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THE CERAMIC ART




THE CERAMIC ART

A COMPENDIUM OF

THE HISTORY AND MANUFACTURE
OF
POTTERY AND PORCELAIN

BY JENNIE J. YOUNG

WITH 464 ILLUSTRATIONS

_Argilla quidvis imitaberis uda_

HORACE, EPIST., II., 2, 8

[Illustration]

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS

FRANKLIN SQUARE

1878


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.




PREFACE.


In writing the present volume, the author’s object has been to answer as
tersely and lucidly as possible the more important questions in
connection with the history and manufacture of pottery and porcelain,
and to bring the results of recent research to bear upon some of the
unsolved problems of the “science of ceramics.” The literature of the
subject is formidable in dimensions. Authors have divided the field into
sections, and have in many cases presented learned and exhaustive
special treatises. Notwithstanding the solid learning and critical
acumen reflected in their pages, their form and voluminous character,
however, detracted from their value as books for familiar and speedy
reference, and left the acquirement of a general knowledge of the
ceramic art a matter for wide research and prolonged study on the part
of every reader and collector. The attempt has here been made to
condense the leading points of the subject, to arrange them after a
simple and easily intelligible method, and thus to present in one volume
a comprehensive history. No hesitation has been shown in drawing upon
foreign authors. Many of the later developments of the art have also
been touched upon, and the results of the more recent efforts of artists
and manufacturers have been illustrated and described. In treating of
America, the author has endeavored to convey some idea of its wealth in
materials and of the present condition and tendencies of the industry,
and to do justice to those who have laid the foundation of its claim to
recognition in the world of art.

The author has incurred obligations in many quarters for information and
assistance. Mr. Samuel P. Avery, the Hon. Yoshida Kiyonari, Japanese
Minister at Washington, General Di Cesnola, and the many private
collectors whose cabinets are represented in the following pages, gave
valuable aid both in obtaining illustrations and in other respects. Mr.
Charles Edward Haviland, Mr. Theodore Haviland, and M. Bracquemond
contributed many valuable hints upon technology and the manufacture and
composition of different wares. The dealers of New York, Boston,
Washington, Albany, and other cities took an active interest both in
directing the author to collections and in furnishing specimens for
illustration. Among American manufacturers, Mr. Thomas C. Smith, of
Greenpoint; Mr. James Carr, of New York; Mr. Hugh C. Robertson, of
Chelsea, Massachusetts; and Mr. J. Hart Brewer, of Trenton, are
especially deserving of thanks for helping the author to a true insight
into the past history, present condition, and prospects of the art in
the United States.

In regard to the engravings, while it was, of course, found necessary in
many cases to cull from the rich accumulations of ceramic treasures in
Europe, in order to secure the proper illustration of the work, the
preference has invariably been given to the collections of America. Such
a course recommended itself for obvious reasons. It was thought that it
would, in the first place, gratify those desirous of knowing where, in
this country, the best representatives of the art of certain countries
are to be found; and that, in the second place, it would direct artists
where to study the best styles of decoration. One result of the author’s
investigations in this matter has been the conviction that the American
collector is cosmopolitan in his tastes, and that the American
cabinet--in many instances the American tea-table--represents the amity
of nations. The arts of all countries are found arrayed side by side in
a profusion of which it would have been hard, a few years ago, to find a
trace.

In choosing the pieces to be engraved, a threefold aim has been kept in
view: the elucidation of the text, the representation of the greatest
number of different wares by characteristic examples, and the
introduction of as many beautiful works of art as possible consistently
with the accomplishment of the two previous objects. The requirements of
the student of decorative art have been fully considered, and due weight
has been given to the fact that these requirements can be met better by
the pencil than the pen.

In procuring specimens, the author has acknowledgments to express both
to private collectors and to the curators of public institutions. Among
the latter may be mentioned General Loring, of the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts, and Mr. H. C. Hutchins, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in this
city, both of whom admitted the author to a close inspection of the
collections under their charge, and personally superintended the taking
of sketches and photographs. Similar favors were received from the
trustees and Dr. M‘Leod, of the Corcoran Art Gallery; from Professor
Baird and Mr. Cushing, of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington;
and from the officers of the United States Geological and Geographical
Survey of the Territories. Mr. Edward Bierstadt of New York, and Mr. T.
W. Smillie of Washington, also granted facilities and volunteered
courtesies which proved invaluable.

Casual reference is made in the following pages to the marks of
factories and artists, but after due deliberation it was decided not to
make them the subject of special treatment or illustration. Several good
manuals are already in the hands of the public, and a book of marks
should never take any other form. It is comparatively useless unless
easily portable and handy. Then, again, marks are, and always have been,
imitated to such an extent that they are not the most trustworthy guides
to the parentage of specimens. Collectors who buy pieces for the sake of
the mark they bear may be deceived; those who buy for the sake of beauty
may occasionally be mistaken; but a cultivated taste can never be
deluded into finding beauty in the unbeautiful. The art, and not the
mark, should be studied; and the fact that many of the finest and most
highly valued specimens--Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Saracenic, Greek,
Italian, and many modern wares--have no mark gives additional point to
the observation.

If the present work should be found defective in certain points, it must
be remembered that it could hardly be otherwise, considering its scope
and limits. The author will be satisfied if, besides answering its
primary purpose, it should increase the interest already awakened in the
subject of which it treats, and lead students to appreciate and examine
the collections at their command in this country.

RIGHT
J. J. Y.




CONTENTS.


INTRODUCTION.

Advantages of the Study.--The Lost Origin of the Art.--Ascribed to
the Gods.--Legends of China, Japan, Egypt, and Greece.--Keramos.--A
Solution suggested.--How Pottery illustrates History.--How it explains
the Customs of the Ancients.--Its Bearings upon Religion.--Examples
from Egypt, Greece, and China.--The Art represented in Pottery.--Its
Permanency.--As a Combination of Form with Drawing and Color.--Greek
Art.--Its Merits and Defects.--The Orientals, and their Attention
to Color.--Eastern Skill.--The Aim of Palissy.--The Highest Aim of
the Ceramic Artist.--Painting on Porcelain.--Rules to be Observed in
Decorating.--Where Color alone is a Worthy Object.--How the Art affords
the Best Illustration of the Useful combined with the Beautiful.--Its
Place in the Household.....Page 19

BOOK I.--NOMENCLATURE AND METHODS.

CHAPTER I.

TECHNOLOGY.

Confusion in Use of Terms.--Porcelain as an Instance.--Derivation of
Ceramic.--Pottery.--Faience.--Majolica.--Mezza-Majolica.--Composition
of Porcelain.--Origin of Word.--Where first made.--When introduced
into Europe.--Hard and Soft Paste.--Soft Porcelain of Venice,
Florence, England, France.--Hard Porcelain invented at Meissen by
Böttcher.--Vienna.--Discovery of Kaolin in France.--Biscuit.....48

CHAPTER II.

CLASSIFICATION.

Tabulated View.--Brongniart’s Division: Its Objections.--Classification
adopted.--Leading Features and Advantages.--Distinctions between
Different Bodies and Different Glazes.....54

CHAPTER III.

COMPOSITION OF WARES AND GLAZES.

Hard and Soft Pottery and Porcelain.--COMPOSITION OF PORCELAIN:
Kaolin--Its Derivation and Ingredients--Petuntse--How prepared in
China.--The European Process.--Differences between Chinese and
European Porcelains.--Chemical Analysis.--English Porcelain and
its Peculiarities: Its Average Composition.--How English Clay is
prepared.--French Artificial Porcelain.--Parian.--COMMON EARTHEN-WARE:
Table of Ingredients of different kinds.--General Table.--GLAZES:
Classes.--Brongniart’s Classification.--Difference between Enamel
and Glaze.--Silicious Glaze.--History.--Use of Oxides.--Egyptian
Processes.--Metallic Lustre.--Stanniferous Enamel: Its History.....59

CHAPTER IV.

MANUFACTURE AND DECORATION.

Divisions of Chapter.--Japanese Method of Preparing Porcelain
Clay.--Old Sèvres Soft Porcelain.--Pug-Mill.--Blunger.--Early Italian
Methods.--Shaping the Clay.--Moulding among the Egyptians, Greeks,
Italians, and at the Present Day.--Moulding Porcelain.--Japanese
Method.--European.--Throwing.--The Potter’s Wheel in all
Countries.--Baking and Firing.--Egyptian, Greek, Italian, and Japanese
Kilns.--Those of Modern Europe and America.--Times of Firing.--Glazing
and Painting.--Metallic-Lustre Majolica.--Japanese Methods.--Glazing
Stone-ware.--Natural and Artificial Porcelain.....66

BOOK II.--THE ORIENT.

CHAPTER I.

EGYPT.

The East the Cradle of Art.--The Antiquity of Egypt: Its
Claim to Notice in every Branch of Inquiry.--The Fountains
of Oriental and Greek Art.--The Nile Clay.--Egypt’s Early
Maturity.--Limitation of Material.--Effect of Religion upon
Art.--Two Periods in Art History.--Ancient Religion.--Various
Symbols.--UNGLAZED POTTERY--_Sun-dried_: Bricks.--Moulds, Stamps,
etc.--Vessels.--_Baked Ware_: Its Early Date.--Color of Vessels and
Bricks.--Coffins.--Cones.--Figures.--Sepulchral Vases.--Amphoræ
and other Vessels.--Decoration.--Græco-Egyptian Pottery.--GLAZED
WARE, miscalled Porcelain: Its Nature, and how Colored.--Wall
Tiles.--Inlaying of Mummy Cases.--Personal Ornaments.--Images.--Beads,
etc.--Vases.--Bowls.--Glazed Schist.--Stanniferous Enamel.....82

CHAPTER II.

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.

Possible Priority to Egyptian Pottery.--Similarity
between Assyrian and Egyptian.--The Course followed by
both Arts.--Unbaked Bricks.--Baked Bricks.--Writing
Tablets.--Seals.--Vases.--Terra-cottas.--Porcelain.--Glazing and
Enamelling.--Tin.--Colored Enamels.--Babylonian Bricks.--Glazes.....97

CHAPTER III.

JUDÆA.

Art Derived from Egypt.--Never Reached any Eminence.--Preference for
Metals.--Frequent Allusions in Scripture.--Bought Earthen-ware from
Phœnicia and Egypt.--Home Manufacture.--Decoration.--Necessity for
Distinguishing between Home and Foreign Wares.....103

CHAPTER IV.

INDIA AND CENTRAL ASIA.

Mystery Surrounding People.--History of its Art in great measure
Unknown.--Questions of its Existence and Originality.--How they
Arose.--The Brahmins.--Geographical Position.--Views of Early
Travellers.--Later Investigations.--More Ancient Pottery.--Clay
Used.--Knowledge of Glazing: Its Application to Architecture.--Glazed
Bricks.--Terra-cotta.--Chronological Arrangement.--Porcelain: Its
Decoration.--Use of Gold.--Siam.....105

CHAPTER V.

CHINA.

Art Different from that of Europe or America.--How it must be
Viewed.--Religion.--Legend.--Hoang-ti the Inventor of Pottery.--The
Leading Points of Religious System.--Personified Principles.--Lao-tseu,
Confucius, and Buddha.--Kuan-in.--Pousa or Pou-tai.--Dragons.--Dog
of Fo.--Ky-lin.--Sacred Horse.--Fong-hoang.--Symbols.--Meaning
of Colors and Shapes.--POTTERY: When First
Made.--Céladon.--Crackle.--How Made.--Porcelain Crackle.--Decorations
on Crackle.--Household Vessels.--Stone-ware.--Licouli.--Tower of
Nankin.--Pipe-clay.--Boccaro.--Colors and Decoration of Pottery.--Colors
on Crackle. PORCELAIN: When Invented.--King-teh-chin.--All Classed as
Hard, Exceptions.--Old Porcelains.--Kouan-ki.--Blue-and-white.--Persian
Styles.--Turquoise and other Blues.--Leading Events of
Ming Dynasty.--Egg-shell.--Tai-thsing Dynasty.--Mandarin
Vases.--Families.--Old White.--Jade.--Purple and Violet.--Liver
Red.--Imperial Yellow.--Chinese Ideas of Painting.--Soufflé.--Grains of
Rice.--Articulated and Reticulated Vases.--Cup of Tantalus.....109

CHAPTER VI.

COREA.

Geographical Position.--Successive Conquests.--Its Independent
Art.--Confused Opinions regarding it.--Its Porcelain.--Decoration.....154

CHAPTER VII.

JAPAN.

How to Study Japanese Art: Its Origin.--Its Revived
Independence.--Nomino-Soukoune.--Shirozayemon.--Raku.--When
Porcelain was First Made.--Shonsui.--Form of Government.--The
Gods.--Symbols.--“Land of Great Peace.”--Foreign Relations.--General
Features of Art.--Chinese and Japanese Porcelains.--POTTERY:
Geographical Distribution.--Classification.--Satsuma.--Difficult
Ware.--Saki Cups.--Imitations of Satsuma.--Kioto.--Awata.--Awadji.--Banko.
--Kiusiu.--Karatsu.--Suma.--PORCELAIN: Leading Differences between
Japanese and Chinese.--Sometsuki Blue.--Ware for Export.--Gosai,
or Nishikide.--Arita, or Hizen.--Families.--Decoration.--Modern
Hizen.--Seidji.--Kioto.--Eraku.--Kaga.--Portraiture.--Owari.--Lacquer.
--Cloisonné.--Rose Family.--Early Styles: Indian: Dutch Designs.--General
Characteristics of Japanese Art.....156

CHAPTER VIII.

PERSIA.

Persia, and its Influence.--History.--Conquests.--Religious
Revolutions.--Zoroaster.--Mohammed.--Geographical Position.--General
View of Influences bearing upon Art.--Decoration.--Flowers and
Symbols.--Conventional Styles.--Whence came the Monsters Appearing upon
Wares.--Metallic Lustre.--POTTERY: Composition.--Caution in Looking at
Specimens.--Wall-Tiles and their Decoration.--Vases.--PORCELAIN: Had
Persia a True Porcelain?--Classification, and the Difficulties Attending
It.--Decoration.--Classes Formed by Prevailing Color.....189

BOOK III.--EUROPE.

CHAPTER I.

THE FOUNTAINS OF EUROPEAN ART.

Routes by which Art Travelled.--Their Point of Convergence.--Cyprus:
Its History.--The Successive Nations Governing It.--The Strata of
Ancient Civilization found within its Shores.--The Discoveries
of Cesnola.--Larnaca.--Dali.--Athieno.--Curium.--Progress of
Cypriote Pottery.--Early Greek Art: Its Connection with Assyria
and Egypt.--Phœnician and Assyrian Art.--General Deductions.--Asia
Minor.--Oriental Art turning in various Streams to Greece.--What
Greece Rejected, Persia Seized upon.--Persia’s Contributions
to Ceramic Art.--History in Reference to its Art.--Effect of
Conquest.--What Persia Taught the Arabs.--Spread of Persian Art
by the Saracens.--Rhodes.--Damascus.--Progress of Saracenic
Art.--The North of Africa.--Metallic Lustre and Stanniferous
Enamel.--Hispano-Moresque.--Early Spain.--Persian Influence upon
Europe.....198

CHAPTER II.

GREECE.

General Character of Greek Ceramics.--Form and Color.--Borrowed
from Egypt and Phœnicia.--How Original.--UNBAKED
CLAY: Bricks and Statues.--TERRA-COTTA: Where
Used.--Tiles.--Models.--Vessels.--Pithos.--Amphora.--Pigments
used on Terra-cotta.--Rhyton.--GLAZED WARES: Quality of
Glaze.--Paste.--Enumeration and Description of Vessels.--Uses
of Vases.--Chronological Arrangement.--Methods of Making
Vessels.--Successive Styles of Ornamentation.--Figures.--Earliest
Style.--Archaic Style.--Human Figures.--“Old Style.”--Approach to
Best Art.--“Fine Style.”--“Florid Style.”--Decline.--Classification
according to Subjects Represented on Vases.--Reliefs and Statuettes as
Decoration.....219

CHAPTER III.

THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.

SPAIN: Ancient Pottery.--Valencia the Most Ancient Centre.--The
Roman Period.--Arabs.--Valencia under the Moors.--Its
Decline.--Malaga the Most Ancient Moorish Settlement.--The Alhambra
Vase.--Influence of Christianity.--Majorca.--Azulejos.--Modern
Spain.--Porcelain.--Buen Retiro.--Moncloa.--Alcora.--PORTUGAL: Vista
Allegre.--Rato.--Caldas.....233

CHAPTER IV.

ITALY.

Italian Art.--Whence Derived.--Greece and Persia.--Divisions.--Ancient
Roman and Etruscan.--Etruria and Greece.--Questions Resulting
from Discoveries at Vulci.--Early Connection between Etruria and
Greece.--Etruscan Art an Offshoot of Greek.--Examples.--Best of Black
Paste.--Why Etruscan Art Declined.--Rome.--Nothing Original.--Its Debt
to Etruria and Greece.--Decline of its Art.--Unglazed Pottery and its
Divisions.--Glazed Pottery.--Samian Ware.--Aretine.--Terra-cotta.--After
Rome fell.--The Renaissance.--Saracenic Influences.--Crusades.--Conquest
of Majorca.--Tin Enamel and Metallic Lustre.--Bacini at
Pisa.--Lead Glaze.--Majolica Made at Pesaro.--Sgraffiati.--Luca
della Robbia.--Sketch of his Life.--His Alleged Discovery.--What
he really Accomplished.--Where he Acquired the Secret of
Enamel.--His Works.--Bas-Reliefs.--Paintings on the Flat.--His
Successors.--Recapitulation of Beginnings of Italian
Majolica.--Chaffagiolo.--Siena.--Florence.--Pisa.--Pesaro.--Castel-Durante.
--Urbino.--Gubbio and Maestro Giorgio.--Faenza.--Forli, Rimini, and
Ravenna.--Venice.--Ferrara.--Deruta.--Naples.--Shape and Color.--Modern
Italy.--PORCELAIN: Florence and Earliest Artificial Porcelain.--Theory
of Japanese Teaching.--La Doccia.--Venice, and the Question of its First
Making European Porcelain.--Le Nove.--Capo di Monte.....240

CHAPTER V.

