only upon the Europeans, but upon their own countrymen, many of whom are
great amateurs, and are willing to pay extravagant prices for ancient
examples of porcelain, especially if made by a celebrated potter.
JAPAN
The information concerning the origin of making porcelain in Japan is
very scanty. Dr. Hoffmann of Leyden published a history of the principal
porcelain manufactories in 1799, which is appended to M. Stanislas
Julien's account of those of China: it was a translation from a Japanese
work. He says it was to a colony of Koræans established in the province
of Omi, in the island of Nippon, in the year 27 B.C., that the
introduction of this art was attributed. About the same epoch there
lived in the province of Idsumi, situated like that of Omi in the island
of Nippon, a man named _Nomino Sukuné_, who made, in pottery and
porcelain, vases and notably figures of the size of life, to substitute
for slaves, which it had been previously the custom to bury with their
masters. _Nomino_ received as a recompense authorisation to take the
name of _Fazi_, in the Koræan language _Patzi_, artist-workman.
Under _Sei-wa_ (859-876 A.D.) the number of fabriques increased
considerably.
Under _Syun-tok_ (1211-1221), a Japanese potter named _Katosiro-uye-mon_
commenced the making of small vases in which to preserve tea, but for
want of a better process he placed them in the kiln on their orifices,
which consequently appeared as if they had been used, and the vases were
little cared for. Desirous of improving himself in the art, _Katosiro_,
accompanied by a Bonze or Buddhist monk, visited China in 1211, with
orders from his Government to make himself acquainted with all the
secret processes of the manufacture, which was at that time brought to
so great perfection there.
[Illustration: FIG. 334.--PORCELAIN VASE. _Hizen ware. About 1690._]
[Illustration: FIG. 335.--FUKUROKUJI. _The god of longevity._]
On his return, he made such important improvements in the composition
and decoration of porcelain that henceforth it became superior in many
instances to the Chinese, especially in the manufacture of the best
specimens, upon which much time and labour were bestowed. The porcelain
of Japan is very much like that of China, but the colours are more
brilliant on the fine pieces; it has a better finish, and the designs
are more of the European character, the flowers, birds, &c., being
more natural, and the ky-lins, dragons, and other monsters less hideous;
the paste is of better quality and a purer white, especially in ware of
the 17th and 18th centuries.
[Illustration: FIG. 336.--SAKÉ CUP AND STAND. _Porcelain gold ornament
on red ground._]
[Illustration: FIG. 337.--STONEWARE JAR. _Ôto ware._]
[Illustration: FIG. 338.--PORCELAIN VASE. _Kishin ware._]
[Illustration: FIG. 339.--CANDLESTICK. _Tozan porcelain. Painted in
blue._]
Perhaps the most beautiful of all the porcelain made in Japan is the
_egg shell_, so called because it is extremely thin and translucent, yet
so compact that it can be formed into large vases, as well as plates and
bowls or cups.
The small cups without saucers, which are usually placed upon
_présentoirs_ of lac, are seldom painted on the exterior; but within is
frequently found a fillet of gold, and slight sketches in blue or gold
indicating the outline of a mountain, the sun, clouds, and a line of
birds taking flight, or sometimes animals, all in outline. On other
pieces are birds, flowers, and animals delicately painted in colours.
[Illustration: FIG. 340.--FLASK. _Satsuma ware._]
The art has been continued to the present day; those beautiful and
extremely delicate cups and saucers, thin as paper, are frequently seen
covered on the outside with a casing of bamboo threads woven together;
the larger basins and covers are also made of equally thin porcelain.
All these are produced now, as they were in ancient times, at Imari, in
the province of Hizen. It is not in the village itself that these
manufactories are established, but as many as twenty-four or
twenty-five are situated near the mountain of _Idsumi-yama_, whence the
kaolin is obtained of which the vessels are made.
Crackle china was made in Japan as well as in China from a very early
period, and was frequently painted with flowers, landscapes, and birds.
