Chap. V. ANCIENT ENAMELS — BEONZES. 



87 



tlie article I wished to purchase. It was with 

 some difficulty I got him to produce it again, and 

 eventually I procured it for a much less sum than 

 I could have done in Canton. 



Ancient Porcelain Vessel. 



Within the last few years the attention of col- 

 lectors in this country has been drawn to the 

 ancient enamels of China. Many fine specimens 

 were seen in the Great Exhibition of the Works 

 of Art of all Nations in Hyde Park, and since that 

 time a number of specimens have found their way 

 into Europe. The specimens to which I allude 

 have the enamel on copper, beautifully coloured 

 and enlivened with figures of flowers, birds, and 

 other animals. The colouring is certainly most 

 chaste and effective, and well worth the attention 

 of artists in this country. According to the testi- 

 mony of the Chinese, this manufacture is of a very 

 early period ; no good specimens have been made 

 for the last six or eight hundred years. 



In the province of Fokien I met with some 

 ancient bronzes, beautifully inlaid with white metal 

 or silver. These were rarely seen in any other 

 part of China. The lines of metal are small and 

 delicate, and are made to represent flowers, trees, 