FRANCE.

Prospect on approaching France.--Present and Past.--The
Ancient Celts.--Under the Romans.--Middle Ages.--Poitou,
Beauvais, and Hesdin.--Italian Influence.--A National
Art.--Bernard Palissy, Barbizet, Pull, and Avisseau.--Henri Deux
Ware.--Rouen.--Nevers.--Moustiers.--Marseilles.--Strasburg.--Limoges.
--Haviland’s New Process.--Examples.--Bourg-la-Reine.--Laurin.--Deck.
--Colinot.--Creil. --Montereau.--Longwy.--Parville.--Gien.--Sarreguemines.
--Niederviller.--Luneville.--Nancy.--St. Clement.--St. Amand.--Paris.--Sceaux.
--PORCELAIN: Efforts to Make Porcelain.--First Artificial Porcelain.--St.
Cloud.--Lille.--Paris.--Chantilly.--Mennecy.--Vincennes.--Sèvres.--Natural,
or Hard, Porcelain.--Discovery of Kaolin.--Various Factories.--Limoges.
--Deck.--Regnault.--Solon.--Pate Changeante.--Pate-sur-Pate.....271

CHAPTER VI.

GERMANY AND CENTRAL EUROPE.

Early Pottery.--Lake Dwellers.--Early German.--Peculiar
Shapes.--How Peasants Account for Relics.--Roman
Epoch.--Tin Enamel.--Leipsic.--Breslau.--Nuremberg.--The
Hirschvogels.--Villengen.--Höchst.--Marburg.--Bavaria.--Switzerland.
--Belgium.--Delft.--STONE-WARE: Countess
Jacqueline.--Teylingen.--Graybeards.--Fine
Stone-ware.--Grès de Flandre.--Creussen.--PORCELAIN:
Böttcher.--His First Productions.--Meissen
Porcelain.--Decoration.--Best Days of Meissen.--Its
Decline.--Vienna.--Höchst.--Fürstenburg.--Höxter.--Frankenthal.
--Nymphenburg.--Berlin.--Holland.--Weesp.--Loosdrecht.--The
Hague.--Switzerland.--Zürich.--Nyon.....327

CHAPTER VII.

RUSSIA, DENMARK, AND SCANDINAVIA.

Scandinavian Pottery allied to Teutonic.--Hand-shaped
Vessels.--Primitive Kiln.--The Eighteenth Century.--St. Petersburg:
Its Porcelain.--Moscow.--Rorstrand.--Marieberg.--Modern Swedish
Faience.--Denmark.--Kiel.--Copenhagen.--Imitations of Greek.--Copenhagen
Porcelain.....344

CHAPTER VIII.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

Continuity of History.--Early British Urns.--Scottish Relics.--Irish
Urns.--Roman Conquest.--Caistor Ware.--Anglo-Roman Ware.--Saxon
Period.--After the Norman Conquest.--Tiles.--Dutch Potteries in
England.--English Delft.--Stone-ware.--Sandwich.--Staffordshire
Potteries.--Early Products.--The Tofts.--Salt Glaze.--Broadwell
and the Elers Family.--Use of Calcined Flint.--Wedgwood.--His
Life.--Jasper Ware.--Queen’s Ware.--The Portland
Vase.--Basaltes.--Wedgwood’s Removal to Etruria.--His
Death.--Minton & Co.--Their Imitations of the Oriental.--Pate
Changeante.--Pate-sur-Pate.--Cloisonné Enamel on Porcelain.--Other
Reproductions.--Their Majolica.--Their Artists.--Minton, Hollins &
Co.--Lambeth.--Doulton Ware.--Terra-cotta and Stone-ware.--George
Tinworth.--Fulham.--Bristol.--Leeds.--Liverpool.--Lowestoft.--Yarmouth.
--Nottingham.--Shropshire.--Yorkshire.--PORCELAIN: Plymouth Hard
Porcelain.--Cookworthy.--Bow.--Chelsea.--Derby.--Worcester.--Minton.
--Pate-sur-Pate.--Spode.--Copeland.--Bristol.--Tunstall.--Caughley.
--Nantgarrow.--Swansea.--Colebrookdale.--Pinxton.--Shelton.--Belleek.--General
Character of Manufacture in Great Britain.....352

BOOK IV.--AMERICA.

CHAPTER I.

SOUTH AMERICA.

Antiquity of American People.--Scope of Inquiry.--PERU: Its Old
Inhabitants.--Course of Ceramic Art.--Doubts regarding Origin of
Peruvian Civilization.--Periods.--The Incas.--Pizarro.--Geological
Evidence of Antiquity.--Unbaked Bricks.--Pachacamac.--Its
Graves.--Opposite Types.--Effect of Religion.--Symbols.--Forms
of Pottery.--Water-Vessels.--Human Forms.--Leading Features of
Decoration.--Colors Employed.--Processes.--Customs Learned from
Pottery.--BRAZIL: Ancient Specimens.--Modern Ware.--Bricks and
Tiles.--Talhas.--Moringues and other Water-Vessels.--Colombia.....391

CHAPTER II.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

Connection with Peru.--Nicaragua.--Ometepec.--Modern
Potters.--Guatemala.--Ancient Cities.--Who Built
Them.--Copan.--Quirigua.--Palenque.--Mitla.....418

CHAPTER III.

THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

Who were they?--Their supposed Central American Origin.--The place they
occupy in the present History.--Recent Discoveries.--Pottery of the
Lower Mississippi.--Deduction from Comparison with Peruvian.....425

CHAPTER IV.

INDIAN POTTERY.

Successors of the Mound-builders.--Opinion of Professor Marsh.--Pueblos
descended from the Mound-builders.--Natchez and Mandan Tribes.--Pueblos
of Colorado, etc.--Pottery found at El Moro.--Zuni.--Further
Discoveries.--Immense Quantities of Fragmentary Pottery.--Corrugated
Pottery of Colorado.--Painted Pottery.--Moquis of Tegua.--Modern
Pueblos.--Trade in Pottery.--Resemblances between Potteries of South,
Central, and North America.--Indian Pottery from Illinois.--Louisiana,
and how Pottery made.--New Jersey Indians.--Tennessee.--Maryland.--Other
Indian Tribes.....429

CHAPTER V.

UNITED STATES.

The Future of America.--Obstacles in the Way of Progress.--Commercial
Conditions Illustrated by Tariff.--Expense of Artistic Work.--Lack
of Public Support.--American Marks.--Misrepresentation of
American Wares.--Materials.--Early Use in England by Wedgwood,
etc.--Cookworthy and a Virginian.--Native Use of Clay.--New
Jersey.--Value of Clay Deposit Illustrated.--American Kaolin.--Vague
Use of Word.--Analysis.--Opinions of American Deposits.--POTTERY:
Dependence upon England.--Wedgwood’s Fears of American
Competition.--Norwich.--Hartford.--Stonington.--Norwalk.--Herbertsville.
--Sayreville.--South Amboy.--Philadelphia.--Baltimore.--Jersey
City. --Bennington.--New York City Pottery.--Trenton.--Present
Extent of Industry. --Trenton Ivory
Porcelain.--Terra-cotta.--Beverly.--Chelsea.--Portland.
--Cambridge.--PORCELAIN: Philadelphia.--William Ellis
Tucker.--Bennington. --Jersey City.--Greenpoint.--Decorating
Establishments.--Metal and Porcelain.....442

INDEX.....489





ILLUSTRATIONS.


