64 CHINESE IDEAS OF ANTIQUES 



The very best specimens of this land of ware are as 

 follows : — 



The hornless dragon-ear urn 41 % 



The milk-bag urn ?l IS 



The fish-ear urn & ^P 



The press classic urns M $5 



The next in quality are the Three periods Nine fillet cats 

 food basins (3 7C X ?& %m M S) . The doves food cups (til M &) 

 The kidney shaped well-mouthed basins {M ^ 5% ft tt 3$) 

 The articles of a third class quality are as follows : — 



Plain-eared, flower-edged, lute-shaped urns (M ^ 



Horse manger shaped urns (® if ft&) 

 " Law lamp " pattern urns (*£ H 5$) 



The poorest quality wares are somewhat as follows: — 

 The elephant trunk (H M-) bamboo joint (4fr Iff) 



Halbert ears (3$ 5) Dragon fly ears (SI %) shaped urns. 

 ' There is still another specimen of Siien Teh wares 

 which is worthy of some notice, and that is an urn with 

 protuberant engravings of the dragon and the phoenix bird. 

 The copper is of superior quality, and its rich colour is 

 manifest in all its parts. It is known as a palace urn (§ jjft) 

 because they were used by the government of that period. 



The ears are of two kinds. One variety had the ears 

 fixed after leaving the moulder's hands, the other variety 

 had the ears moulded and fired in one piece. The latter 

 variety is of course the most highly prized and of the 

 greatest value. The large urns generally have small 

 character inscriptions, while the smaller wares have large 

 character inscriptions. These details may seem of small 

 importance, but they become vital when attempting to 

 classify the wares belonging to different periods, which are 

 of great diversity in shape and model, as well as possessing 

 many points of similarity. Although the palace urn has 

 no special intrinsic quality to recommend it, its rarity 

 makes it a highly esteemed and much coveted article. 



The Ching T'ai (jp; Sj and Ch'eng Hua (Zffi it) reigns also 

 saw the manufacture of urns, wine cups, and other copper 

 utensils. The urns were adorned with "lion's " ears, with 

 plates of red and gold so arranged as to create forms 

 resembling clouds and birds. The ground work was per- 

 fectly plain, and only marked with the inscription of the 

 reign and date of production. This inscription was en- 

 graven into the metal by some chemical preparation, and 

 is often hidden in the body of the metal and passes unnoticed 

 by the superficial or uninitiated observer. The Ch'eng Hua 



