DATE MARKS ON ORIENTAL PORCELAIN
There was no regular method employed in either China or Japan for
indicating either the time or place at which the porcelain was made.
Neither was there any mark by which the workman or artist could
be identified. Where marks are used they indicate the period in a
dynasty; still it must be constantly borne in mind that the old marks
were continually copied in reproductions of a later period made by
the Chinese themselves, and other reproductions produced with much
fidelity in Paris and elsewhere. So that the collector has to be
very careful, especially in buying fine specimens. There seems to be
scarcely nothing worth copying that has not received full attention
at the hands of the forger. Of course, when these copies are simply
offered as reproductions of old pieces, the purchaser, even if he pays
a large price, has not much to complain of, but the trouble arises when
they are foisted on the public as genuine. The work is so cleverly
done, the imitation is so accurate that only the specialist is able to
detect the fraud. The texture of the porcelain is closely imitated,
and every care is taken to reproduce the scratches and even the dirt.
More than that, old pieces that have been damaged are restored so as
to appear perfectly genuine throughout, whilst real old pieces, that
were originally plain, have been enamelled with the finest "_famille
verte_" or "_famille rose_" decoration so as to deceive all but the
most skilful expert. Such a case occurred within the author's own
experience. An old dish, early Keen-lung, was so decorated with
the finest rose decoration, and only the most careful examination
revealed the fact that both decoration and glaze had been applied in
comparatively recent times--in fact, within a very few years. The owner
was indignant when he was informed of this. However, he afterwards came
back with the information that he had sold the dish for £20, but he
forgot that if the dish had been really old it would have been worth
not £20 but £120! Too much dependence, therefore, must not be placed
upon the marks or upon the decoration; it is upon the education of
the eye, the _tout ensemble_, really upon the merits of the specimens
themselves, that dealers and collectors must rely. No training is as
good as the handling of fine old pieces, in which the grain of the
porcelain, the colours of both the porcelain and the decoration can be
studied, and the knowledge thus gained becomes the experience which is,
above everything else, the necessary equipment to any one who collects
old china.
The Chinese write in characters, each represents a word, and the
commencement is made from the top of the right-hand side. The columns
are read downwards, but when the characters are in a line they are
read from right to left. The marks may be in the _seal_ characters, in
_plain_ characters as employed in books, or in _grass-text_ as used
for rapid writing; but all are read in the same way, though the last
are very difficult to read. As there are many variations in English
handwriting, so the Chinese characters will be found to vary, yet
the word would be the same. It is in the forgeries that we noted the
most slavish attention to accuracy and the most infinite pains taken
to reproduce the old marks given in the books. The marks themselves
are either painted on the bases, usually in blue, though on some late
pieces it is found in red, or they may be engraved or embossed. The
Chinese have no centuries for measuring time, they use instead a cycle
of sixty years, and the precise date as indicated by the cycle is so
seldom used on porcelain that it may be disregarded, as only four or
five examples of the cyclical dates have ever been found. The marks on
porcelain indicate only the reign of the emperor, who when he comes
to the throne adopts two words as his title or _Nien-hao_. Before
the coming of the Ming dynasty, in 1368, these titles were changed
in order to commemorate any striking event, but since then only one
Emperor, who lost his throne in 1450 and regained it after seven years,
has changed his _Nien-hao_, and only one Emperor, Kang-he, reigned a
whole sixty years, and a cyclical date may have been used when the
thirty-eighth year of the sixty-eighth cycle recurred. See Mark 1
in date marks. The _Nien-hao_ was the honorific designation of the
Emperor; Taou-kwang (1821-1851) was "reason's lustre," and Kwang-hsiu
(1875) means "inherited lustre." Following the seal marks, which are
read in the same way, note that the list gives a number of marks having
six characters. Reading these it will be noted that the one in the top
right hand and the next one below it, marked (1) and (2), are always
the same for the same dynasty--"Ta Ming" or "Ta Tsing" show the "great
Ming" or "great Tsing" dynasty. The bottom sign of the first column (3)
and the top sign of the second column (4) give the Emperor's title or
_Nien-hao_, whilst the two remaining signify in descending order "year"
or "period" (5), "made" (6). In six-mark characters, arranged in two
lines, the reading is similar, as marked by the figures (1), (2), &c.
In four-mark character the signs for the dynasty--that is, "Ta Ming"
or "Ta Tsing"--are left out, and the first two marks show the period.
As before remarked, the forgeries and imitations have been so numerous
that the date marks cannot be accepted as proof of age. The old blue
porcelain--Nankin ware so called--was marked with six characters until
1677, as mentioned elsewhere. After that we have the double circle in
blue, either empty or having a symbol in the middle.
The Ming productions have not yet received due recognition with regard
to their beauty of shape and decoration, but the two periods which are
most represented by the marks are Seuen-Tih (1426-1436) and Ching-hwa
(1465-1488). In the British Museum are two Celadon bowls with the
Seuen-tih mark, with deep mouldings; to these is affixed on the label
"probably Kang-he." Then, again, immense quantities of china appear
to have been brought to Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, much of which was marked "Ching-hwa." Whether during the
eighteenth century such porcelain could be collected in China for
cargo purposes is a matter of doubt. If not, this is an illustration
of the fact that from an early period the Chinese copied old forms,
decoration, and _marks_.