  +-------+-------------+-------------------------+--------------------+-------+
  | FIG.  | COUNTRY OR  |        SUBJECT          |     COLLECTION     | PAGE  |
  |       |   CHAPTER   |                         |                    |       |
  +-------+-------------+-------------------------+--------------------+-------+
  |       | INTRODUCTION|                         |                    |       |
  |    1  | France      | Old Sèvres Pate Teudre  | L. Double          |   23  |
  |    2  | Greece and  | Amphoræ                 | Di Cesnola         |   25  |
  |       |  Phonecia   |                         |                    |       |
  |    3  | China       | Bottles                 |                    |   26  |
  |    4  | Greece      | Diogenes in Pithos      |                    |   27  |
  |    5  |   “         | Prize Vase              |                    |   28  |
  |    6  |   “         | Rhyton                  | Trumbull-Prime     |   29  |
  |    7  |   “         | Kylix                   |                    |   29  |
  |    8  | Egypt       | Sepulchral Cone         | Trumbull-Prime     |   30  |
  |    9  |   “         | Painted Ball            |                    |   31  |
  |   10  |   “         | Glazed Draughtsman      |                    |   31  |
  |   11  | Babylon     | Enamelled Brick         | Louvre             |   32  |
  |   12  | Japan       | Hexagonal Vase          | R.H. Pruyn         |   37  |
  |   13  | Persia      | Tile                    |                    |   38  |
  |   14  |   “         | Mosque of Sultaneah     |                    |   39  |
  |   15  | Japan       | Porcelain Vase          | J.F. Sutton        |   40  |
  |   16  | China       | Crackle Vase            | J.F. Sutton        |   41  |
  |   17  | France      | Palissy Dish            | Soltykoff          |   43  |
  |   18  |   “         | Limoges Porcelain       | Mrs Charles Crocker|   46  |
  |   19  |   “         | Limoges Porcelain       | Thomas Scott       |   47  |
  |       | TECHNOLOGY  |                         |                    |       |
  |   20  | Egypt       | Blue-glazed Pottery     |                    |   48  |
  |       | MANUFACTURE |                         |                    |       |
  | 21,22 |   ..        | Pug-mills               |                    |   67  |
  |   23  | Judea       | Potter at Work          |                    |   70  |
  |   24  | Egypt       | A Pottery               |                    |   72  |
  |   25  | Italy       | Venetian Potter         |                    |   74  |
  | 26-29 |   ..       {| Earthen-ware and        |}                   | 77-79 |
  |       |            {| Porcelain Kilns         |}                   |       |
  |       | EGYPT       |                         |                    |       |
  |   30  |             | Captives making Bricks  |                    |   84  |
  |   31  |             | Scarabæus               | Way, B.M.F.A.      |   86  |
  |   32  |             | Gods                    | Way, B.M.F.A.      |   87  |
  |   33  |             | Earthen-ware            |                    |   88  |
  |   34  |             | Pottery Cone            | Trumbull-Prime     |   89  |
  |   35  |             | Terra-cotta Vase        | British Museum     |   89  |
  |   36  |             | Polished Terra-cotta    |                    |   91  |
  |   37  |             | Polished Terra-cotta    | British Museum     |   91  |
  |   38  |             | Glazed Pottery Vase     |                    |   92  |
  |   39  |             | Scarabæi                | Way, B.M.F.A.      |   92  |
  |   40  |             | Pectoral Tablets        | Way, B.M.F.A.      |   93  |
  | 41,42 |             | Mummy Figures           | Way, B.M.F.A.      | 94,95 |
  |   43  |             | Fragment Tin Enamel     | Trumbull-Prime     |   96  |
  |       | ASSYRIA, Etc|                         |                    |       |
  |   44  |             | Pottery Vases           |                    |   97  |
  |   45  |             | Terra-cotta Venus       |                    |   98  |
  |   46  |             | Cylinder                | British Museum     |   98  |
  |   47  |             | Inscribed Seal          |                    |   98  |
  |   48  |             | Seal of Sabaco          |                    |   98  |
  |   49  |             | Enlarged Impression     |                    |   99  |
  |   50  |             | Back of Assyrian Seal   |                    |   99  |
  |   51  |             | Fragment: Porcelain (?) |                    |   99  |
  |   52  |             | Box in Porcelain(?)     |                    |   99  |
  |   53  |             | Enamelled Brick         | Louvre             |   99  |
  |   54  |             | Babylonian Brick        |                    |  100  |
  |   55  |             | Mujellibé               |                    |  100  |
  |   56  |             | Terra-cotta Tablet      | British Museum     |  101  |
  |   57  |             | Baked Clay Ram          |                    |  102  |
  |   58  |             | Glazed Coffins          |                    |  102  |
  |       | JUDEA       |                         |                    |       |
  |   59  |             | Earthen-ware Vessels    |                    |  103  |
  |   60  |             | Lamps and Oil Vessels   |                    |  104  |
  |       | INDIA       |                         |                    |       |
  |   61  |             | Porcelain Vases         |                    |  108  |
  |       | CHINA       |                         |                    |       |
  |   62  |             | Porcelain Group         | S.P. Avery         |  109  |
  |   63  |             | Cheon-lao               |                    |  111  |
  |   64  |             | Kuan-in  S. P. Avery    |                    |  112  |
  |   65  |             | Dog Fo                  |                    |  113  |
  |   66  |             | Vase with Ky-lin        | August Belmont     |  113  |
  |   67  |             | Sacred Horse            |                    |  114  |
  |   68  |             | Fong-hoang              |                    |  114  |
  |   69  |             | Vase with Fong-hoang    | Robert Hoe, Jr     |  115  |
  |   70  |             | Crackle Vase            | S.P. Avery         |  118  |
  |   71  |             | Nankin Tower            |                    |  119  |
  |   72  |             | Bricks from Nankin Tower| N. Y. Metro. Museum|  119  |
  |   73  |             | Crackle Vase            | J.C. Runkle        |  120  |
  |   74  |             | Porcelain Lantern       | S.P. Avery         |  121  |
  | 75-82 |             | Honorific Marks         |                    |  124  |
  |   83  |             | Blue-and-white Porcelain| J.C. Runkle        |  125  |
  |   84  |             | Blue-and-white Porcelain| W.L. Andrews       |  125  |
  |   85  |             | Lancelle Vase           | W.L. Andrews       |  126  |
  |   86  |             | Blue-and-white Vase     | J.C. Runkle        |  127  |
  |   87  |             | “Hawthorn” Vase         | S.P. Avery         |  128  |
  |   88  |             | “Hawthorn” Vase         | J.C. Runkle        |  129  |
  |   89  |             | Black “Hawthorn”        | S.P. Avery         |  130  |
  |   90  |             | Aster Plaque            | W.L. Andrews       |  131  |
  |   91  |             | Ewer, Persian Style     | J.C. Runkle        |  132  |
  |   92  |             | Turquoise Vase          | S.P. Avery         |  133  |
  |   93  |             | Kieu-long Green         | J.C. Runkle        |  135  |
  |   94  |             | Ming Vase               | G.R. Hall, B.M.F.A.|  137  |
  |   95  |             | Ming Vase               | J.C. Runkle        |  138  |
  |   96  |             | Ming Vase, Green        | F. Robinson        |  139  |
  |   97  |             | Rose Family             | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  140  |
  |   98  |             | Rose Plate              | Robert Hoe, Jr     |  141  |
  |   99  |             | Rose Bowl               | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  142  |
  |  100  |             | Rose Egg-shell          | W.L. Andrews       |  143  |
  |  101  |             | White Porcelain Cup     | J.C. Runkle        |  145  |
  |  102  |             | Five-fingered Rosadon   | G.W. Wales         |  149  |
  |  103  |             | Yellow Porcelain        | J.F. Sutton        |  150  |
  |  104  |             | Grains of Rice          | S.P. Avery         |  151  |
  |  105  |             | Reticulated Vase        | S.P. Avery         |  152  |
  |  106  |             | Cup and Saucer          | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  153  |
  |       | COREA       |                         |                    |       |
  |  107  |             | Earthen-ware Jar        | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  154  |
  |  108  |             | Porcelain Cup and Saucer| W.L. Andrews       |  155  |
  |  109  |             | Porcelain Vase          |                    |  155  |
  |       | JAPAN       |                         |                    |       |
  |  110  |             | Japanese Gods           |                    |  156  |
  |  111  |             | Raku Bowl               | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  160  |
  |  112  |             | Kiri-mon                |                    |  161  |
  |  113  |             | Guik-mon                |                    |  161  |
  |  114  |             | Tycoon’s Arms           |                    |  161  |
  |  115  |             | Dragon Bowl             | Corcoran Art Gall. |  162  |
  |  116  |             | Satsuma Vase            | B.M.F.A.           |  166  |
  |  117  |             | Satsuma Vase            | August Belmont     |  167  |
  |  118  |             | Satsuma Vase            | R.H. Pruyn         |  168  |
  |  119  |             | Satsuma Vase            | J.W. Paige         |  169  |
  |  120  |             | Satsuma Vase            | J.F. Sutton        |  170  |
  |  121  |             | Kioto Faience           | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  171  |
  |  122  |             | Kioto Faience           | B.M.F.A.           |  171  |
  |  123  |             | Kioto Faience           | J.F. Sutton        |  172  |
  |  124  |             | Kiusin Vase             | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  172  |
  |  125  |             | Karatsu Vase            | J.F. Sutton        |  173  |
  |  126  |             | Suma Vase               | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  173  |
  |  127  |             | Satsuma Vase            | Robert H. Pruyn    |  174  |
  |  128  |             | Porcelain Plaque        | W.L. Andrews       |  175  |
  |  129  |             | Old Hizen, or Imari     | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  177  |
  |  130  |             | Porcelain Dish          | R.H. Pruyn         |  177  |
  |  131  |             | Hizen Porcelain Vase    | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  178  |
  |  132  |             | Japanese Porcelain Vase | H.C. Gibson        |  178  |
  |  133  |             | Kaga Vase               | A.A. Vantine & Co  |  179  |
  |  134  |             | Owari Vase              | Yoshida Kiyonari   |  181  |
  |  135  |             | Lacquer Vase            |Corcoran Art Gallery|  182  |
  |  136  |             | Tokio Cloisonné Enamel  | J.F. Sutton        |  182  |
  |  137  |             | Owari Cloisonné Enamel  | J.F. Sutton        |  183  |
  |  138  |             | Rose Family Vase        | Robert H. Pruyn    |  183  |
  |       | PERSIA      |                         |                    |       |
  |  139  |             | Faience Plaque          | Robert Hoe, Jr     |  189  |
  |140,141|             | Faience Plaques         | B.M.F.A.           |  192  |
  |  142  |             | Shrine of Imam Hussein  |                    |  194  |
  |  143  |             | Porcelain Bottle        | Jacquemart         |  196  |
  |  144  |             | Porcelain Narghili      |                    |  196  |
  |       | FOUNTAINS OF|                         |                    |       |
  |       | EUROPEAN ART|                         |                    |       |
  |  145  |             | General Di Cesnola      |                    |  199  |
  |146-149|             | Phœnician Vases         | Di Cesnola         |200-202|
  |  150  |             | Assyro-Phœnician Vase   | Di Cesnola         |  203  |
  |  151  |             | Greek Vase              | Di Cesnola         |  204  |
  |152-158|             | Phœnician Pottery       | Di Cesnola         |205-209|
  |  159  |             | Greek Vases and Cups    | Di Cesnola         |  210  |
  |  160  |             | Saracen Tile            | Trumbull-Prime     |  213  |
  |  161  |             | Saracen Tiles           | B.M.F.A.           |  213  |
  |162,163|             | Rhodian Faience         |                    |214,215|
  |  164  |             | Maghreb Urn             |                    |  216  |
  |       | GREECE      |                         |                    |       |
  |  165  |             | Early Greek Aryballoi   | Trumbull-Prime     |  219  |
  |  166  |             | Early Greek Vases       |                    |  220  |
  |  167  |             | Greek Vase              | Louvre             |  221  |
  |  168  |             | Head of Minerva         | Trumbull-Prime     |  222  |
  |  169  |             | Stamnos                 |                    |  223  |
  |  170  |             | Askos                   |                    |  223  |
  |  171  |             | Skyphos                 |                    |  223  |
  |  172  |             | Rhyton                  |                    |  224  |
  |173,174|             | Kraters                 |                    |224,225|
  |  175  |             | Holmos                  |                    |  225  |
  |  176  |             | Kelebe                  |                    |  225  |
  |  177  |             | Oxybaphon               |                    |  225  |
  |178,179|             | Prochoos                |                    |  226  |
  |  180  |             | Olpe                    |                    |  226  |
  |  181  |             | Kyathos                 |                    |  227  |
  |  182  |             | Kantharos               |                    |  227  |
  |  183  |             | Kylix                   | Trumbull-Prime     |  228  |
  |  184  |             | Early Greek Oinochoe    | Trumbull-Prime     |  228  |
  |  185  |             | Early Greek Oinochoe    | T.G. Appleton,     |  229  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |  186  |             | Bacchic Amphora         | T.G. Appleton,     |  229  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |  187  |             | Kalpis                  | T.G. Appleton,     |  230  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |  188  |             | Hydria                  | Trumbull-Prime     |  231  |
  |  189  |             | Amphora                 | T.G. Appleton,     |  231  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |       | SPAIN       |                         |                    |       |
  |  190  |             | Hispano-Moresque Vase   | South Kensington   |  233  |
  |  191  |             | Hispano-Moresque Plaque | J.W. Paige         |  234  |
  |  192  |             | Alhambra Vase           |                    |  235  |
  |  193  |             | Hispano-Moresque Plaque | G.W. Wales,        |  236  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |  194  |             | Early Hispano-Moresque  | Boston Household   |  236  |
  |       |             |                         |  Art Rooms         |       |
  |  195  |             | Moorish Tile            |                    |  237  |
  |  196  |             | Early Hispano-Moresque  | Boston Household   |  237  |
  |       |             |                         |  Art Rooms         |       |
  |       | ITALY       |                         |                    |       |
  |  197  |             | Etruscan Vase           | J.J. Dixwell       |  243  |
  |  198  |             | Roman Lamps             |                    |  245  |
  |  199  |             | Samian Ware             |                    |  245  |
  |  200  |             | Siculo-Moresque Vase    |                    |  247  |
  |  201  |             | Siculo-Moresque Vases   | Castellani         |  248  |
  |  202  |             | Sgraffiato              |                    |  249  |
  |  203  |             | Luca della Robbia       |                    |  250  |
  |  204  |             | Robbia Medallion        | Hôtel Cluny        |  251  |
  |  205  |             | Robbia Plaque           | B.M.F.A.           |  251  |
  |  206  |             | Robbia Medallion        | South Kensington   |  252  |
  |  207  |             | Andrea della Robbia     | B.M.F.A.           |  252  |
  |       |             |  Plaque                 |                    |       |
  |  208  |             | Imitation Robbia        | B.M.F.A.           |  253  |
  |  209  |             | St Sebastian, by Giorgio| South Kensington   |  253  |
  |  210  |             | Chaffagiolo Pitcher     | South Kensington   |  254  |
  |  211  |             | Siena Vase              | South Kensington   |  254  |
  |  212  |             | The Sforza Dish         |                    |  256  |
  |  213  |             | Pesaro Vase             |John Taylor Johnston|  257  |
  |  214  |             | Castel-Durante Dish     | South Kensington   |  258  |
  |  215  |             | Castel-Durante Dish     | Castellani         |  258  |
  |  216  |             | Plate by Xanto          | Marryat            |  259  |
  |  217  |             | Urbino Vase             | Castellani         |  260  |
  |  218  |             | Urbino Pilgrim’s Bottle | South Kensington   |  261  |
  |  219  |             | Gubbio Lustre           | South Kensington   |  261  |
  |  220  |             | Platean by Giorgio      | South Kensington   |  262  |
  |  221  |             | Faenza Dish             |                    |  263  |
  |  222  |             | Deruta Dish             | South Kensington   |  264  |
  |  223  |             | Medicean Porcelain      | Castellani         |  266  |
  |  224  |             | Design on the Above     |                    |  267  |
  |  225  |             | Nove Porcelain          |                    |  269  |
  |       | FRANCE      |                         |                    |       |
  |  226  |             | Biscuit Group, Sèvres   | August Belmont     |  271  |
  |  227  |             | Bernard Palissy         |                    |  274  |
  |  228  |             | Palissy Dish            | Rothschild         |  276  |
  |  229  |             | Palissy Pitcher         | Rothschild         |  277  |
  |  230  |             | Barbizet Plaque         | Tiffany & Co       |  278  |
  |  231  |             | Palissy Cistern         |                    |  279  |
  |  232  |             | Henri Deux Ewer         |                    |  280  |
  |  233  |             | Henri Deux Biberon      | Malcolm            |  280  |
  |  234  |             | Rouen Faience           |                    |  281  |
  |  235  |             | Rouen Faience           | Trumbull-Prime     |  282  |
  |236,237|             | Moustiers Dishes        |                    |284,285|
  |  238  |             | Haviland Faience        | Smithsonian Inst.  |  290  |
  |  239  |             | Haviland Faience        | Henry Havemeyer    |  296  |
  |  240  |             | Haviland Faience        | G.W. Gibson        |  297  |
  |  241  |             | Haviland Faience        | Whitelaw Reid      |  297  |
  |  242  |             | Haviland Faience        | Mrs Wm. H. Dannat  |  298  |
  |  243  |             | Haviland Faience        | Mrs Col T. Scott   |  300  |
  |  244  |             | Haviland Faience        | Clara L. Kellogg   |  302  |
  |  245  |             | Bourg-la-Reine Faience  | G. Collamore       |  303  |
  |  246  |             | Bourg-la-Reine Faience  | Tiffany & Co       |  303  |
  |  247  |             | Deck Faience            |Corcoran Art Gallery|  304  |
  |248,249|             | Deck Bottle and Vase    | G. Collamore       |  305  |
  |  250  |             | Colinot Faience         | Tiffany & Co       |  306  |
  |  251  |             | Colinot Faience         | G. Collamore       |  306  |
  |  252  |             | Colinot Faience         | Tiffany & Co       |  307  |
  |  253  |             | Longwy Faience          | G. Collamore       |  308  |
  |254,255|             | Longwy Faience          | Tiffany & Co       |308,309|
  |  256  |             | Parville Faience        | Tiffany & Co       |  309  |
  |  257  |             | Gien Faience            | D. Collamore       |  310  |
  |  258  |             | Sarreguemines Faience   | G. Collamore       |  310  |
  |  259  |             | St Cloud Porcelain      | Jacquemart         |  312  |
  |  260  |             | Vincennes Porcelain     | Duke de Martina    |  313  |
  |  261  |             | Sèvres Pate Tendre      | August Belmont     |  314  |
  |  262  |             | Jewelled Sèvres         | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  315  |
  |  263  |             | Jewelled Sèvres         | H.C. Gibson        |  315  |
  |  264  |             | Sèvres Vase             | Mrs C.B. Hosack    |  316  |
  |  265  |             | Sèvres Vase             | White House        |  317  |
  |  266  |             | Sèvres Porcelain        | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  317  |
  |       |             |  Candlestick            |                    |       |
  |  267  |             | Sèvres Vase             | White House        |  318  |
  |  268  |             | Sèvres Tea-set          | Miss M.F. Curtis   |  318  |
  |269,270|             | Washington’s Sèvres     |                    |  319  |
  |  271  |             | Limoges Porcelain       | S.S. Conant        |  320  |
  |  272  |             | Limoges Porcelain       |                    |  320  |
  |  273  |             | Limoges Porcelain       | Mrs Col T. Scott   |  321  |
  |  274  |             | Limoges Porcelain       | General A.J. Myer  |  321  |
  |  275  |             | Limoges Porcelain       | Whitelaw Reid      |  322  |
  |  276  |             | Limoges Pate Tendre     | H.J. Jewitt        |  322  |
  |277-279|             | Limoges Pate Tendre     |                    |323,324|
  |280,281|             | Deck Vase and Plaque    | G. Collamore       |  325  |
  |  282  |             | Pate-sur-pate, by Solon | G. W. Wales,       |  326  |
  |       |             |                         |  B.M.F.A.          |       |
  |       | GERMANY     |                         |                    |       |
  |  283  |             | Hut-shaped Vases        |                    |  328  |
  |  284  |             | Hirschvogel Vase        |                    |  330  |
  |285,286|             | Delft Faience           | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |331,332|
  |287,288|             | Graybeards              |                    |  334  |
  |289,290|             | Fine Stone-ware         |                    |  335  |
  |  291  |             | Böttcher Stone-ware     | D. Collamore       |  337  |
  |  292  |             | Meissen Porcelain       | F. Robinson        |  337  |
  |  293  |             | Meissen Porcelain       |                    |  338  |
  |  294  |             | Meissen Porcelain       | L. Double          |  339  |
  |  295  |             | Meissen Porcelain       | August Belmont     |  340  |
  |  296  |             | Meissen Porcelain       | J.C. Runkle        |  340  |
  |       |             |  (Marcolini)            |                    |       |
  |  297  |             | Modern Dresden Porcelain| D. Collamore       |  341  |
  |  298  |             | Berlin Porcelain        | D. Collamore       |  341  |
  |  299  |             | Berlin Porcelain Vase   | August Belmont     |  342  |
  |       | RUSSIA,     |                         |                    |       |
  |       | DENMARK, &  |                         |                    |       |
  |       | SCANDINAVIA |                         |                    |       |
  |  300  |             | Russian Faience         | D. Collamore       |  344  |
  |301,302|             | Swedish Faience         | William Astor      |345,346|
  |  303  |             | Norwegian Faience       | W.B. Dickerman     |  347  |
  |304-306|             | Ipsen Terra-cotta       | Ovington Brothers  |348,349|
  |  307  |             | Wendrich Terra-cotta    | T. Schmidt         |  350  |
  |  308  |             | Copenhagen Porcelain    | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  351  |
  |       |GREAT BRITAIN|                         |                    |       |
  |  309  |             | Ancient British Vases   |                    |  353  |
  |310,311|             | Celtic Pottery          |                    |  354  |
  |312,313|             | Romano-British Ware     |                    |  355  |
  |  314  |             | Saxon Pottery           |                    |  356  |
  |  315  |             | Anglo-Norman Vases      |                    |  356  |
  |316-318|             | Old English Tiles       | Bost. Household    |  357  |
  |       |             |                         |  Art Rooms         |       |
  |  319  |             | Posset-pot, 15th Century| Bateman            |  359  |
  |  320  |             | Staffordshire Tyg       |                    |  359  |
  |  321  |             | Elers Ware              |                    |  360  |
  |  322  |             | Josiah Wedgwood         |                    |  360  |
  |  323  |             | Wedgwood Cameo          |                    |  361  |
  |  324  |             | Wedgwood Basaltes       | Meyer              |  362  |
  |  325  |             | Wedgwood Jasper         | Barlow             |  363  |
  |  326  |             | Wedgwood Earthen-ware   | W.S. Ward          |  363  |
  |  327  |             | Wedgwood Portland Vase  |                    |  364  |
  |  328  |             | Wedgwood Jasper Vase    | John W. Britton    |  365  |
  |  329  |             | Wedgwood Earthen-ware   | D. Collamore       |  365  |
  |  330  |             | Wedgwood Plate          | Tiffany & Co       |  366  |
  |  331  |             | Wedgwood Majolica       | Horace Russell     |  367  |
  |  332  |             | Minton Stone-ware       | D. Collamore       |  368  |
  |  333  |             | Minton Plaque           | Tiffany & Co       |  369  |
  |  334  |             | Minton Majolica         |Corcoran Art Gallery|  370  |
  |335,336|             | Doulton Ware            | W.B. Dickerman     |  371  |
  |  337  |             | Lambeth Faience         |                    |  372  |
  |338,339|             | Lambeth Faience         | D. Collamore       |  373  |
  |  340  |             | Doulton Terra-cotta     | Smithsonian Inst.  |  374  |
  |  341  |             | Lambeth Faience         | Dr H.G. Piffard    |  375  |
  |  342  |             | Lowestoft Pottery       | F. Robinson        |  375  |
  |  343  |             | Plymouth Porcelain      |                    |  377  |
  |  344  |             | Bow Porcelain           |                    |  377  |
  |  345  |             | Chelsea Porcelain       |                    |  378  |
  |  346  |             | Derby Porcelain         | F. Robinson        |  378  |
  |  347  |             | Bloor-Derby             | F. Robinson        |  379  |
  |  348  |             | Old Worcester Porcelain | Robert Hoe, Jr     |  379  |
  |  349  |             | Worcester Porcelain     | G. Collamore       |  380  |
  |350,351|             | Worcester Porcelain     | D. Collamore       |380,381|
  |  352  |             | Minton Pate-sur-pate,   | H.C. Gibson        |  382  |
  |       |             |  Solon                  |                    |       |
  |  353  |             | Jewelled Copeland       | Tiffany & Co       |  383  |
  |354,355|             | Copeland Parian         |                    |  384  |
  |  356  |             | Copeland Reticulated    | W.B. Dickerman     |  385  |
  |       |             |  Ware                   |                    |       |
  |  357  |             | Shelton Porcelain       | D. Collamore       |  388  |
  |358-360|             | Belleek Porcelain       | Tiffany & Co       |388,389|
  |       |SOUTH AMERICA|                         |                    |       |
  |  361  |             | Tile-piece, by          |                    |  391  |
  |       |             |  F.T. Vance             |                    |       |
  |362,363|             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |393,397|
  |  364  |             | Peruvian Water-jar      | Smithsonian Inst.  |  400  |
  |  365  |             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |  400  |
  |  366  |             | Peruvian Drinking-vessel|                    |  401  |
  |  367  |             | Pottery from Cuzco      |                    |  401  |
  |  368  |             | Coiled Water-vessel     | Smithsonian Inst.  |  402  |
  |369,370|             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |  403  |
  |  371  |             | Peruvian Water-vessel   | Smithsonian Inst.  |  404  |
  |  372  |             | Greek Head-shaped Cup   |                    |  404  |
  |373-375|             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |405,406|
  |376-378|             | Peruvian Pottery        | Smithsonian Inst.  |407,408|
  |379-381|             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |408,409|
  |  382  |             | Peruvian Black Vessel   | Smithsonian Inst.  |  410  |
  |  383  |             | Peruvian Painted Cup    | Smithsonian Inst.  |  410  |
  |384,385|             | Peruvian Pottery        |                    |  411  |
  |386-388|             | Peruvian Pottery        | Barboza            |412,413|
  |  389  |             | Brazilian Basin         |                    |  414  |
  |  390  |             | Burial Urn              |                    |  414  |
  |391,392|             | Modern Pottery          |                    |415,416|
  |  393  |             | Colombia Corrugated Ware| Smithsonian Inst.  |  417  |
  |       | CENTRAL     |                         |                    |       |
  |       |  AMERICA    |                         |                    |       |
  |  394  |             | Vase from Ometepec      | Smithsonian Inst.  |  418  |
  |  395  |             | Vase from Ometepec      | Smithsonian Inst.  |  419  |
  |  396  |             | Tripod from Ometepec    | Smithsonian Inst.  |  419  |
  |  397  |             | Urns from Ometepec      |                    |  420  |
  |398,399|             | Terra-cotta Figures     |                    |420,421|
  |  400  |             | Terra-cotta Heads       |                    |  421  |
  |  401  |             | Guatemala Urn           |                    |  422  |
  |  402  |             | Guatemala Cup           |                    |  422  |
  |       | MOUND-      |                         |                    |       |
  |       |  BUILDERS   |                         |                    |       |
  |  403  |             | Vases from Missouri     | Mrs J.V.L. Pruyn   |  425  |
  |  404  |             | Vase                    | B.M.F.A.           |  426  |
  |  405  |             | Vase                    | Smithsonian Inst.  |  426  |
  |  406  |             | Vase                    | B.M.F.A.           |  427  |
  |  407  |             | Vases                   |                    |  427  |
  |       | INDIAN      |                         |                    |       |
  |408-410|             | Corrugated Pottery      | U. S. Geol. Survey |432,433|
  |  411  |             | Pottery Handle          | U. S. Geol. Survey |  433  |
  |  412  |             | Pottery Ladle           | U. S. Geol. Survey |  434  |
  |  413  |             | Pottery Pipe            | U. S. Geol. Survey |  434  |
  |414-423|             | Painted Pottery         | U. S. Geol. Survey |434-436|
  |  424  |             | Pottery with Relief     | U. S. Geol. Survey |  436  |
  |425-428|             | Modern Moqui            | U. S. Geol. Survey |436,437|
  |       | UNITED      |                         |                    |       |
  |       |  STATES     |                         |                    |       |
  |  429  |             | Greenpoint Porcelain    |                    |  443  |
  |  430  |             | Jersey City Earthen-ware|                    |  456  |
  |       |             |                         |                    |       |
  |  431  |             | N. Y. City Porcelain    |                    |  457  |
  |  432  |             | N. Y. Iron-stone China  |                    |  458  |
  |  433  |             | N. Y. City Pottery      |                    |  458  |
  |434-438|             | Trenton Parian          |                    |464-467|
  |439,440|             | Chelsea Terra-cotta     |                    |  470  |
  |441,442|             | Philadelphia Porcelain  | Trumbull-Prime     |471,472|
  |  443  |             | Bennington Porcelain    | Trumbull-Prime     |  472  |
  |  444  |             | Greenpoint Century Vase |                    |  474  |
  |  445  |             | “Kéramos” Vase          |                    |  475  |
  |  446  |             | Greenpoint Biscuit      |                    |  476  |
  |       |             |  Porcelain              |                    |       |
  |  447  |             | “Song of the Shirt”     |                    |  477  |
  |448,449|             | Greenpoint Porcelain    |                    |478,479|
  |  450  |             | Greenpoint Porcelain    | E. Bierstadt       |  479  |
  |  451  |             | Poets’ Pitcher          |                    |  480  |
  |452-454|             | Greenpoint Porcelain    |                    |480,481|
  |  455  |             | Greenpoint Porcelain    |                    |  482  |
  |  456  |             | English Porcelain       | D. Collamore       |  482  |
  |  457  |             | Jersey City Earthen-ware|                    |  483  |
  |458-460|             | Bennett Faience         | D. Collamore       |484,485|
  |  461  |             | Plate by J.M. Falconer  |                    |  485  |
  |  462  |             | Porcelain and Silver    | Reed & Barton      |  486  |
  |  463  |             | Porcelain and Silver    | Reed & Barton      |  486  |
  |  464  |             | Porcelain and Silver    | J.W. Britton       |  487  |
  +-------+-------------+-------------------------+--------------------+-------+