[Illustration: FIG. 341.--INCENSE-BURNER. _Imari porcelain. 18th
century._]
According to the late Sir Augustus W. Franks, K.C.B., "the ceramic wares
of Japan exhibit great differences in their composition, texture, and
appearance, but may be roughly classed under three principal heads: (1)
common pottery and stoneware, generally ornamented simply by scoring
and glazing the surface; (2) a cream-coloured _faïence_, with a glaze,
often crackled and delicately painted in colours; (3) hard porcelain.
"To the first of these classes belong the wares of Bizen, old Seto,
Shigaraki, and other small fabrics, including the Raku wares. The
principal factories of the second class are Awata, Satsuma, and the
recent imitations of the latter at Ôta and elsewhere. Among the
porcelain, the coarsest is that made at Kutani, but the most celebrated
fabrics are in the province of Hizen, at Seto in Owari, and Kiyomidzu
near Kiôto."
PERSIA, SYRIA, AND TURKEY
PERSIA
Siliceous-glazed wares were produced in Persia at a very early period,
and the late Mr. C. Drury E. Fortnum, in his _Historical Treatise on
Majolica_, states that the decoration by means of metallic lustre was
practised in that country in the course of the thirteenth century, if
not long before. Glass-glazed bricks, tiles, and other wares, were made
in Babylon at a remote period, as well as in Assyria and Egypt; and it
is probable that the art of their manufacture spread into the
surrounding countries.
The Persian ware is principally decorated with blue and black. The
lustres are a rich orange gold, a dark copper colour, and a brass
lustre. The patterns upon the tiles and vases are similar, and consist
of elegant arabesques, foliage, and ornamented flowers, more or less in
imitation of nature. Among these we notice the tulip, the Indian pink,
the rose, and other flowers. The tulip in Persia is the emblem of
Affection, which is thus symbolised at the present day. The bowls and
vases are sometimes ornamented with fabulous birds, gazelles, antelopes,
hares, &c., mixed with scrolls and foliage. The forms include
hemispherical and cylindrical cups, vases, and bowls on conical feet;
common forms are a bottle with a very long neck, probably used to hold
wine, and ewers and basins, the former like a bottle with handle and
long spout, used especially for ablutions, the latter with a pierced
cover. The tiles being mostly made to cover walls, form continuous
arabesques when placed side by side. Chardin says of them, "In truth,
nothing can be seen more lively or more brilliant than this sort of
work, nor of equally fine design."
[Illustration: FIG. 342.--WALL TILE. _Glazed earthenware. 13th
century._]
The Persian fayence was probably the same as the Gombroon ware, which
was shipped by the English East India Company from a port of that name
in the Persian Gulf, where they formed their first establishment about
the year 1600, and whence the great bulk of Chinese porcelain was
exported.
[Illustration: FIG. 343.--WATER-BOTTLE. _With metallic lustre. 15th or
16th century._]
It has long been a _vexata quæstio_ whether porcelain was ever made in
Persia; some say the idea is altogether chimerical, but M. Jacquemart
endeavours to prove that both hard and soft porcelain were made at Iran,
and has devoted three or four long chapters to the support of his theory
(_Les Merveilles de la Céramique_).
[Illustration: FIG. 344.--DISH FOR RICE.]
The nearest approach to porcelain in Persian ware is a sort of siliceous
frit or fine stoneware, which possesses a very slight degree of
translucency but is not true porcelain composed of kaolin and petuntse
like Chinese porcelain. Small creamy white basins, with the sides
pierced with slashes and filled with translucent glazes, are
semi-translucent and have the appearance of porcelain.
[Illustration: FIG. 345.--ROSE-WATER SPRINKLER.]
[Illustration: FIG. 346.--ROSE-WATER SPRINKLER.]
SYRIA AND TURKEY
Dr. Fortnum was of opinion that what is generally known as DAMASCUS ware
was probably made not only in that city but at Constantinople, Broussa,
and all the principal sites of manufacturing industry throughout Syria
and Asia Minor. It is distinguished by the great brilliancy of its
enamel colours, the principal of which are a deep lapis-lazuli blue,
turquoise, a vivid emerald green, a brilliant red purple, orange or
buff, olive green and black. The pieces consist principally of circular
dishes, jugs with long cylindrical necks and globular bodies, flasks,
&c., and the best specimens were probably produced during the first half
of the 16th century.