HONORIFIC MARKS.
The word _tang_ often occurs in inscribed marks, which seem to
indicate a place of origin. In the list given it is marked Tang or
Hall Marks. These marks are found on pieces differing considerably
in character, age, and quality. The general opinion is that the Hall
named is the title of the residence of the Tao-tai, or superintendent
of the porcelain works belonging to the Emperor. Other inscribed marks
simply set out praises of the porcelain itself, stating that it is
"a gem among precious vessels of rare jade," "a gem rare as jade,"
"an elegant rarity," "fine vase for the rich and honourable," and so
on. Some pieces are found with a seal character embodying a wish, as
"happiness," "prosperity," "longevity," and "harmonious prosperity."
See the list of specimen Hall Marks, &c., and two others, last on the
bottom line, praising the porcelain.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
A.D. 1721.
FIG. 2.
YUEN-FUNG. 1078-1086.
FIG. 3.
HUNG-WOO. 1368-1399.
FIG. 4.
YUNG-LO. 1403-1425.
FIG. 5.
SEUEN-TIH. 1426-1436.
FIG. 6.
CHING-HWA. 1465-1488.
FIG. 7.
CHING-HWA. 1465-1488.
FIG. 8.
HUNG-CHE. 1488-1506.
FIG. 9.
CHING-TIH. 1506-1522.
FIG. 10.
KEA-TSING. 1522-1567.
FIG. 11.
LUNG-KING. 1567-1573.
FIG. 12.
WAN-LEIH. 1573-1620.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13.
SHUN-CHE. 1644-1661.
FIG. 14.
KANG-HE. 1661-1722.
FIG. 15.
YUNG-CHING. 1723-1736.
FIG. 16.
KEEN-LUNG. 1736-1795.
FIG. 17.
KEA-KING. 1796-1821.
FIG. 18.
TAOU-KWANG. 1821-1851.
FIG. 19.
HEEN-FUNG. 1851-1862.
FIG. 20.
TUNG-CHE. 1862-1875.
FIG. 21.
KWANG-SHIU. 1875.
FIG. 22.
KING-TE. 1004-1007.
FIG. 23.
YUNG-LO. 1403-1425.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24.
SEUEN-TIH. 1426-1436.
FIG. 25.
YUNG-CHING. 1723-1736.
FIG. 26.
KEEN-LUNG. 1736-1795.
FIG. 27.
KEEN-LUNG. 1736-1795.
FIG. 28.
KEA-KING. 1796-1821.
FIG. 29.
TAOU-KWANG. 1821-1851.
FIG. 30.
HEEN-FUNG. 1851-1862.
FIG. 31.
TUNG-CHE. 1862-1875.]
MARKS.
[Illustration: MING DATE MARKS.
Fig 1
Hung-woo, 1368-1399.
Fig. 2
Yung-lo, 1403-1425.
Fig.3
Seuen-tih, 1426-1436.
Fig.4
Ching-hwa, 1465-1488.
Fig.5
Hung-che, 1488-1506.
Fig.6
Ching-tih, 1506-1522.
Fig.7
Kea-tsing, 1522-1567.
Fig. 8
Lung-king, 1567-1573.
Fig. 9
Wan-leih, 1573-1620.]
[Illustration: TSING DATE MARKS.
Fig. 1
Shun-che, 1644-1661.
Fig. 2
Kang-he, 1661-1722.
Fig. 3
Yung-ching, 1723-1736.
Fig. 4
Keen-lung, 1736-1795.
Fig. 5
Kea-king, 1796-1821.
Fig. 6
Taou-kwang, 1821-1851.
Fig. 7
Heen-fung, 1851-1861.
Fig. 8
Tung-che, 1862-1875.
Fig. 9
Kwang-shiu, 1875.]
[Illustration: DATE MARKS.]
Fig. 1
Shun-che, 1644-1662.
Fig. 2
Kang-he, 1661-1722.
Fig. 3
Yung-ching, 1723-1736.
Fig.4
Keen-lung, 1736-1795.
Fig. 5
Kea-king, 1796-1821.
Fig.6
Taou-kwang, 1821-1851.
Fig. 7
Heen-fung, 1851-1862.
Fig. 8
Tung-che, 1862-1875.
Fig. 9
Kwang-shiu, 1875.]
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| | | |
| "Made at the | "The Luh-i | "Antique made at |
| Tseu-shun Hall," | or waving | the Shun-tih, or |
| of beautiful jade. | bamboo Hall." | cultivation of |
| | | vertue Hall." |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| | | |
| "Made at the | "Made at the | "Made at the |
| Shun-tih, or | Tsai-jun or | I-yew, or |
| cultivation Hall." | brilliant | advantage Hall." |
| | colours Hall. | |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| | | |
| "Made at the | "Made at the | "Made at the |
| Ta-shu, or | Ki-yuh, or | Lin-yuh, or |
| great tree Hall." | rare jade Hall." | abundant |
| | | jade Hall." |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| | | |
| "Imitations of | "A gem among | "A gem among |
| antiques made at | precious vessels, | precious vessels, |
| the King-lien | of rare jade." | of rare stone." |
| Hall." | | |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
XXIV
SYMBOLICAL
MARKS
AND
ORNAMENTS