  [B.M.F.A. = Bost. Mus. of Fine Arts]




THE CERAMIC ART.




INTRODUCTION.

     Advantages of the Study.--The Lost Origin of the Art.--Ascribed to
     the Gods.--Legends of China, Japan, Egypt, and Greece.--Keramos.--A
     Solution suggested.--How Pottery illustrates History.--How it
     explains the Customs of the Ancients.--Its Bearings upon
     Religion.--Examples from Egypt, Greece, and China.--The Art
     represented in Pottery.--Its Permanency.--As a Combination of Form
     with Drawing and Color.--Greek Art.--Its Merits and Defects.--The
     Orientals, and their Attention to Color.--Eastern Skill.--The Aim
     of Palissy.--The Highest Aim of the Ceramic Artist.--Painting on
     Porcelain.--Rules to be Observed in Decorating.--Where Color alone
     is a Worthy Object.--How the Art affords the Best Illustration of
     the Useful combined with the Beautiful.--Its Place in the
     Household.


The history of ceramic art carries us back to ages of which it has
furnished us with the only records. Beginning almost with the appearance
of man upon the globe, it brings us down through the intricate paths of
his migrations to the time in which we live. Historically, therefore,
the study of the art is not only replete with interest, but promises
much benefit to the student. The forms under which it appears are so
varied, the circuitous route it has followed leads to so many lands and
among so many peoples, and the customs it illustrates are so distinctive
of widely separated nationalities, that its history is co-extensive with
that of humanity. In many cases it supplies us with information
regarding nations whose works in pottery are their only monuments.

Were we, therefore, to attempt to find its origin, we might go back as
far as written history could guide us, and then find proofs of its
existence in a prehistoric age. It is curious to observe that, as we
compare the earliest productions of different countries, we discover a
similarity between the crude ideas to which they owe their origin. It
is equally remarkable--and the fact is worthy of notice as pointing to
the great antiquity of the practice of working in clay--that all nations
of whose early religious ideas we have any knowledge ascribe its
inception to the gods. Daily habit demonstrated its utility, and
gratitude found a cover for ignorance, in bestowing upon the heavenly
powers the credit of inspiring man with a knowledge of the capabilities
of the plastic clay.

Reason supplies an easy solution of the problem, but one not likely to
occur to the unreasoning man of the primitive world. “On the day,” says
Jacquemart, “when man, walking upon the clayey soil, softened by
inundations or rain, first observed that the earth retained the prints
of his footsteps, the plastic art was discovered; and when lighting a
fire to warm his limbs or to cook his food, he remarked that the surface
of the hearth changed its nature and its color, that the reddened clay
became sonorous, impervious, and hardened in its new shape, the art was
revealed to him of making vessels fit to contain liquids.” The reason of
the nineteenth century conflicts strangely with old-world opinions of
what was due to beneficent deity. Of this we can easily find abundant
illustration. Let us take, as examples, China, Japan, Egypt, and Greece.
We will find that each reverts to the misty boundary between legend and
history, or to the earlier age when the gods had not deserted the
world--the horizon of mortal vision or fancy, where heaven seems to
touch earth. It is said that nearly two thousand seven hundred years
before the Christian era the potter’s art was discovered in China by
Kouen-ou. This was during the reign of the enlightened Emperor Hoang-ti.
Of him it is recorded that after many labors for the good of his
subjects, the amelioration of their condition, and the extension of
their knowledge, he was translated to the upper sphere on the back of a
huge and whiskered dragon.

The Japanese follow a precisely similar course. Having no real
knowledge, they call imagination to their aid, and solve an historical
problem by the creation of a legend. Turning back to a period long
before history begins, they affect to find the inventor of pottery in
Oosei-tsumi, a legendary being who lived in the age of
Oanamuchi-no-mikoto, and conferred upon him the title of “Kami,”
distinctive of deity.

The Egyptians, more reverently, gave the art directly to the gods.
Having a pantheon, they merely singled out that one of its occupants to
whom the honor should be ascribed. As Osiris is their Bacchus, and Thoth
their Mercury, so to the director Num, the first creature, they ascribe
the art of moulding clay. Like the Hebrew Jehovah, he first made the
heavens and earth, the firmament, the sun, and the moon, and, from the
fact of his having made the rivers and mountains, would appear also to
have evolved order out of the Egyptian chaos. Lastly, he made man.
Turning the clay of the Nile upon his wheel, he fashioned the last and
greatest of created things, and having “breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life,” made man the cornerstone of the fabric of creation.
Inspiration and monotheism apart, it would almost appear that the Jewish
law-giver found in the hated “house of bondage” a foundation for his
cosmogony.

In how many instances did the Greeks lay the honors due to some
forgotten mortal at the feet of a god or a semi-divine hero? To them
Inachus, who about 1800 B.C. founded the kingdom of Argos, was not the
leader of a band of adventurous emigrants from Egypt, but a child of the
sea over which he came, a son of Oceanus and Tethys. It was only when
Gelanor, the last of the race of Inachus, was deposed by Danaus, that we
find a Greek recognition of the early connection of that country with
Egypt. Danaus was the son of Belus, and brother of Ægyptus, jointly with
whom he occupied the throne of Egypt. Quarrelling with his brother,
Danaus set sail, and, arriving at Argos, rose to the throne by the means
above indicated. These statements are only of value to our present
purpose as showing the close connection between Greece and Egypt, and
pointing to the conclusion that Egypt dropped the germs of that art
which Greece cultivated to such perfection that it won the admiration of
the world. If we turn to the origin of pottery accepted by the Greeks
themselves, we are confused by the liveliness of their teeming
imagination. The exercise of fancy takes the place of an undeveloped
historical sense. When Jupiter wished to punish the rash impiety of
Prometheus by giving him a wife, Vulcan made Pandora, the first of
mortal women, out of clay. Prometheus is one of the strangest figures in
Greek mythology. He laughed at the whole Pantheon, cheated the great
Jove himself, and was yet a benefactor of mankind, after he had created
the species; for to him also is ascribed the creation from clay of the
first man and woman. Thus the gods and heroes were potters, and the art
was practised by them before mortal life began. To two Corinthians, one
Athenian, and one Cretan, the invention of the plastic art has been
attributed; but, passing these by, let us turn, for philological
reasons, to the legend of Keramos. The story of the adventures of
Theseus is pretty well known. By the help of Ariadne, he killed the
Minotaur of Crete, and escaped from the Labyrinth, and, having
subsequently abandoned his fair assistant on the island of Naxos, she is
said by some to have hanged herself in despair. Others, however,
assert--and to their tale we must listen--that in the arms of Bacchus
she found solace for her sorrows. Their son Keramos was the patron of
potters, and to his name we owe our word “keramic” or “ceramic.” When
the Argives pointed out the tomb of Ariadne, her ashes were deposited in
an urn in one of their temples, so that by means of the art attributed
to the son, the mother’s remains were preserved.

It is thus made clear that the practice of making vessels of clay had no
origin to which we can now turn back. The art was born in the “twilight
of the gods,” whose productions are now used in illustrating the pages
of history. Even in these wild fancies there is a germ of truth. The
first attempts at moulding in clay had a common origin in the
necessities of man, and the promptings of nature to supply them. The
material was on all hands ready for use; and why should the men of
antiquity be held to differ from the children of after-ages, or those of
our own time? To one the suggestion may have come from one source, to
another it may have come from another; and unless we choose to bind
ourselves to the narrative of the building of the great Tower of Babel,
and the dispersal of races, we may be led to think that its origin may
have been manifold, as its rudest attempts have certainly been
discovered in places wide apart.

On the sea-shore the child builds its house and mill, giving by the help
of water a certain consistency to the inadhesive sand. On the roadside,
or by the pond’s rim, it shapes the oozy mud into the forms suggested to
childhood’s imitative instinct. One of the earliest and most beautiful
of the legends relating to the youth of Christ has reference to this
very matter. He was engaged with his playmates in making earthen birds.
His efforts were clumsy and his art rude, and his companions jeered him,
until the birds he had made became living things, and flew away. Let us
by all means concede this to have been an impossible miracle, based upon
an idle legend. Yet it proves that either in the early days of Galilee,
or in those of the inventor of the tale, the habits of children differed
in no degree from those of to-day. A kind of instinct would almost
appear to lead them to model and imitate in clay; and putting primitive
man upon the level of childhood, there is no reason for believing that
the plastic art had not several independent origins.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Old Sèvres Patetendre. Fontenoy Vase,
commemorative of the Battle of Fontenoy. Painted by Genest. (M. L.
Double Coll.)]

The manner in which pottery illustrates history brings us to one of the
most interesting features of the study (Fig. 1). While the connoisseur
is deep in the history of the art itself, the student prefers to view it
in its relation to that of mankind. It suggests difficulties, confirms
deductions, and offers hints for the solution of the problems of
history. The memory of extinct nations is perpetuated by the clay
records which have survived their submergence in the tide of time. In
these we may read, as in a book, of the gods they worshipped, of their
daily life, of their death and burial. Historians now, in fact, consult
the relics of the potter’s art with as much confidence and readiness as
they would turn to the pages of an old-world chronicle. Migrations,
intercourse, and conquest have all been recorded in clay. One might in
that way define with the utmost exactness the line bounding the vast
empire of Rome. The bricks or tiles, placed over the graves of the
soldiers or found in their camps, show the stations of the legions and
the extent of conquest. Wherever

        “the Empress of the world
    Of yore her eagle wings unfurled,”

in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Jerusalem, or elsewhere, there
have been found tiles or bricks stamped with the number of the legion or
its distinctive appellation. The tragic end of Quintilius Varus is known
to all readers of Roman history. A Roman proconsul of high birth, and
enriched by the governorship of Syria, he was appointed to the command
of the army confronting the hordes of Germany. Surprised by the German
chief Hermann, or Arminius, his army was almost annihilated, and he, in
despair, after the fashion of his time, sought death by his own hand.
The Emperor Augustus wailed for months, “Varus, give me back my
legions,” the legions which were lying on the field, at the farthest
point to which the armies of Rome had penetrated, and also the farthest
in that direction, at which any specimens of Roman pottery have been
found. From the funereal urns of the Greeks we are enabled to tell how
far they pursued their conquests in any direction. Other nations left,
in the lands to which their arms were carried, similar mementos of their
presence, which, on being exhumed, after lying for centuries covered
thickly over by the dust time is continually spreading over the past,
are transferred to the page of history.

A very forcible example of the historical value of earthen-ware is found
almost at our very door. Irving relates, in his “Life of Washington,”
that, not long after his birth, his father removed to Stafford County,
near Fredericksburg. The house stood on a knoll overlooking the
Rappahannock. This was the home of George’s youth. The meadow between
the house and the river was his play-ground. But this home, like that in
which he was born, has disappeared; the site is only to be traced by
fragments of _bricks_, _china_, and _earthen-ware_. Another example may
be taken from a paragraph which appeared in the daily papers very
recently, in which it was stated that two _amphoræ_--the name given to
the Greek two-handled, oval-bodied vases (Fig. 2) with pointed base,
which have been found wherever Greek commerce extended--containing fifty
thousand coins of the Emperor Gallienus and his immediate successors,
had been discovered at Verona. Nearly all were as fresh as when coming
from the mint. Gallienus assumed the purple A.D. 260, and reigned for
eight years before he was assassinated at Milan. For over fifteen
hundred years, therefore, these vases preserved their numismatic
treasures.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Greek and Phœnician (on right) Amphoræ.
(Cesnola Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Chinese Bottles found in Egyptian Tombs.]

Still another instance may be mentioned in which the close connection
between history and its handmaid, pottery, is illustrated. Some time ago
certain travellers in Egypt purchased a number of small jars (Fig. 3) of
a kaolinic composition, which they were told had been taken from the
tombs. They were evidently, from the style of decoration and the
characters they bore, of Chinese manufacture; and the first conclusion
was, that, as evidence was not wanting to show that one of them had been
taken from a very old tomb on its being first opened, they were
possessed of a highly venerable antiquity. Subsequent investigations,
however, showed that they had been obtained from certain ports on the
Red Sea, and were to be ascribed to a comparatively recent date. The
discovery subtracted about two thousand five hundred years from their
age. But how came these Chinese vases to find their way to the
commercial cities of the Red Sea? Before navigators had learned that
the great highway between Europe and the East was round the South of
Africa, intercourse was maintained either by the overland route or
through the Persian Gulf. This accounts for the abundance of Chinese
porcelain found in Persia. Some of the specimens may have been left on
the western side of the Gulf, and have thence found their way across
Arabia to the shores of the Red Sea, whence they were obtained by the
fraudulent venders of Lower Egypt.

In this way the intercourse of nations may frequently be explained by
the help of pottery. Not only, be it observed, may it be taken as an
indicator of the movements or extension of the nations themselves, but
of the manner and extent of their intercourse with the rest of the
world.

As an exponent of the customs of antiquity, its aid is of the highest
value. We learn, for instance, that among the Greeks the usual custom
was to mix wine in one vessel, cool it in another, draw it from the
latter into jugs, and from them fill and replenish the beakers or cups
of guests. We can see anywhere to-day tiny tea-sets for the amusement of
children. The Greeks had something closely akin to them. Vases were
given to children, as toys are given now. Some of those discovered are
so limited in their dimensions that they could not have been used for
any other purpose, and on others are depicted the games in which
children engaged. Of all the uses to which an earthen jar could be put,
certainly the most singular was that discovered by Diogenes, when he
chose one for his habitation (Fig. 4). That such was the case there is
strong reason for believing. This statement is one which may disconcert
popular belief, and break off the association between the philosopher
and a “tub;” but the authorities in favor of his home being a huge jar
are tolerably decisive. A tub, moreover, scarcely seems to meet the
requirements of the occasion, whereas it is easy to imagine a _pithos_
satisfying the limited demands of Diogenes in the way of house-keeping.
Nor was the whim of the philosopher without parallel. It is said that
during the Peloponnesian war the Athenians lived in similar vessels. The
_pithos_ occupied by Diogenes was cracked and patched; and these
vessels, when unfit for other use, were, long after his day, used as
dwellings by the poor.

[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Diogenes in Pithos.]