[Illustration: FIG. 347.--DAMASCUS PLATE. _Painted in colours._]
Remains of potteries are stated to have been found at Lindus on the
Island of Rhodes, and at one period all the ware of Asia Minor was
attributed to those works and was called Rhodian. The pottery actually
manufactured there appears, however, to have been of a somewhat coarser
character than that made at Damascus and elsewhere. Richly painted
tiles with diapering and conventional floral patterns under a vitreous
glaze were used largely for the decoration of palaces, mosques, and
tombs throughout Asia Minor and Syria; these tiles are also to be found
at Constantinople.
[Illustration: FIG. 348.--DAMASCUS DISH.]
[Illustration: FIG. 349.--RHODIAN PLATE.]
INDEX
_Adams, William_, 234
Alcora, 47, 129
Amstel, Oude, 173
Amsterdam, 105, 172
Anspach, 143
Aprey, 74
Apt, 53
Armentières, 74
Arnstadt, 98
Arras, 193
Asia Minor, 310
_Astbury_, 228
Avignon, 54
Baden-Baden, 156
Baranowka, 182
Bassano, 35
Bayreuth, 87, 144
Beauvais, 53
Berlin, 135
Blois, 54
Boissette, 200
_Booth, Enoch_, 234
Boulogne-sur-Mer, 194
Bourg-la-Reine, 80, 196
Bow, 274
Bradwell, 230
Bristol, 251, 269
Broussa, 310
Brussels, 177
Buen Retiro, 127
Bunzlau, 95
Burslem, 220
Burton-on-Trent, 264
Cadborough, 252
Caen, 201
Cafaggiolo, 19
Capo di Monte, 114
Castel Durante, 10
Castelli, 27
Castleford, 246
Caughley, 270
_Chaffers, Richard_, 240
Chantilly, 189
Château-la-Lune, 74
Chelsea, 279
China, 285
Città di Castello, 37
Clignancourt, 197
Closter Veilsdorf, 146
Coalport, 241, 271
Cobridge, 234
Colebrook Dale, 272
Cologne (Köln), 88
Constantinople, 312
Copenhagen, 185
Creil, 80
Damascus, 310
_Davenport, Messrs._, 235
Delft, 100
Derby, 260
Diruta, 15
Doccia, 113
Don Pottery, 245
Douai, 78
Dresden, 96, 130
_Dwight, John_, 241
_Elers, John Philip_, 230
Étiolles, 195
Etruria, 221
Faenza, 12
Faïence d'Oiron, 50
Fenton, 234
Ferrara, 34
Florence, 26, 112
Fontainebleau, 207
Forlì, 17
Frankenthal, 98, 139
Frechen, 89
Fulda, 148
Fulham, 241
Fürstenberg, 149
Genoa, 35
Gera, 155
Gotha, 158
Great Yarmouth, 250
Grenzhausen, 92
Grossbreitenbach, 153
Gubbio, 6
Hagenau, 63
Hague, The, 174
Hanley, 231
Harburg, 95
Henri Deux ware, 50
Herend, 166
Hispano-Moresque ware, 41
Höchst, 96, 138
_Hollins, Samuel_, 229
Infreville, 74
Jackfield, 240
Japan, 295
Kelsterbach, 144
Kiel, 99
Kloster Veilsdorf, 146
Korzec, 182
Kreussen, 94
La Fratta, 39
Lambeth, 243
Lane Delph, 236
Lane End, 235
Lauenstein, 89, 96
Leeds, 245
Leipzig, 86
Lille, 81, 195
Limbach, 155
Limburg, 89
Liverpool, 237
Longton Hall, 274
Longport, 235
Loosdrecht, Oude, 171
Loreto, 37
Lowesby, 251
Lowestoft, 265
Ludwigsburg, 151
Lunéville, 72, 198
Luxemburg, 106, 177
Madrid, 127
Majorca, 42
Malaga, 42
Malicorne, 74
Manerbe, 74
Manises, 46
Marieberg, 109, 184
Marseilles, 69, 202
_Mason, Miles_, 236
