KEA-KING, TAOU-KWANG, AND THE LATER EMPERORS
KEA-KING (1796-1821).
When any country is disturbed by internal divisions or by external
invasion, the inhabitants pay less and less devotion to art. The reign
of this king was certainly disturbed. The people suffered from misrule,
and though the traditions of the Chinese potters did still keep up,
in a measure, the high standard of the previous reign, the neglect
of the governing bodies, of the Emperor and Court, took away much of
their devotion to the development of the porcelain so conspicuous
in Keen-lung's reign. The porcelain, however, remained good in the
quality of its paste, and now and then it reached excellence with
regard to the decoration, which became characterised by conventional
designs. Coloured enamels and gold were largely used for ornamentation,
the turquoise blue, "_famille rose_," and a good blue-green were
conspicuous. Mandarin china still continued to be made, though the
modelling was comparatively clumsy and the paste thick, still, however,
having the wavy surface always noticeable in Mandarin china, which was,
as we have said, largely made for the European market. The influence
of Western art made itself felt in the decoration. Many scenes were
painted with European subjects, especially in the small reserves or
vignettes. Some of the finest forms, too, of the early Sèvres and early
Wedgwood and Adams' styles were copied and decorated with festoons
of raised husks with a landscape in a medallion. This wavy porcelain
seems to be specially connected with a comparatively thick blue enamel
and a style of decoration usually called Lowestoft. Of course it is
not Lowestoft. Lowestoft was a soft paste porcelain imitating early
Bow and Worcester. The porcelain of the Keen-lung period, then, might
be named the porcelain of commerce. European forms of pieces not used
by the Chinese themselves are often found. The process seemed to have
been something like this. The East India Company, all the captains and
officers of the East India Company's ships, when visiting China took
with them orders for services to be decorated with crests or armorial
bearings, with English landscapes, or with sporting or religious
subjects. Blue and white was made in vast quantities owing to the
demand from Europe. It needs but one sentence of description. It was
poor. About this time the Chinese potters copied the Japanese. Imari
ware, with its flowers in conventional forms, various Celadons in blue,
lilac, grey-white on good fine porcelain, are traced to this reign.
Perhaps it was most celebrated for the reproductions of the porcelain
of earlier periods in which both pattern and mark were constantly
recopied.
TAOU-KWANG (1821-1851).
In this period there was a special development of the enamelled rice
bowl, although beautiful vases so decorated with enamel as to cover
the whole surface are not uncommon. The use of two shades of green
produces a very pleasing and comparatively new effect. Unfortunately,
the Chinese potteries, as in the previous reign, seemed to have
devoted much of their time to reproductions. The rice bowls were often
decorated in graviata, graffito, or sgraffito patterns, in which the
enamel was scratched with a point into a variety of twists and turns,
forming beautiful variations from the ordinary plain enamel surface.
This surface was also painted with flowers and figures. The process
seems to have been first adopted by Keen-lung, and many pieces have
the Keen-lung mark. In a set of four very fine examples which came
under our notice three had the Keen-lung mark, and the fourth that
of Taou-kwang. In all probability the majority of them were made in
the later reign and the earlier mark was copied. The copying during
this reign included all the older forms from the Kang-he period, and
it excelled in reproducing the "_famille verte_" and the "_famille
rose_." Perhaps the Yung-ching green enamel received the most special
attention, for the outline of the design is often found first painted
in blue under the glaze, so that the blue shows through the transparent
surface enamels and gives a bluish tint to the decoration generally,
which was quite the effect produced by a similar decoration in
Yung-ching's reign.
To the same class of rice bowls belong the pierced porcelains with
patterns filled with glaze. Here the rice pattern is cut through the
paste while the paste was soft. Then as usual the blue decoration was
applied painted on by hand, and certain parts received a coating of
white enamel before the whole was carefully glazed. The skilful glazing
is shown by the evenness with which the pattern, in glaze, matches
the general surface of the piece itself. The rice or star pattern is
the most common of all these pierced porcelains. Some specimens have,
however, a diaper pattern, and more rarely a dragon design with flowers
and leaves, so cut that portions only are filled with glaze, which
gives a very unusual and striking effect. These pierced specimens are
not supposed to be earlier than the eighteenth century, and of course
they may be very much later.
HEEN-FUNG (1851-1862).
Very little porcelain was made during this reign, owing to the Tai-ping
rebellion, during which King-te-chin was destroyed. The first Chinese
war with England took place in 1860. The rebellion ended in the next
reign.
TUNG-CHE (1862-1875).
With peace after the wars the manufacture of porcelain was resumed.
Generally, the best pieces were copied from the antique, though a pale
turquoise ground with decoration of flowers and butterflies was made
for exportation. Sepia drawings showed some distinction, but there was
no new departure of importance. This period is modern, and these later
Emperors are only mentioned in order to bring the history up to date,
and to call attention to the marks both on ordinary and seal character.
KWANG-SHIU (1875- ).
In the present reign much more importance has been given to the
improvement of porcelain, which is largely made for export, high prices
being obtained for imitations which are sold as antiques. The largest
customer is the United States of America. The intense conservatism of
the Chinese has been largely broken down by the influence of outside
pressure. The almighty dollar holds the field. Yet, if it is still true
that "for ways that are dark and tricks that are vain," "the heathen
Chinee" is "peculiar," he holds no monopoly of such qualities. Western
civilisation runs him close. On the other hand, the honour of a Chinese
in trade is generally of a high standard, and the people have a natural
instinct for artistic decoration, which has come to them as the legacy
of ages past. And with this power they have, too, an unlimited supply
of the very finest kaolin. Let us hope that happier times will bring
back the glories of the past.
XIII
CHINESE
WHITE
PORCELAIN