Vases were presented as prizes (Fig. 5) to the victors in the athletic
games; and it is from these and other kinds deposited in sepulchres,
that we derive the greater part of our knowledge of Greek ceramic art.
Not only were they used--at least after the earliest days of Greece--to
hold the ashes of the dead, but were evidently employed as tokens of
respect or affection. Thus, the vases the deceased had most admired or
used in life were placed in the tomb, along with others containing the
remains of the funeral feast, and those employed in the last rites. The
_amphora_ was devoted to all kinds of domestic uses. The _rhyton_ was a
drinking-cup (Fig. 6). There were special vessels for oil and unguents;
and the different kinds of wine-jars and drinking-cups present an almost
endless variety of shapes, and, especially the latter, a most wonderful
beauty of form. Of these, the _kylix_ affords a good example (Fig. 7).
In this way we see that, from childhood to the grave, the customs of the
Greeks are illustrated by their pottery. We pass by, in the mean time,
with a mere reference the numberless mythic themes decipherable in the
decoration of their vases.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Greek Prize Vase.]

We meet with a precisely similar state of things among the Chinese. We
can only study the pottery of that people after familiarizing ourselves
with their religion. How otherwise can we understand the quaint figures
and designs which meet us at every turn--the God of Longevity, Pou-tai
the God of Contentment, their manifold dragons, the Kylin, the Dog of
Fo, or the Fong-hoang? Colors and shapes, as well as animals, are
employed as symbols. As the crane symbolized long life, so were certain
colors and forms distinctive of social rank. Let us take a vase and
study it closely, observe its proportions and decoration, and these will
guide us to its purpose and to the rank of the individual making use of
it. Vases and images tell of both the public and private worship of the
Chinese, and of the manner in which it was conducted. The excess to
which the Chinese carry the duties of hospitality and courtesy has been
frequently commented on. It would be hard to imagine anything showing
better the refinements of which etiquette is capable, than their manner
of decorating their reception-rooms, so that they may be filled with the
mildest incense of flattery to the expected guest. Should he be a
soldier, vases stand on all sides, decorated with the warlike scenes
best suited to his professional taste. Should he be a poet, war is
changed to literature, and vases are chosen which recall the great names
of the profession. After a manner similar to that in vogue among the
Greeks, pottery and porcelain were used by the Chinese as media for the
conveyance of compliments and good wishes, and as special marks of
honor. They were conferred on the officer by his sovereign, and passed
between friends at the customary times of rejoicing.

[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Greek Rhyton. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y.
Metropolitan Museum.)]

We approach Egypt, in this connection, with a certain amount of awe. We
examine its early pottery with a sensation similar to that with which we
view a mummy. It comprises relics of a civilization of so hoary an
antiquity, that to study them is like peering into the secrets of the
grave. It is, in fact, from the tombs that the treasures have been
exhumed which enable us to trace Egyptian ceramic art. They tell of
customs followed long before the Persian Cambyses

    “O’erthrew Osiris, Orus, Apis, Isis,
     And shook the Pyramids with fear and wonder
     When the gigantic Memnon fell asunder.”

Some of the specimens date from the Third Dynasty, about four thousand
years ago. There is now in existence a porcelain box bearing one of the
names of Amasis II., the king whom Cambyses overthrew six hundred years
before our era began. The earliest relics may be said to have been
coeval with the invention of a written language.

[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Kylix, with Gorgon and Eyes.]

A very curious custom may be allowed to arrest our attention for a
moment. In the tombs previous to the sixth century B.C., have been found
cones (Fig. 8), having inscriptions on their base. From these we learn
the occupants’ names and office, whether scribes, priests, or nobles.
They served, in short, all the purposes of the inscriptions on the tombs
of our day, or of labels for establishing the identity of the dead.
Terra-cotta figures have also been found in some graves, bearing, like
the cones, the name and title of the deceased. In the same connection
may be mentioned the peculiar, and to us revolting, usage of devoting
vases to holding the viscera of the embalmed body.

[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Red Earthen-ware Cone. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N.
Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

The multitudinous domestic uses of jars cannot here be enumerated. We
know that they were devoted to purposes which would now be considered
somewhat at variance with the legitimate object of the manufacture of
earthen-ware. We might almost say that all the receptacles designed in
modern times for domestic convenience, such as baskets, boxes, and tin
utensils, have their counterparts among the earthen fabrics of the
Egyptians. Nor must we stop there if we observe the many other purposes
of ornament and religion to which their ceramic wares were devoted. The
Egyptians had an idea that the physical wants of the deceased did not
come to an end with life, and they accordingly placed in the tombs jars
with meat and drink for consumption after death. Of these jars, many had
unquestionably been previously employed in the household. From such and
other sources we learn that earthen pots were employed in cooking, as
those of metal are with us, that certain vessels were used for holding
water; others for the juice of the grape, for butcher-meat or poultry,
for cosmetics, and, stranger than any, for holding the flax while it was
being spun. Manuscripts, or papyri, have also been discovered in them;
so that it may easily be seen how important a part pottery played in the
every-day life of the Egyptians.

[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Ball of Painted Earthen-ware. Egyptian.]

If we turn to their glazed ware, or porcelain, as it has been called,
we find it much more extensively applied to decorative purposes. The
unglazed was almost exclusively restricted to articles of a domestic
kind. The glazed ware was employed in tiling, and inlaying coffins and
boxes, and in the making of various vases and cups. Balls, presumably
for the amusement of children, and other toys sometimes also made of
pottery (Fig. 9), ear-rings, the pieces for a game akin to draughts
(Fig. 10) or checkers, amulets, beads, necklaces, small figures of the
gods (perforated), emblematic animals, finger-rings, and sepulchral
figures, have all been found of this material. The extent to which such
discoveries illustrate the customs of the Egyptians need not be enlarged
upon.

Having thus brought forward China, Greece, and Egypt as instances, it is
hardly necessary to pursue this line of inquiry further. It may be said,
in the broadest language, that every nation of whose ceramic productions
we have any specimens, have in them reflected their religion and
customs, and thus furnished most important aids to the construction of
their national history.

[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Draughtsman of Glazed Pottery, from Thebes.]

Literature has been enriched by figures drawn from the ceramic art. Some
of the most effective similes of Biblical writers are thus derived. It
is under the type of a potter that Jeremiah represents God as showing
his absolute power over the Israelites: “Behold as the clay is in the
potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” In a similar
manner, St. Paul typifies the divine control over man. “Nay but, O man,
who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor?” It is this absolute “power over the clay” which
led men to use it for the conveyance of their first conceptions of the
beautiful. The pottery of all countries shows how religion stimulated
art, by furnishing it with themes, and infusing into it a spiritual
signification which all could understand. The pottery of the Greeks
shows best how art may embellish religion and history, and perpetuate
the legends belonging to neither. To the above may be added the very
effective simile employed by Plato in characterizing Socrates: “The
outside of the vase is scrawled over with odd shapes and writing, but
within are precious liquors and healing medicines, and rare mixtures of
far-gathered herbs and flowers.”

[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Enamelled Babylonian Brick. (Louvre.)]

And thus, by a short step, we reach the art represented in pottery. It
supplies, beyond all question, the best means of observing the growth of
intelligence and the expansion of artistic ideas. The very qualities of
clay which led to its being used in the gratification of awakening
necessities, led also to its being adopted for the expression of the
first inspirations of art. When the Assyrian potter first ornamented the
brick he had moulded (Fig. 11), the mechanical pursuit was elevated to
the sphere of art. The same course was followed among all nations. When
the discovery was reached, that clay could be made serviceable for
building or for household vessels, decoration sooner or later suggested
itself. Either forms were varied and became in themselves ornamental, or
a superficial decoration was resorted to. The useful led to the
beautiful, and their combination, as seen on the dinner-tables of our
day, is the natural result of a universal process by which nations have
advanced from rude and unskilful ignorance to art. The aboriginal
American potter decorated his coarse vase with a few scratches made with
a stick; his modern successor moulds his porcelain into graceful forms,
and brings to its ornamentation a palette of bright colors, a trained
hand, and a cultivated taste. The one is a relic of barbarism, the other
a work of civilization, and both are the fruits of a combination to
which all nations have been irresistibly led, viz., the useful with the
beautiful. This course has been universally followed, and may, for that
reason, be called natural. Man in every part of the world has given vent
to his instinctive longing for that which, to him, represents beauty in
the embellishment of objects in daily use. It is by the consideration of
such facts that we learn to appreciate fully the bearing of pottery upon
art and history. Upon this point Dr. Birch says: “By the application of
painting to vases, the Greeks made them something more than mere
articles of commercial value or daily use. They have become a
reflection of the paintings of the Greek schools, and an inexhaustible
source for illustrating the mythology, manners, customs, and literature
of Greece. Unfortunately, very few are ornamented with historical
subjects, yet history receives occasional illustration from them; and
the representations of the burning of Crœsus, the orgies of Anacreon,
the wealth of Arcesilaus, the tributes of Darius, and the meeting of
Alcæus and Sappho, lead us to hope that future discoveries may offer
additional examples.”

This passage leads directly to the consideration of the permanency of
ceramic works as compared with those of other branches of art. The
“reflections of the paintings of the Greek schools” have come down to us
in all the beauty they possessed on first leaving the artist’s hand. We
may allow Mr. Ruskin to state the reverse case, and draw the conclusion.
“It is surely,” he says, “a severe lesson to us in this matter, that the
best works of Turner could not be shown for six months without being
destroyed--and that his most ambitious ones, for the most part, perished
before they could be shown. I will break through my law of reticence,
however, so far as to tell you that I have hope of one day interesting
you greatly (with the help of the Florentine masters) in the study of
the arts of moulding and painting porcelain; and to induce some of you
to use your future power of patronage in encouraging the various
branches of this art, and turning the attention of the workmen of Italy
from the vulgar tricks of minute and perishable mosaic to the exquisite
subtleties of form and color possible in the perfectly ductile,
afterward unalterable clay. And one of the ultimate results of such
craftsmanship might be the production of pictures as brilliant as
painted glass--as delicate as the most subtle water-colors, and more
permanent than the Pyramids.” Both these writers thus refer to
permanency as a feature of the potter’s art, which lends it a special
importance. Whatever form the art may have assumed, it is, when applied
to pottery, practically imperishable. By his allusion to the effect of
time and exposure upon the paintings of Turner, Mr. Ruskin invests the
results he contemplates with a certain kind of grandeur. He has in view
the culminating point of ceramic art, the apex to which the works of the
artists of all time lead up step by step. What process he would adopt,
or what forms of the art he would discard, we need not now inquire. It
will be sufficient to take our stand at the point indicated--the
perfection of form and decoration--and observe how the artists of the
past have approached it, and to mark the ideas by which they have been
influenced.

The ceramic is the union of two branches of art, the architectural and
the graphic. It combines form and proportion with drawing and color. It
is unnecessary here to define art in the abstract; but there are certain
general principles which may help us to estimate the works of the
ceramic artists of all countries. Of these, the first is thus stated by
Ruskin: “The entire vitality of art depends upon its being either full
of truth or full of use; and however pleasant, wonderful, or impressive
it may be in itself, it must yet be of an inferior kind, and tend to
deeper inferiority, unless it has clearly one of these main
objects--_either to state a true thing, or to adorn a serviceable one_.
It must never exist alone--never for itself.... Every good piece of art
... involves skill, and the formation of an actually beautiful thing by
it.” The “statement of a true thing” referred to in the passage quoted
is Similitude, one of the philosopher-critic’s essentials in the graphic
arts. In the architectural arts, including pottery, he demands Skill,
Beauty, and Use; in the graphic arts, Skill, Beauty, and Likeness. If,
however, we keep in mind what Dr. Birch says of the vases of Greece
being a reflection of the Greek school of painting, and also Mr.
Ruskin’s desideratum of pictures upon exquisitely moulded porcelain, we
shall see that the essentials of the ceramic art, as a special branch,
comprise those of both the architectural and graphic divisions--Skill,
Beauty, Use, and Similitude. In one respect, therefore, it may be said
to be the highest of all the arts.

The rule thus laid down can be easily applied, and is capable of various
modifications to suit the special object upon which it is brought to
bear. Thus, a work of art may represent Skill alone. Add, to equal
Skill, the second essential, Beauty, and the work will rank higher in
art. Invest an object for Use with both Skill and Beauty, and it is
raised still higher. If to these Similitude be added, the work will be
estimated according to the degree in which it possesses the four
essentials. It is obvious, however, that in the works of the ceramic
artist, it is neither always possible nor desirable to aim at bringing
the four essentials together; and this fact will receive ample
illustration from what follows. The rule has been modified by every
nation according to its views of art and beauty. It is better to
recognize the good in all, than to accept one standard and exclude all
others. Catholicity of sympathy and breadth of appreciation are as
necessary to the collector’s enjoyment as to the student-artist’s
benefit. Should the one raise an inflexible standard by which to measure
his admiration, or the other allow only one carefully defined style to
kindle his emulation, both will shut out the greater part of the world
of art. Every work of art is an expression of feeling, and, to
appreciate it, it is necessary to make as near an approach as possible
to understanding the sentiment it embodies. The form of expression
varies with different nations and with different men; and to catch all
the fine and elusive shades of feeling surrounding the art of different
times and peoples, the cultivation of a keen and sensitive perception of
beauty is better than voluntary slavery under a despotic and arbitrary
rule. Art is the universal language in which humanity has couched its
ideas of beauty. The form of expression varies, but the impulse is
everywhere fundamentally the same. We have endeavored to put in words
rather the common aim of all, than a rule by which to measure individual
endeavor. It does not follow that all efforts are equal. Some have
approached the common object by one route, and others by another, and
some have approached it nearer than others; but in no case can one be
singled out as the only correct course, to the condemnation of all
others. The true artist will combine the best features of all
achievements, and so win a place nearer the goal than his predecessors.
If we find one artist excelling in form, and another in color, he who
combines excellence of form with beauty of color will surpass both. The
narrowness of schools and the vagaries of fashion have been a burden
upon art; and the less we allow ourselves to be enthralled by either,
the greater will be our enjoyment of artistic work. The more rigid our
rule, the more precarious is its existence. The standard of yesterday is
to-day looked upon with a feeling akin to contempt. Methods, models,
ideals change; and the wise man is he who can see the merits and
shortcomings, the beauties and defects, of all.

We have said that different nations have shown in different ways their
sense of the aims and possibilities of ceramic art. The works of the
Greeks indicate an absorbing admiration of elegance of form and
figure-drawing. Their vases mark the second step in the progress of
decoration. Firstly came linear ornamentation, and then light and line,
of which all the Greek vases are examples. If, then, the Greeks in their
best days had only reached the second step in decoration, to what must
we ascribe the wonderful influence of their art? Certainly it is not in
the subjects they chose to illustrate that its charm consists.

Taking our stand in ancient Greece, we may glance along the whole line
by which the art has progressed toward an approximate perfection, and at
the same time see in what the Greeks were pre-eminent, and in what they
were deficient. “To Greece,” says one writer, “was intrusted the
cultivation of the reason and the taste. Her gift to mankind has been
science and art.” Her highest idea was beauty. She left behind her
canons of taste, beyond which, in their special application, we have not
advanced, and have little hope of advancing. We are not, therefore,
surprised when a writer on pottery reminds us that “to every eye
familiar with works of art of the higher order, the cleverest imitations
of nature, and the most elegant conceits of floral ornaments, whether
exhibited in the efforts of Oriental or European potters, appear coarse
and vulgar when contrasted with the chaste simplicity of the Greek
forms.” If we would appreciate the full truth of this, we have only to
make comparisons in any sufficiently extensive collection. The Greeks
took the articles of daily use, and made them representatives of their
ideas of beauty in both form and ornamentation. In this they followed
the examples set them ages before. In accomplishment only they were
alone. While, therefore, we study some as mere examples of skill, or
curiosities of design, we study the Greek forms as embodying our highest
ideal of beauty.

Let us now examine that in which they were deficient, and see how others
have tried to remedy it.

There are branches of the art which the Greeks either did not study, or
studied without success. They give little evidence of having been able
to appreciate color or to understand its uses. They, as Ruskin says,
painted anything anyhow--gods black, horses red, lips and cheeks white.
They attained to a certain unsurpassable elegance of shape, and the
beautiful outlines of their human-figure ornamentation can at times
hardly be sufficiently admired; but their coloring was purely
conventional, and its application but little understood. Its changes may
be noticed with some curiosity. At first the favorite ground was a pale
cream-color, which, later, turned to a redder tint, and human took the
place of animal forms. The vases in what is called the “old style,” show
black figures and ornamentation in monochrome, with the exception of
female faces, which are white, and eyes red. The effects of perspective
are only occasionally tried. White was used for the hair and beard of
old men. Coming down next to the highest art of Greece, the ground is
black, the figures red, and the ornamentation white. Specimens belonging
to this period show advance chiefly in the drawing and expression. We
remark further, that, besides the use of conventional colors, the Greeks
did not care to copy nature too closely, and thus in two distinct ways
showed their indifference or inability to introduce into their art the
element of likeness. When Jacquemart says that “no natural object, be it
plant, bird, or animal, is rendered in its real form, or in its intimate
details,” he gives expression to a fact which shows the distinction
between Greek ceramic art and that in which a nearer approach is made to
similitude by the use of correct drawing and color.

[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Japanese Hexagonal Vase. Deep blue ground.
Figures in dark brown, three shades of green, and yellow. Height, 16½
in. (R. H. Pruyn Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 13.--Persian Tile. Arabesque Decoration.]