_Mayer, Elijah_, 232
Meissen, 130
Mennecy-Villeroy, 191
Milan, 31
_Minton, Herbert_, 236, 273
_Minton, Thomas_, 236
Monte Lupo, 30
Montereau, 81
Moscow, 180
Moustiers, 65
Murano, 25
Nantgarw, 283
Naples, 30, 114
_Neale_, 233
Neudeck, 141
Nevers, 56
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 248
New Hall China Works, 230
Niderviller, 76, 198
Nottingham, 249
Nove, 25, 122
Nuremberg (Nürnberg), 84
Nymphenburg, 141
Nyon, 168
Oberdorf, 87
Oiron, Faïence d', 50
Orleans, 198
Overtoom, 106
Oude Amstel, 173
Oude Loosdrecht, 171
Padua, 26
_Palissy, Bernard_, 55
_Palmer_, 233
Paris, 203
" Belleville, 207
" Faubourg St. Honoré, 205
" Pont-aux-Choux, 206
" Rue de Bondy, 204
" Rue de Crussol, 207
" Rue Fontaine au Roi, 205
" Rue du Faubourg St. Denis, 208
" Rue Thiroux, 203
Pavia, 39
Persia, 304
Pesaro, 8
Pinxton, 264
Pisa, 23
Plymouth, 266
Raeren, 89
Ratisbon, 153
Rauenstein, 158
Ravenna, 18
Regensburg, 153
Rhodes, Island of, 310
Rimini, 18
Rockingham, 247, 260
Rörstrand, 107
Rouen, 59, 190
Rudolstadt, 147
St. Anthony's, 248
St. Armand-les-Eaux, 79, 202
St. Clément, 76
St. Cloud, 187
St. Petersburg, 107, 179
St. Porchaire, 50
Salopian, 270
Sarreguemines (Saargemünd), 78
Savona, 36
Sceaux Penthièvre, 79, 192
Scherzheim, 96
Schlaggenwald, 166
Sèvres, 209
Sgraffiato, 37
_Shawe, Ralph_, 227
Shelton, 228
Siegburg, 89
Siena, 20
Sinceny, 70
_Spode, Josiah_, 272
Staffordshire, 217
_Steel, Moses_, 228
Stockholm, 109
Stoke-on-Trent, 236, 272
Strassburg, 63, 202
Strehla, 87
Swansea, 253, 282
Swinton, 247, 258
Syria, 310
Talavera, 48
Teinitz, 98
Thuringia, 145
_Toft, Ralph_, 219
_Toft, Thomas_, 219
Toulouse, 76
Tournai, 175
Treviso, 18, 117
Triana, 46
Tunstall, 234
Turkey, 310
Turin, 33, 118
_Turner, John_, 235
Urbino, 1
Utrecht, 105
Valencia, 44
Valenciennes, 201
Varages, 68
Venice, 24, 119
Vienna, 160
Vincennes, 78, 208, 209
Vineuf, 118
Vinovo, 118
Viterbo, 18
Volkstedt, 146
_Voyez, J._, 233
Wallendorf, 158
_Warburton, J._, 234
Wedgwood, 220
Weesp, 170
_Whieldon, Thomas_, 234
Wirksworth, 264
_Wood, Aaron_, 227
_Wood, Enoch_, 228
_Wood, Ralph_, 227
Worcester, 255
Yarmouth, Great, 250
Yearsley, 244
York, 245
Zürich, 168
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London
Footnotes:
[1] As Strassburg and Hagenau belonged to France at this period, they
are included in the French section.
[2] Now Niederweiler, in Germany.
[3] Now Saargemünd, belonging to Germany.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
Superscripted letters are shown in {superscript}.
Punctuation has been corrected without note.
The misprint "propuctions" has been corrected to "productions" (page 132).
The original text contains two images that could not be reproduced in this
text version. An eight-pointed star has been replaced with [star] and a
Maltese Cross has been replaced with [cross].