28 
House & Garden 
THE DELICATE BEAUTY 
OF CHINESE PORCELAINS 
GARDNER TEALL 
Although the modern reproductions of the old Chinese por¬ 
celains cannot compare in every detail to the originals, they 
are sufficiently faithful to satisfy the most fastidious 
decorator. The originals of the illustrations shown here 
are in the Altman Collection of the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art. The names of shops selling originals and repro¬ 
ductions will be furnished on application to The Informa¬ 
tion Service, 445 Fourth Avenue, New York City 
With countenance of glazed 
hauteur and shining parti¬ 
colored garments—the god¬ 
dess Kuan Yin. Ming 
Period, in porcelain 
Proclaimed of the “rose 
family” hy its dominant 
raspberry pink, this jar is 
of the Chi’en Lung Period 
N ot to know some¬ 
thing of Chinese por¬ 
celains, their history and 
their periods, is to be de¬ 
nied a pleasurable interest. 
The old porcelains of Chi¬ 
na are the ancestors of all 
the china wares of the 
world, and never have the 
finest antique fabriques of 
the Celestial Kingdom been 
surpassed or even equaled 
in beauty and texture. 
The potter’s craft, as we 
all know, had its origin in 
the dim ages of the past. 
Even the discovery of true 
porcelain must be dated so 
far back that we have no 
authentic record of the era 
of its origin. 
The literature of China 
ascribes the invention of true porcelain to 
some twenty-five hundred years before 
Christ, but we cannot be certain that the 
art of porcelain-making was known and 
practiced until, perhaps, after the 7th Cen¬ 
tury. While Chinese literature of the early 
periods abounds in references to porcelain, 
we have not a single authentic dated piece 
of the very early dynasties. It seems plau¬ 
Characteristically G hi- 
nese in conception is 
this misty peachbloom 
vase, until pale shiny 
glaze. It is a product of 
the K'ang Hsi Period 
A temple jar of the K’ang 
Hsi Period shows the so- 
called “Hawthorn” motif, 
white blossoms on blue 
sible to advance the theory 
that true porcelain was an 
invention or discovery of the 
Han Dynasty (206 B. C.). 
Okakura, an eminent Jap¬ 
anese connoisseur and au¬ 
thority, has suggested that 
to the alchemists of the Han 
Dynasty came accidentally 
the discovery of the won¬ 
derful porcelain-glaze. 
The literature by Chi¬ 
nese authors of the T’ang 
Dynasty is rich in refer¬ 
ences to porcelain. The 
poet Tu (803-852), for in¬ 
stance, says: 
"The porcelain of the Ta-yi 
kilns is light yet strong. 
It rings, with a low jade note 
and is famed throughout the 
city. 
The fine white bowls surpass hoar frost and snow.” 
The white bowls of Hsing-chou in Chihili 
and the blue bowls of Yuen-chou in Cheh- 
kiang were highly esteemed and celebrated 
in song and story. 
The Arabs and Chinese were conducting 
a flourishing trade during the 8th and 9th 
Centuries. To Soleyman, one of the early 
Arabian traders who wrote an account of 
his journeyings, we owe the first mention 
An apple green crackle 
vase—but this may 
mean the color of suc¬ 
culent young leaves, 
pale emeralds, delicate 
jades. K’ang Hsi Period 
Paler than the lapis lazuli some of the Haw¬ 
thorn jars display, these blues have a soft love¬ 
liness and graceful formality. K’ang Hsi Period 
On a background of polished 
black — vivid green, white, yel¬ 
low and grey. K’ang Hsi Period 
Covered jars of the Yung Ching Period, the sur¬ 
face of each a springtime tapestry woven in 
brave colors on a background of tender green 