The Orientals went to the opposite extreme. They delighted in bright and
gorgeous decoration to an extent that, but for their many intensely
realistic works, would lead to the belief that the production of certain
effects in color was the highest object of their artists. Their strength
lies in their coloring. Nowhere else can the same skill be found in the
harmonizing of shades usually deemed discordant, and nowhere else have
colors the same brilliancy and depth (Fig. 12). The Japanese and
Chinese, in particular, appear to have thoroughly grasped the true place
of color in the decoration of curving surfaces, from which the
brilliant glaze reflects the light. The artists of Sèvres, anticipating
in a manner Ruskin’s idea, embellished their vases with compositions
similar to those on canvas. They made the mistake of thinking that the
artist’s work is independent of the surface on which it appears, whereas
perspective is altered and sometimes destroyed by the curvature of a
vase and the brilliancy of the enamel. The artists of the Orient, on the
other hand, either restrict themselves to subjects which can be treated
upon a judiciously limited part of the surface, or throw aside
compositions entirely, and trust to floral designs, isolated figures,
repetitious decoration without unity of design, or to beauty of colors
alone. Everything contributed to exalt their estimation of color for its
own sake, and to it we accordingly find that they devote the regard
entertained by the Greeks for form. Any ulterior use of color, as for
picture-painting on the flat surface of porcelain plaques, does not
appear to have occupied their attention to any very great extent. It is
in isolated figures and flowers that we can best study the marvellous
delicacy of the Chinese or Japanese brush, and the fidelity with which
the suggestions of nature are followed. There is little absolute
imitation. Color is paramount, and its beauty obscures the incongruities
of Oriental art.

The Persians, like the Greeks, mingled the natural with the
conventional. Their vases and tiles (Fig. 13) are ornamented with floral
designs, in which, while some of the flowers can be distinguished,
others are altered beyond recognition. Among the Mussulman Persians the
enamels reached the highest point of gorgeous brilliancy: glowing red as
a ground-color, dishes with bottoms covered with rich
arabesques--everything set in tints of the most pronounced and striking
kind. Their decorations are many-hued as the rainbow; and if at times
they lack its softly melting shades, they appear at others as if
suspended in the clear and liquid glaze, as soft as the tints of early
spring. White figures on a blue or yellow ground, or _vice versa_, are
distinctive of much of the ornamentation of Persia. The mosque at
Sultaneah (Fig. 14) is described as having its walls entirely “cased
with enamelled tiles of deep blue, with yellow and white scrolls and
devices.” The patterns are arabesque, occasionally mingled with animal
and floral forms. The finest specimens of Persian tiling at the Museum
at Sèvres are in blue and white, the latter forming the ground.

[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Mosque at Sultaneah. Cased, inside and out,
with enamelled tiles.]

[Illustration: Fig. 15.--Japanese Porcelain. Cloudy gray, flecked with
gold; dress, rose and gold. (Sutton Coll.)]

These technical secrets, known centuries ago in Persia and the far East,
have been coveted by ceramists down to the present day. They have been
and are the most jealously guarded possessions of artists and factories,
and history records many instances of the extreme precautions adopted to
prevent their spread. The Japanese, for example, although indebted to
China and Corea for the foundation of the knowledge upon which the
magnificent structure of their subsequent art was built, guard with the
utmost care the borrowed secrets in their possession. In a native work
on porcelain it is said: “The painting and decoration of vases is a
secret that it is not permitted to reveal.” Similar instances present
themselves on every hand. The production of any unusually beautiful
color, although really only one-half of the difficulty with which the
ceramic artist has to contend, is universally regarded as a triumph.
Such were the efforts upon which the potters of China expended their
skill, and upon which the emperors of the Flowery Kingdom bestowed
rewards. There are dynastic colors, but no dynastic style of
ornamentation with design. The ability to apply color to an artistic
creation was a secondary matter, and went without recognition. The
position of the artist and the workman were thus in a measure inverted,
if we insist that the production of color is mechanical, and its
application artistic. If the decoration be examined, its execution in
detail will be found to be almost perfect--birds of brilliant plumage,
flowers of richest hue, men and women draped in Oriental splendor (Fig.
15). In every case the colors used are those which produce the subtlest
harmony. They gleam through the glaze like gems, or lie upon its surface
like drops of pearl, ruby, or emerald. The drawing is precise and
minute. A cylindrical Japanese vase, in Mr. J. T. Sutton’s collection,
is decorated with a flock of cranes. They cover the upper part of its
surface, flying, turning, diving, in every conceivable attitude--a
perfect whirlwind of birds. The decorator has, with astonishing skill,
seized upon the varied attitudes most suggestive of motion, and has
produced what might be called “a study of cranes,” as far beyond the
apprehension of a European artist as the minutiæ are beyond his skill.
Elsewhere we may see a masterpiece of manual dexterity. It is
reticulated, or articulated; or has its paste perforated, and then
covered with glaze; or it may be a grotesque expression of Oriental
humor. Others are decorated with designs in color, and their aspects
have no monotony. Should one side weary, the vase may be partially
turned, and an entirely new effect is secured. In it, as in that
described above, there is no repetition.

In Oriental work, as a whole, we therefore find skill in manipulation,
similitude in drawing, and beauty in color; and the greatest of these is
color. We have seen how it was regarded by the Chinese themselves, and
our collectors follow their lead. They value one piece for the rarity of
its prevailing green, another for the depth of its turquoise, a third
for the clearness of its blue and the transparency of its white, a
fourth for the harmony of its many tints, a fifth for the skill
displayed in its quaint form and decoration.

We thus reach an interesting point where some instruction may be gained.
On the one hand, are the Greeks pursuing beauty of form with assiduity
and marked success; on the other, are the Orientals occupying themselves
with mechanical skill and the beauty resulting from color. Both were
right so far as they went. Men will admire Greek pottery so long as they
have any sense of elegant proportion; they will admire Oriental pottery
so long as they find any beauty in the changing colors of a kaleidoscope
or in a gem. The aims and ideals of the two peoples were different, and
the world has not yet seen the combination of a gracefulness of form
equal to the Greek with the coloring of the Orient.

[Illustration: Fig. 16.--Nankin Porcelain. Brown bands; base, white;
body, pale green; neck, light brown. Decoration chiefly pink, green, and
blue; neck and body crackled. (Sutton Coll.)]

In other directions, especially in Europe, it is more difficult to
unravel the lines of art, or to specify, without numberless exceptions
and modifications, the distinctive aims of artists or schools. The
example of the Orientals has led some manufacturers to choose the
production of color as their great aim. They have no intelligent
comprehension of its higher uses, as these might be studied in Chinese
decoration. They form an exaggerated estimate of Oriental processes, and
seek to equal the wonderful coloring of the faience of Persia or
Rhodes. If they fail, as is generally the case, they are in no way
deterred from using their inferior colors as the Orientals used the
riches of their palette. Instead of turning toward a new object within
the compass of their lower skill, they appeal to the eye with works
which, by suggesting comparison with the models that inspired them, are
at once condemned. If a vase of Nankin porcelain should be placed side
by side with a Delft copy, the force of this will at once be seen.

It is comparatively easy to assign a place to Palissy. His career
deserves study as an illustration of the movement of art between the
conventional and the natural. As we look back upon his works, we find
that truth to nature, in both form and color, was the guiding motive in
the production of his most remarkable pieces. We owe the romance of his
life to his earnestness in attempting to solve the mysteries of enamel.
“I thought,” he says, “that if I could discover the invention of making
enamel, I should be able to make vessels of earth, and other things of
beautiful arrangements, _because Heaven had given me to understand
something of painting_; and thenceforth, without considering that I had
no knowledge of argillaceous earth, I set about seeking enamel like a
man who gropes in the dark.” The story of his trials, his failures and
successes, his poverty, honors and persecutions, compose the great
romance in the history of ceramics. What he attained was, first, a white
enamel; then, jasper glaze of warm tints of blue, brown, and white;
lastly, his _Rustiques figulines_ (Fig. 17). The last was his crowning
effort. We regard him both as the leading representative of French art
in the sixteenth century, and as a great originator. He had made, after
long struggle and endeavor, a great discovery in enamelling; but what we
admire more than that is the ideal he had formed. He developed skill,
and aimed at both beauty and likeness. Palissy was great because, having
chosen a certain line of art, he adopted the only ideal by which he
could possibly reach perfection, viz., absolute truth to nature, alike
in form and color. He neither spared himself nor overlooked any detail.
His moulds were formed from living specimens. We recognize every
ornament--shells of the district round Paris, reptiles and plants from
the same places, and fish from the Seine. He did not dare to improve or
conventionalize. He preferred nature as he found her; and his wisdom was
genius. What we wish chiefly to note is, that here was an artist who
used the beauties of enamel for the reproduction of the natural. He not
only moulded the clay into the forms of living things, but reproduced
the colors of his models. No better examples can be given of Similitude.
It hardly seems possible that his was a branch of the same art that we
have seen in the East and in Greece. The fact of its being so merely
shows the wide scope of ceramic art, and the infinity of the forms it
may assume.

[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Palissy Dish. (Soltykoff Coll.)]

Having chosen representatives of three different components of what we
have assumed to be the highest form of art, we may now glance at the end
in view, and see to what extent the lower forms may be worthily
followed. Let us suppose that a piece of pottery or porcelain has been
painted, and that the action of the fire has made the coloring
perennial, so that we find on it a portrait or a landscape everlasting
as the ware itself. Let us suppose, further, that the tints are natural,
that, in short, the portrait is all that we now understand by the word,
and that in the landscape nature is displayed as on canvas--then we
should have a specimen of the perfect union of the potter’s and
painter’s art.

The lessening obstructions in the way of such a consummation may be
referred to in brief. The colors are mineral, and change by submission
to fire, different temperatures producing different tints, even when
the same pigment is used. The painter, therefore, in applying the
colors, must take into account the change to be effected by the fire in
endeavoring to produce a certain result. He has not merely, it will be
observed, to lay on given colors, and have them made perpetual by
glazing and firing. He must estimate and make allowance for the
transformations effected in the process. We are now in a position to
realize the difficulty attending the exercise of the combined skill of
potter and painter. As a consequence, although many great painters have
turned their genius to the decoration of earthen-ware, others have been
deterred from doing so by the very facts here mentioned. They are
unwilling to submit their work to processes unattended with certainty,
and to have their artistic individuality obliterated by the fire. It is
clear, therefore, that if by any means doubt can be changed to
certainty, and the finish characteristic of the individual artist be
preserved, artists of every grade will gladly avail themselves of the
opportunity to place their works above the reach of the defacing fingers
of Time. The ceramic art would be revolutionized. Artists, being at
present less able to follow nature, make a virtue of necessity, and lose
themselves among fantasies of tint and form. We find elaborately
decorated pieces, the great virtue of the floral ornamentation of which
is, that it is--not true, but--new. A new leaf or a novelty in flowers
is a valuable discovery; and the _répertoire_ of the potter is filled
with designs in which nature has no part. If nature be brought within
the artist’s reach, it will be followed more closely; and the result
might be the realization of Ruskin’s idea--the rendition of absolute
similitude in outline, color, and perspective.

The next question arising is, in view of the restraints upon artists,
what styles of decoration are the best? The subject is worth considering
at length. There may be a beauty of a certain kind in the ware itself.
As a rule, porcelain should never be overloaded with gold or any kind of
decoration or color less beautiful than its own enamel. It demands
lightness of ornamentation and gracefulness of design, rather than
brilliancy of decoration. We can, when these canons are observed, find
something to admire in capricious floral designs, even although they may
not be floral to the naturalist. The best rule is to adapt the
decoration to the object upon which it is laid. It would be a violation
of good taste to demand pictures upon plates, or that a soup-tureen
should resemble a sarcophagus. If an object be for use, let its
usefulness be the primary consideration; if for ornament, let its beauty
be its first; if it be meant to combine them, let the ornamentation be
that best suited to the useful purpose.

When we come to consider color alone, a distinction must again be drawn
between articles for different purposes. Ornamentation may address
either the eye alone or the sensibilities through the eye. Restricting
ourselves to the former, the article will be the most ornamental which,
apart from shape, seems most brilliant, and reflects the most light. To
illustrate this, we might reproduce an object in different
materials--diamond, ruby, topaz, gold, iron, lead, sand, and plaster.
Show it, in all these materials, to a savage, an ignoramus, an artist, a
woman, and each will select the copy in precious stone as the most
agreeable to the eye. The plaster would be the least likely to attract,
and the person choosing it would be at once put down as devoid of taste.
Suppose, now, that a vase is presented to us duplicated in different
materials, we should find the turquoise of Japan or the red of China
more pleasing to the eye than stanniferous enamel. It would, again, be
like choosing between ruby and plaster. In this way a rule could be
drawn up capable of universal application, one which would surmount all
the advancing and receding waves of changing fashion.

In the shape which an object intended for ornament should assume, or in
the style of its decoration, there is, as we have seen, no absolute
rule. Individual taste is paramount, since ornaments are intended mainly
to administer to the pleasure of the possessor, but one rule may be
considered universal in regard to the decoration. If the object be a
vase intended to brighten a house, then its ornamentation should never
be of such an order that its greatest and best effect is perceived when
it stands alone. What ought to be kept in view, is the extent to which
it will increase the attractiveness of the room in which it stands. It
is a very curious fact that the most perfect decoration demands
isolation for the appreciation of its full effect, and that decoration
of comparative mediocrity will frequently add more to an apartment. We
are thus led to observe that decoration is not an end, but a way, a
means to the beautifying of a home. Every such object in a house should
be a note, and from combination of all the notes comes harmony. Were
each a tune complete, however perfect, the result would be a jarring
discord. For that reason, a vase of one perfectly simple color may
harmonize with its surroundings as well as, or even better than, another
showing a masterpiece of painting. Such a color must, however, be as
near perfection as possible, like that of a precious stone. A vase of
turquoise-blue may produce in a room the effect of diamonds in the ears
of a woman. Taste is not likely to lead her to carry pictures in her
ears, nor to exclude all but picture-painted porcelain from her rooms.

[Illustration: Fig. 18.--Limoges Porcelain Plate. Painted by M.
Bracquemond. (Mrs. Charles Crocker Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 19.--Limoges Porcelain Plate. Painted by Pallaudre.
(Thomas Scott Coll.)]

Having thus seen how ceramic productions illustrate the art ideas of all
nations, having touched upon the influence of pottery upon art in
general, and having glanced at its present aims and possible
accomplishments, it will not be forgotten, after what has just been
said, that the combination of the useful and the beautiful is the great
charm of the ceramic art, making between them a new beauty which finds
its best place in the household. Let us look at the usual appurtenances
of the table. They both reflect taste and form it. A wide range is
before us from which to choose--from the vulgarity of overloaded glaring
colors and gilt, to the most exquisite simplicity of design and
perfection of workmanship. Every house-keeper ought to visit an
extensive collection, and, by comparing and contrasting one style with
another, learn in what the true beauty of ceramic decoration consists.
The painting and moulding of pottery and porcelain are quite as
important as oil-painting and sculpture. As we look at the pictures and
statues in a gallery, we read the stories they tell, feel the sentiment
they express, study the grace they embody, or linger lovingly over the
evidences they present of artistic skill. A plate may appear an humble
thing to which to turn from them. But let us consider the intimate
relations into which we are brought with its unobtrusive beauty. It is
the daily contact that lends so comparatively lowly a matter its real
importance, and daily contact with delicately painted and gracefully
moulded cups, platters, and dishes cannot be without its influence upon
taste. Or suppose the ceramic treasure be an earthen-ware jar. It
presents us with green, its depth suggestive of a forest glade, shading
off into blue like that of the sky. As we turn it slowly round, a leaf
appears attached to a tiny stem, and still farther lies a flower,
colored with the very hue of nature, and suggesting the perfume of a
garden in summer. Art such as that is never out of place, and never
thrown away. Or let our attention rest upon more purely ornamental
representatives of the art. There are vases which, while offering for
our admiration a beauty which is eternal, are yet invested with a
chameleon-like power of change. They never allow monotony to break their
charm. It may consist of a mere color. Take the old turquoise-blue of
China. The eye can scarcely catch the fleeting shades, to determine
whether the vase is blue or green. While daylight lasts, the blue is
dominant, but when the lamps are lit in the evening, the blue gives
place to a green of greatly increased brilliancy. The same thing may be
observed in many flower-painted vases. They may be examined once without
revealing a tithe of their beauty. The sky is overcast and the outside
world gloomy, and the flowers, as sympathetic as though growing in the
garden, look sombre and drooping. But let a ray of sunshine fall across
the vase, and mark how the flowers are glorified. Their hues change and
brighten, and, as if endowed with life, they smile, and lift up their
heads in the face of the sun.




BOOK I.--NOMENCLATURE AND METHODS.




CHAPTER I.

TECHNOLOGY.

     Confusion in Use of Terms.--Porcelain as an Instance.--Derivation
     of
     Ceramic.--Pottery.--Faience.--Majolica.--Mezza-Majolica.--Composition
     of Porcelain.--Origin of Word.--Where first made.--When introduced
     into Europe.--Hard and Soft Paste.--Soft Porcelain of Venice,
     Florence, England, France.--Hard Porcelain invented at Meissen by
     Böttcher.--Vienna.--Discovery of Kaolin in France.--Biscuit.


[Illustration: Fig. 20.--Blue-glazed Pottery. Egyptian.]

It will be necessary as we proceed to make use of certain terms, the
meaning of which should be defined with as much exactness as possible.
It may be premised that considerable confusion exists in the
nomenclature of the art. This has arisen partly from the want of
precision in the language employed by writers, and partly from diversity
of usage. As an illustration, the word “porcelain” may be adduced. The
material to which the Egyptians applied a glaze, and which was very
largely used in making ornaments and small images, has been called, and
is constantly spoken of, as Egyptian porcelain (Fig. 20). In reality the
substance is not porcelain, having neither the transparency nor the
hardness of that ware, but a compound between porcelain and
earthen-ware. The word was also used by the Italians in the sixteenth
century, to designate their finer qualities of majolica. An equally
incongruous application of it is made in the case of Lambeth faience,
which is described by the manufacturers as a “kind of porcelain.” Such
words as faience, hard and soft porcelain, majolica, stone-ware, etc.,
are in continual use by writers upon ceramic art, and a few of the more
important will now be defined.

