an oblong tablet was fixed, on which was 

 inscribed before being fired, the following inscription. 

 " Made in the Ming dynasty and in the reign of Suen Teh " 

 {^C W jIl $& *£). This writing was clear, the penmanship ex- 

 cellent, and the size proportionate. The centre of the 

 character was glazed, and the wax colouring was all that 

 could be desired to please the eye. 



The following articles belonging to the Suen Teh period 

 are reckoned to be of secondary value. The P'an Kwan Erh 

 (W *% 5) the Ki T'ui Choh (it H J£) urns. Flower vases 

 with moveable handles, and six groves in which are engraven 

 Tibetan characters written in gold (££ & ff ^ & M). The 

 square body and straight legged urn (R9 Jj (ft ftp fit). The 

 round shaped flower vases with moveable handles (H 2g yt M). 

 "The urn with a cash ornamented hole in the. lid to allow the 

 cash to drop through (M H & & M 9f $S fit). The Suen Teh 

 wares are of four colours (1) Coarse pear colour (^ 3SI), 

 {2) Wax tea colour (II 3K), (3) Tibetan classic -colour (HIS), 

 (4) Golden (tl £). 



The models may be classed under two heads, viz., the 

 plain and the flowered varieties. The plain are the most 

 plentiful, while the flowered varieties are rare. 