Allusion has already been made to the derivation of the word “ceramic.”
Viewing the subject more prosaically, the name κεραμος was applied by
the Greeks to pottery in general, and also to a large jar; and several
derivatives were used for the designation of different vessels. The
potter himself was called κεραμευς, and the pot-market κεραμεικος.
Although the matter has been differently viewed, it appears probable
that the root of all the above words is κερας, a horn. The horn was
used at a very early period as a drinking-cup, and a more decided air
of probability is thus given to the above assumption, since Bacchus was
the reputed parent of κεραμος, or Ceramus. However philologists may
ultimately settle this matter, the word “ceramic” is now employed to
designate the potter’s art and its productions.

The word “pottery” is variously used. Its root is the Latin _potum_, a
drinking-vessel. It is applied, according to general English usage, to
all wares distinguished by their opacity from translucent porcelain. The
French word _poterie_, on the other hand, is applied to all vessels,
including those made of porcelain. The latter fact has led to a slight
confusion in the use of the English word. One writer makes the assertion
in one place, that the words “earthen-ware” and “pottery” have limited
and distinctive meanings, the former applying only to vessels of the
coarser qualities, the latter to the finest products of the fictile art,
“including even porcelain.” In another place, he draws a distinction
between pottery and porcelain, and in the latter course he is followed
by the present writer.

Faience, fayence, or fayance, is a French word applied to every kind of
glazed earthen-ware. According to the earlier French usage, the term
included porcelain, but more lately it has been applied only to pottery.

The word “majolica,” as now employed, has almost the same meaning as
faience. A more limited signification is attached to it by some. The
writer of the article on pottery in “Appleton’s Cyclopædia” says it is
used “to signify all faience of Italian manufacture. Lately the word has
been used as almost, if not quite, synonymous with faience.” A more
recent writer has said, “In its now common acceptation, the word is
applied to all kinds of decorated pottery made in Italy, or made in
colors and styles imitating the old Italian work. But when you read a
book on pottery written during the present century by an expert, you
will do well to remember that the word in that book means exclusively
Italian decorated pottery of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and
eighteenth centuries, in the old Italian styles. It does not include
Italian vases made in imitation of German, French, Dutch, or English
wares.”

The changing meaning of this word is a good illustration of the careless
use of the terms employed in treating of ceramic art. Originally,
majolica, or maiolica, had a meaning different from any of those given
above. The name is derived from Majorca, the largest of the Balearic
Islands, between which and Italy intercourse is known to have taken
place in the twelfth century; and two hundred years later, the
commercial transactions of Majorca were of a very extensive kind. The
evidence in favor of the above derivation of the word is conclusive.
Scaliger says distinctly that the Italian pottery derived its name of
majolica from Majorca, where the pottery was most excellent. Ferrari
believes that “the use of majolica, as well as the name, came from
Majorca, which the ancient writers called Majolica.” The “Dictionary
della Crusca” adds weight to these authorities. Such being the case, it
seems probable that the Italians derived part of their knowledge of
making majolica from the place which gives it its name. Even admitting
that the Saracens who settled in Sicily, and the Moors expelled from
Spain who settled in Italy, initiated the Italians in the art, nothing
is thereby detracted from the importance of Majorca. The fact is left
unaffected that the intercourse with the Balearic group enabled the
Italians to find a name for the ware they admired so much. On trying to
imitate it, the ware called “mezza-majolica” was produced. The red clay
was first thinly coated with white earth, upon which the colors were
laid. After a partial firing, lead glaze was applied, and lustre
pigments gave the ware the iridescence characteristic of real majolica.
It was after this that tin enamel was used in place of a white slip; and
the lustre pigments being applied as before, fine majolica was produced.
It will thus be seen that the words “mezza-majolica” and “majolica” were
originally applied only to wares showing the _reflet métallique_, or
lustre. This limited use of the word was observed down to the middle of
the sixteenth century. Piccolpasso, writing in 1548, in no case applies
the name to the painted and glazed wares of his own production. All the
glazed earthen-ware of Italy was thereafter called majolica; and the
application of the word has been growing wider ever since. Mr. Fortnum
says, “We think, with M. Jacquemart, M. Darcel, Mr. J. C. Robinson, and
others, that the word ‘maiolica’ should be again restricted to lustred
wares.” Any such attempt must necessarily end in failure. The popular
employment of a word is not to be controlled by its scientific
application. The tendency is in the opposite direction--toward the
establishment of a universal usage by which faience and majolica will
become convertible terms.

The different kinds of ware, such as Lucca della Robbia, Palissy,
Doulton, and Limoges, will be found described under the countries to
which they belong.

Porcelain is composed of two ingredients, one of which--kaolin--is
infusible, and the other--petuntse--vitrifies, and envelops the kaolin.
It is translucid, and therein differs from pottery, which is opaque. As
to the origin of the word, we have already seen that it was, in its
Italian form, applied to majolica in the sixteenth century; and the word
“pourcelaine” occurs two centuries earlier. It was used to designate
Oriental china in the fifteenth century. Mr. J. F. Davis, in his work on
the Chinese (1840), quotes Marsden to the effect that the word
“porcelain,” or _porcellana_, was applied by Europeans to the ware of
China, from the resemblance of its fine polished surface to that of the
univalve-shell so named; while the shell itself derived its appellation
from the curved or gibbous shape of its upper surface, which was thought
to resemble the raised back of a _porcella_, or little hog. When
porcelain was first invented in China is not exactly known. The
combination was discovered in the province of Honan about eighteen
hundred years ago; but the date cannot be more specifically fixed. From
China it was introduced into Persia, Egypt, and Barbary, at a very early
period, and was thence imported into Europe, where, however, it was not
generally known until 1518. The first specimens of Oriental porcelain
known to have reached England were given by Philip of Austria to Sir
Thomas Trenchard, of Wolverton, in 1506.

To continue its history in Europe, it is necessary to observe that there
are two kinds of porcelain--the natural, or _pate dure_, and the
artificial, or _pate tendre_. The latter cannot stand so high a
temperature as the former, and can be scratched with a knife, which the
hard porcelain resists. The soft-paste was the first to be discovered in
Europe. Chemists, struck with the beauty of the Chinese porcelain, and
impelled by a desire to imitate, began to experiment in the sixteenth
century; and the first success, of which substantial evidences now
exist, was gained at Florence in 1580. It is said that a Venetian potter
made porcelain sixty or seventy years earlier; but no specimen known to
be his is now in existence. After that of Florence, the next discovery
was made by Dr. Dwight, of Fulham, England, in 1671; and in 1695 the
secret was penetrated by M. Chicanneau, at St. Cloud, France. By that
time the Florentine porcelain and process had been forgotten, and the
English and French ceramists pursued perfectly independent
investigations.

The problem of making a hard-paste porcelain resembling that of the
Orient still remained unsolved. No chemistry could avail the
experimenters so long as the materials were wanting. To the accidental
discovery of a bed of kaolin, Europe owed its first hard porcelain. This
important event took place about the year 1709, and the circumstances
leading to it are full of interest.

John Frederic Böttger, or Böttcher, was a chemist’s assistant in Berlin,
and having fallen under suspicion as an alchemist, he took refuge in
Saxony, which was then under the electorate of Augustus II. The elector,
having questioned him as to his researches in the forbidden science,
placed him in the laboratory of a chemist who was in search of the
philosopher’s stone. While working to that end, Böttcher surprised
himself by producing something akin to Chinese porcelain. The course of
his experiments was turned at once from the channel in which it had run.
The king gave him every facility for continuing his experiments and
working out his secret. He was first established at Meissen, then at
Königstein, and last at Dresden. The first results were comparatively
rude; then came a reddish stone-ware, and afterward a dull white
porcelain. How long his experiments might have been continued, or what
might have been their ultimate result, cannot be estimated, had not an
accidental discovery brought the object at which he was aiming suddenly
within his reach. John Schnorr, a wealthy iron-founder, riding one day
in the vicinity of Aue, near Schneeberg, Saxony, noticed that his horse
lifted his feet with difficulty. On examination he found that the clay
was very white and peculiarly adhesive. Schnorr, although rich, would
gladly be richer, and avarice made him ingenious. Why not use this white
earth in the making of hair-powder? was the question which occurred to
him. The commodity was dear, and clay was a cheap substitute. He took a
quantity with him, made the new hair-powder, and was successful in his
venture. In due course, the new powder reached Böttcher, and he, in
turn, found an original use for the white earth. Inquiring into the
nature of the powder, he found it was earthy, and at once tried it in
his laboratory. The powder was kaolin, and hard porcelain was
discovered. A manufactory was established at Meissen, of which Böttcher
was director until his death, in 1719.

In 1720, the manufacture was begun at Vienna, whither the secret was
carried by an escaped foreman from Böttcher’s works at Meissen.

It is very curious to note that the first manufacture of hard porcelain
in France was due to a chance discovery almost identical with that made
in Germany. Kaolin had been found at Alençon, but the porcelain made
from it was not pure in color. In 1765, the wife of a surgeon found near
St. Yrieix a peculiarly soft earth of great whiteness. Being poor,
Madame Darnet was also economical. Unlike Schnorr, her thoughts turned
in the direction rather of keeping down household expenses than of
adding to her income. The earth had a soft, oily touch, and the good
lady thought that it might answer all the purposes of soap. Her husband
sent a sample to a chemist, and it was soon afterward decided to be
kaolin. The manufacture of hard porcelain was begun at Sèvres in 1769,
the quarries of St. Yrieix supplying both the kaolin and petuntse. As
illustrating the ingratitude of the world, it may be mentioned that the
humble instrument by whose aid France reached its lofty eminence in the
manufacture of porcelain was, for about sixty years, left unrewarded. In
1825, Madame Darnet, spending her old age in poverty, received a pension
from Louis XVIII.

Biscuit is the technical term applied to both pottery and porcelain
before they are enamelled or glazed. In this condition, porcelain is of
a dead white, and is not very well suited to receive decoration in
colors which require a glaze to bring out their full beauty.




CHAPTER II.

CLASSIFICATION.

     Tabulated View.--Brongniart’s Division: Its
     Objections.--Classification adopted.--Leading Features and
     Advantages.--Distinctions between Different Bodies and Different
     Glazes.


In order to avoid repetitions and explanations, and for the sake of
lucidity, tabulated views of the different branches of ceramics are here
presented. The first is least detailed, but gives the salient points of
a systematic arrangement.

                     { Unglazed            Common brick. Earthen-ware.
            { _Soft_ { Lustrous            Greek pottery.
  POTTERY   {        { Glazed              Some ancient and most modern faience.
            {        { Enamelled           Robbia ware.
            {
            { _Hard_                     { Stone-ware.
                                         { Fire-brick.

            { _Soft_ { Naturally soft      English porcelain.
            {        { Artificially soft { French porcelain, _pate tendre_,
  PORCELAIN {                            {   such as old Sèvres.
            {
            {                            { China.
            { _Hard_                     { Dresden.
                                         { Sèvres.

The following is more full, and is to be ascribed to M. Brongniart:


FIRST CLASS, SOFT-PASTE.

     _1st Order._ Baked clay without glaze.

     _2d Order._ Lustred wares with silico-alkaline glaze.

     _3d Order._ Glazed pottery with plumbiferous glaze.

     _4th Order._ Enamelled pottery, in the enamel of which tin is used.


SECOND CLASS, HARD-PASTE (OPAQUE).

     _5th Order._ Fine faience, uncolored paste with plumbiferous glaze.

     _6th Order._ Stone-ware without glaze, or with salt or plumbiferous
     glaze.


THIRD CLASS, HARD-PASTE (TRANSLUCENT).

     _7th Order._ Hard porcelain, paste and glaze both felspathic.

     _8th Order._ English natural soft-paste porcelain--paste,
     argillaceous kaolin, pegmatite, phosphate of lime, etc.; glaze,
     boracic.

     _9th Order._ French artificial soft-paste porcelain--paste, a frit,
     marly alkaline; glaze, alkaline containing lead, alkali, and
     silica.

If these tables be studied carefully, it will be found that in arranging
the nine orders, a gradual ascent is made from the humblest ware--baked
clay left unglazed--to the finest of artificial compounds. Its only
objection--and it is one very likely to confuse an inexperienced student
of the art--is, that, under the head of hard-paste pottery, are classed
the soft-paste porcelains of England and France. The question is, also,
very likely to suggest itself, why the distinction should be drawn
between the soft-pastes of England and France, and the one called
natural, the other artificial. The reason is that the paste of England
is naturally soft, while that of France is made soft by the chemical
action of certain of its ingredients. The classification has, on the
other hand, the advantage of being in general use. Terms are employed in
its construction which have a peculiar but well understood significance;
and even in its errors there is a modicum of truth. Thus, although the
artificial porcelain of France is invariably called _pate tendre_, or
soft porcelain, it is not improperly classed under translucent
hard-pastes. The error is in the distinctive name rather than in the
classification. There is, in reality, very little difference in hardness
between the hard-paste and the soft-paste; and although the glaze of the
latter is not so hard as the body, the appellation soft-paste has been
adjudged a misnomer. The question then came to be whether it might not
be better to retain the old terms, with an explanation of their
technical meaning, than to supplant them with something new. The latter
course has been adopted, upon the ground of obviating meaningless and
misleading distinctions. Both simplicity and a clear understanding of
one of the most important practical divisions of our subject point
toward a revision of the old system of grouping. Pottery and porcelain
differ in one essential respect, and their varieties can also be classed
according to the leading features of their composition, manufacture, or
appearance. These differences have been taken as the basis of the
following classification, against which, at least, none of the
objections to that of M. Brongniart can be brought. It has been prepared
by a distinguished French artist of the present time, and is offered in
the hope that it may be intelligible, although it is not claimed to be
either perfectly exact or altogether complete.

All wares are divisible into two great classes, viz., transparent
porcelain and opaque earthen-ware.


     PORCELAIN may be natural or artificial.

     I. Natural porcelain is made from kaolinic clay. It may have--

       1. A pure felspathic glaze, such as porcelain of China, Japan,
       Limoges, Sèvres, Dresden, Berlin; or,

       2. No glaze, such as the biscuit porcelain of China or France.

     II. Artificial porcelain may be made from alkaline clay, calcareous
     clay, or felspathic clay.

       1. Alkaline clay may have an alkaline glaze, either colorless or
       colored, or may be biscuit.

         _a._ Alkaline glaze, colorless--Persia, China, St. Cloud, Limoges,
         Sèvres, Tournay.

         _b._ Alkaline glaze, colored--Persia, China, Limoges, Deck.

         _c._ Biscuit--Old Sèvres statuettes.

       2. Calcareous clay has a colorless boracic glaze, as in the case of
       the English china of Minton, Copeland, and Worcester.

       3. Felspathic clay is exemplified in the parian of Copeland,
       Minton, and Worcester.

     EARTHEN-WARE is of two kinds--that showing a non-vitrified
     fracture, and that showing a vitrified fracture.

     I. EARTHEN-WARE with non-vitrified fracture may have either a
     transparent glaze or an opaque enamel.

       1. Transparent glaze may be plumbiferous or alkaline, and in either
       case colorless or colored.

         _a._ Plumbiferous.

         Glaze, colorless--Faience d’Oiron or Henri Deux ware, Wedgwood,
         Meakin, Creil, Montereau.

         Glaze, colored--Palissy, Nuremberg, Minton’s majolica.

         _b._ Alkaline.

         Glaze, colorless--Persian faience, Chinese and Japanese faience;
         Deck, of Paris.

         Glaze, colored--Haviland or Limoges faience.

       2. Opaque enamel is stanniferous, and may be either colorless or
       colored.

       Stanniferous, colorless--Della Robbia, Rouen, Moustiers, Delft,
       Nevers.

       Stanniferous, colored--Colinot, Parville, Longwy.

     II. Earthen-ware with vitrified fracture may be either glazed or in
     biscuit. Of the former, the _Grès_ of Germany, Beauvais, and
     Doulton may be taken as examples.

For convenience of reference, the same classification may be given in
tabulated form:

CLASSIFICATION OF ALL KINDS OF WARE.

                                                          {China, Japan,
                                    {Glaze of             { Dresden, Berlin,
           {_Natural_      Kaolinic { felspath,           { Sèvres, Limoges.
           {              paste     { pure
           {                        {
           {                        {Biscuit              {Biscuit porcelain
           {                                              { of Limoges
           {                                              { and China.
           {
           {                                              {Persia, China,
TRANSLUCENT{                                              { St. Cloud, Tournay
PORCELAIN. {            {Alkaline   {Glaze alkaline,      { Sèvres, Haviland.
           {            {  paste    { colorless
           {            {           {
           {            {           {Glaze alkaline,
                                     colored           Persia, China, Deck,
           {            {           {                  Haviland.
           {            {           {
           {            {           {Biscuit           Old Sèvres statuettes.
           {            {
           {_Artificial_{Calcareous  Glaze boracic, color   English china,
                        { paste                             Minton, Worcester,
                        {                                   Copeland.
                        {
                        {Felspathic  Parian                 Copeland, Worcester,
                        { paste                             Minton.


                                                {Glaze,     {Faience Henri II.,
                                   {Plumbiferous{ colorless.{ Wedgwood, Meakin,
                                   { glaze      {           { Creil, Montereau.
                                   {            {
                                   {            {Glaze,     {Palissy, Nuremberg,
        {_Earthen body {Transparent{            { colored   {Minton’s majolica.
        { with a       { glaze.    {
        { non-vitrified{           {Alkaline    {Glaze,     {Faience of Persia,
        { break_       {           { glaze      { colorless.{ China, and
        {              {                        {           { Japan; Deck.
        {              {                        {
        {              {                        {           {Limoges faience
        {              {                        {           { of Haviland,
        {              {                        {Glaze,     { Bracquemond,
        {              {                        { colored   { and Chaplet.
        {              {
 OPAQUE {              {                                    {Delia Robbia,
EARTHEN {              {Opaque     {Stanniferous {Colorless { Rovigo, Fontana,
  BODY. {                          { enamel      {          { Rouen, Moustiers,
        {                                        {          { Nevers, Delft,
TERRES. {                                        {          { Ulysses de Blois,
        {                                        {          { St. Clement.
        {                                        {
        {                                        {Colored     Colinot, Parville,
        {                                                     Longwy.
        {
        {_Earthen body, {Biscuit                              Boccaro, Bizen.
        { with a        {
        { vitrified     {
        { break_        {Glaze                                Grès from Germany.

Under the above arrangement, it will be observed that the distinction
between hard and soft porcelain and pottery is done away with. The first
is divided into natural and artificial, the kaolinic paste being the
only one coming under the former head, and the “soft-pastes” of both
England and France coming under the latter. The subdivisions are made
according to the glaze employed. The division of pottery into two
classes, according to the nature of the body as revealed by fracture, is
the most lucid and comprehensive. The subdivisions, as in the case of
porcelain, are made according to the enamel or glaze applied to the
ware. It is presumed that any one can distinguish between transparent
and opaque wares, and thus tell porcelain from pottery, and similarly,
tell whether the fracture of a broken specimen is vitrified or
otherwise, and thus distinguish stone-ware, or _grès_, from ordinary
earthen-ware.

In the matter of glazes, it requires a great deal of skill and long
practice to tell one from another. All are transparent, with the
exception of tin or stanniferous enamel. Felspathic glaze is that most
readily recognized; but in the case of the others--the alkaline,
plumbiferous, and boracic--they are very often only to be distinguished
by their different effects upon the colors used in decoration.




CHAPTER III.

COMPOSITION OF WARES AND GLAZES.

     Hard and Soft Pottery and Porcelain.--COMPOSITION OF PORCELAIN:
     Kaolin--Its Derivation and Ingredients--Petuntse--How prepared in
     China.--The European Process.--Differences between Chinese and
     European Porcelains.--Chemical Analysis.--English Porcelain and its
     Peculiarities: Its Average Composition.--How English Clay is
     prepared.--French Artificial Porcelain.--Parian.--COMMON
     EARTHEN-WARE.: Table of Ingredients of different kinds.--General
     Table.--GLAZES: Classes.--Brongniart’s Classification.--Difference
     between Enamel and Glaze.--Silicious Glaze.--History.--Use of
     Oxides.--Egyptian Processes.--Metallic Lustre.--Stanniferous
     Enamel: Its History.


The division of pottery and porcelain into two great classes, hard and
soft, is based upon the difference of their composition, their hardness
of surface, and their power of resisting the action of fire. The
simplest test is scratching with a knife or other instrument. Hard
porcelain and pottery resist the metal, while the soft is marked. The
former will also stand a temperature in the kiln at which the latter
would crumble or fuse.

To understand the composition of porcelain, it is necessary to bear in
mind that it is a compound of kaolin and petuntse, the former of which
is infusible, and the latter fusible at a high temperature. The former
constitutes the body of the piece, the latter gives it its translucency.
The word “kaolin” is derived from _Kaoling_, the name of a mountain near
King-teh-chin, one of the great centres of the manufacture in China.
Kaolin is simply the result of the decomposition of granitic rock, and
silica and alumina are its chief ingredients. Petuntse is pure felspar.
The conditions in which these materials are found in China may be
briefly stated. They are either in the form of stone or sand, from which
the unsuitable parts are removed by the action of water. When they are
thrown into the water, the fine particles which do not sink are
collected and dried. The paste, before being used, is again put into
water and strained through a sieve, so that only the finest is
preserved, and used in making porcelain. The materials are obtained
from different parts of the country, and blended according to their
respective qualities, as ascertained by the most systematic
investigation and experiment. The European process is similar, the
kaolin being first washed clear of all argillaceous impurity, and then
mixed with felspar and silicious sand. Of the further similarity between
the two, MM. Ebelman and Salvetat say:

1st. The kaolin and petuntse used in making paste for Chinese porcelain
are chemically identical with the materials used in Europe. The Chinese
kaolin is evidently disintegrated granite. Chemically, petuntse
resembles the pegmatite of Limoges; mineralogically, it is to be classed
with petrosilicious felspar.

2d. The mechanical preparation of the pastes of China and Europe is
based upon similar methods.

3d. The Chinese paste is the more fusible of the two.

4th. The Chinese glaze is also the more fusible, on account of the
addition of lime to the petuntse, which the French use pure.

It may be added that the Dresden, Sèvres, and Limoges porcelains are
baked at a higher temperature, and are harder than the Chinese.

The basis of the natural pastes of Germany and France is 46.66 parts of
silex, 40 of aluminous earth, and 13.33 alkaline earth, although the
proportions vary, and the following may be nearer an average: Silex, 66;
alumina, 30; potash, magnesia, and lime, 4. In the glaze the proportions
are different, the silica largely preponderating: Silex, 73.4; alumina,
15.7; potash, lime, and magnesia, 10.9.

The following table is given by M. A. Salvetat as the result of analyses
made at different times by himself and others:

  +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |     Pastes.      |Silica.|Alumina.| Oxide  |Lime.|Magnesia.|Potash.|Soda.|
  |                  |       |        |of Iron.|     |         |       |     |
  |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
  |China, 1st quality|69.00  |23.60   |1.20    |0.30 |0.02     |3.30   |2.90 |
  |China, 2d quality |70.00  |22.20   |1.30    |0.80 |traces   |3.60   |2.70 |
  |China, 3d quality |73.80  |19.30   |2.00    |0.60 |traces   |2.50   |2.30 |
  |China, 4th quality|68.94  |21.30   |3.48    |1.14 |traces   |3.42   |1.78 |
  |Meissen           |58.50  |35.10   |0.80    |0.30 |traces   |5.00   |.... |
  |Vienna            |59.60  |34.20   |0.80    |1.70 |1.40     |2.00   |.... |
  |Berlin            |64.30  |29.00   |0.60    |0.30 |0.45     |3.65   |.... |
  |Limoges           |70.20  |24.00   |0.70    |0.70 |0.10     |4.30   |.... |
  |Sèvres            |58.00  |34.50   |....    |4.50 |....     |3.00   |.... |
  |Sèvres (sculpture)|64.10  |30.24   |....    |2.82 |traces   |2.80   |.... |
  |Worcester         |82.00  |9.10    |.....   |1.30 |7.40     |....   |.... |
  |Paris             |71.20  |22.00   |0.80    |0.80 |....     |4.50   |.... |
  +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The English artificial porcelain differs from the natural paste of China
and the European continent chiefly in one particular. At first the
compound used was white clay, white sand, and glass, the latter being
employed to impart the necessary transparency. More recently bone came
largely into use, and is now one of the distinctive ingredients of
English paste. The phosphoric acid of that material was found to
produce, in combination with the other materials, a clear, translucent
body, of less strength than natural paste, but less liable to sink. The
following may be taken as the mean composition: Bone, 47; kaolin, 34;
felspar, 19. The kaolin is found in Cornwall, where a very large tract
is formed chiefly of decomposed granite. The purest rock having been
selected, it is placed on an inclined plane, upon which water can be
turned. It is washed down into a trench, and thence into a catch-pit,
and again into lower pits, in which successively the impure ingredients
are retained, the water laden with the finer particles running into
tanks, and there depositing its fine silt. The clay is partially dried,
and cut into blocks, and in that shape reaches the potters. The manner
in which the kaolin is prepared bears a very close resemblance to that
adopted by the Chinese, as previously described. The glaze is composed
of felspar, carbonate of lime, borax, and white-lead. Sometimes the
kaolin is mixed with the bone and felspar in the proportions above
specified, and sometimes the bone is made, in combination with silex and
pearlash, into a frit.

The artificial or soft porcelain of France, exemplified in the old china
of Sèvres, was produced by a very intricate and ingenious process. A
frit was made of saltpetre, sea-salt, burnt alum, soda-ash, gypsum, and
sand. This mixture, having been purified by partial vitrification, was
ground, and mixed with chalk and marl. The glaze was as follows:
Litharge, 38; sand, 27; calcined flint, 11; and the carbonates of soda
and potash, 15 and 9 parts respectively.

The composition called parian, in which the potters of England and
America have executed much beautiful work, varies considerably. Analysis
of one specimen resulted thus: Silica, 58.57; alumina, 21; oxide of
iron, 1; lime, 0.14; magnesia, 0.5; potash, 11.40; soda, 5.08.

The clay from which common earthen-ware is made is composed to a great
extent of silica and alumina, with admixtures of iron, lime, and
magnesia. An average combination is 60 parts silex, 30 alumina, 7 iron,
and 2 lime. These proportions vary very widely, certain substances
appearing in one place and not in another. In some, carbon is found; in
others, quartz, sand, marl, or chalk, as the case may be. The work of
classification, except in a very extended form, is thus rendered
somewhat difficult. Possibly the following series of tables will serve
our purpose most intelligibly.

  Column headings:

  S: Silica.
  A: Alumina.
  I: Oxide of Iron.
  L: Lime.
  M: Magnesia.
  W: Water.
  C: Carbon.

  +--------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+------+
  |   Pottery.   |   S   |   A   |   I   |  L   |  M   |   W   |  C   |
  +--------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+------+
  | German       | 63.90 | 12.76 | 10.24 | 1.04 | 0.52 |  9.98 | 1.02 |
  | Scandinavian | 64.02 | 10.77 | 11.23 | 2.48 | 0.05 |  9.97 | 1.00 |
  | Old Gallic   | 62.22 | 18.36 |  5.71 | 1.17 | 0.47 | 10.56 | 0.78 |
  | Peruvian     | 67.04 | 10.83 | 10.17 | 3.24 | 0.28 |  7.07 | 1.00 |
  | Etruscan     | 64.02 | 12.49 |  8.53 | 3.00 | 1.83 |  8.13 | 2.00 |
  +--------------+-------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+------+

In the following carbon does not appear, and the proportion of silica
increases:

  +-------------+---------+----------+----------+-------+-----------+--------+
  |             |         |          | Oxide of |       |           |        |
  |  Pottery.   | Silica. | Alumina. |  Iron.   | Lime. | Magnesia. | Water. |
  +-------------+---------+----------+----------+-------+-----------+--------+
  | Roman       |  64.00  |  17.77   |  10.23   | 4.86  |   ....    |  2.23  |
  | Middle Ages |  72.55  |  20.27   |   2.54   | 1.04  |   ....    |  3.00  |
  | Egypt       |  81.00  |  13.50   |   1.00   | 3.00  |   ....    |  1.90  |
  | Egypt       |  92.00  |   4.00   |   ....   | 2.00  |   0.60    |  0.40  |
  | Persian     |  90.00  |   1.50   |   1.50   | 3.00  |   0.80    |  0.60  |
  | Jerusalem   |  87.16  |   5.50   |   ....   | 3.00  |   0.78    |  ....  |
  | Arabian     |  89.95  |   3.87   |   ....   | 2.00  |   0.51    |  3.00  |
  +-------------+---------+----------+----------+-------+-----------+--------+

The Egyptian, compounded as above, is that which has been commonly known
as Egyptian porcelain. Many of the better known wares of Europe and the
East have a common characteristic in the calcareous nature of their
pastes. The silica decreases and the lime increases, while carbonic acid
appears as a new ingredient.

  Column headings:

  S: Silica.
  A: Alumina.
  M: Magnesia.
  I: Oxide of Iron.
  C: Carbonic Acid.

  +--------------------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+-------+
  |      Pottery.      |   S   |   A   |  M   |  I   |   C   | Lime. |
  +--------------------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+-------+
  | Lucca della Robbia | 49.65 | 15.50 | 0.17 | 3.70 |  8.58 | 22.40 |
  | Majorca            | 48.00 | 17.50 | 1.17 | 3.75 |  9.46 | 20.12 |
  | Spain (old)        | 46.04 | 18.45 | 0.87 | 3.04 | 13.96 | 17.64 |
  | Valencia (modern)  | 51.55 | 20.52 | 1.24 | 2.63 | 10.42 | 13.64 |
  | Delft              | 49.07 | 16.19 | 0.82 | 2.82 | 13.09 | 18.01 |
  | Persian            | 48.54 | 12.05 | 0.30 | 3.14 | 16.72 | 19.25 |
  | Nevers             | 56.49 | 19.22 | 0.71 | 2.12 |  6.50 | 14.96 |
  | Rouen              | 47.96 | 15.02 | 0.44 | 4.07 | 12.27 | 20.24 |
  +--------------------+-------+-------+------+------+-------+-------+

Of the potteries which hold a place between the hard and soft wares are
the Palissy and Henri Deux. The composition of the former is 67.50
silica, 28.51 alumina, 1.52 lime, 2.05 oxide of iron, with a very slight
admixture of alkalies. That of the latter is 59.10 silica, and 40.24
alumina.

From what has been said, it will be seen that the difference between
earthen-ware, stone-ware, and porcelain is to be attributed to a few
minor ingredients, to the preparation, and to the degree of heat to
which they are subjected. The following table may be studied for the
sake of making comparisons:

  Common earthen-ware     Silica, 60; alumina, 30; iron, 7; lime, 2.

  Blue clay               Silica, 46; alumina, 38; iron, 1; lime, 1.

  Staffordshire clay      Pipe-clay, 40; kaolin, 25; quartz, 20; felspar, 15.

  Stone-ware            { Felspar, 25; quartz or silex, 25; soda, 25;
                          plastic clay, 15; boracic acid, 10.

  Porcelain               Silica, 66; alumina, 30; potash, 3.4; magnesia
                          and lime, 1.1.

  Porcelain glaze         Silica, 73.4; alumina, 15.7; potash, 7.4;
                          magnesia and lime, 2.2.

  English porcelain       Kaolin, 34; bone, 47; felspar, 19; soda ash, 36.

  Old Sèvres soft-paste { Saltpetre, 22; sea-salt, 7.2; burnt alum, 3.6; soda
                        { ash, 3.6; gypsum, 3.6; sand, 60.
                        { This was made into a frit and mixed--75
                        { parts frit, 17 chalk, and 8 of calcareous marl.

As to the glazes applied to clay or opaque ware, we have seen that they
are broadly distinguished as translucent plumbiferous or alkaline,
opaque stanniferous, and salt glaze. The distinction is also to be
observed between glaze and enamel, although they are often confounded.
Thus, according to M. Brongniart, there are three kinds of
glaze--varnish, enamel, and couverte--all of which are vitrifiable.
Varnish he describes as a transparent and plumbiferous material, melting
at a lower temperature than that required for baking the paste; enamel,
an opaque, generally stanniferous (containing tin) substance; couverte,
a substance which melts at a temperature equal to that required for
baking the paste. Birch, on the other hand, draws a distinction between
glaze and enamel. In one place he speaks of “opaque glasses or enamels,”
and again, “among the Egyptians and Assyrians, enamelling was used more
frequently than glazing.” So, also, Fortnum, who, dividing pottery into
soft and hard, subdivides the former into unglazed, lustrous, glazed,
and enamelled. The glazed he again divides into silicious, or
glass-glazed, and plumbeous, or lead-glazed, both of which are
transparent. The word “glaze” is thus more correctly applied to the
covering, which does not alter the color of the body upon which it is
laid, and “enamel” to that which obscures the body.

Glass, or silicious glaze, is formed by fusing sand with an
alkali--potash or soda. When to this is added the oxide of lead,
transparent plumbiferous glaze is the result; and when to both of these
oxide of tin is added, we have opaque stanniferous enamel. The glass and
plumbeous glazes may be colored with a variety of other oxides, without
losing their transparency.

When or where glaze was first applied to clay is not known. Like many
other branches of knowledge and many nations, it has its roots in the
East, but whether we are indebted for it to India, Egypt, or Assyria,
cannot now be decided. Upon this question Dr. Birch says:

“The desire of rendering terra-cotta less porous, and of producing vases
capable of retaining liquids, gave rise to the covering it with a
vitreous enamel or glaze. The invention of glass has been hitherto
generally attributed to the Phœnicians; but opaque glasses or
enamels, as old as the eighteenth dynasty, and enamelled objects as
early as the fourth (B.C. 3000-2000), have been found in Egypt. The
employment of copper to produce a brilliant blue-colored enamel was very
early both in Babylonia and Assyria, but the use of tin for a white
enamel, as recently discovered in the enamelled bricks and vases of
Babylonia and Assyria, anticipated by many centuries the rediscovery of
that process in Europe in the fifteenth century, and shows the early
application of metallic oxides. This invention apparently remained for
many centuries a secret among the Eastern nations only, enamelled
terra-cotta and glass forming articles of commercial export from Egypt
and Phœnicia to every part of the Mediterranean. Among the Egyptians
and Assyrians enamelling was used more frequently than glazing, and
their works are consequently a kind of faience, consisting of a loose
frit or body, to which an enamel adheres after only a slight fusion.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the art of enamelling terra-cotta
disappeared among the Arab and Moorish races, who had retained a
traditional knowledge of the process. The application of a transparent
vitreous coating, or glaze, over the entire surface, like the varnish of
a picture, is also referable to a high antiquity, and was universally
adopted either to enhance the beauty of single colors or to promote the
combination of many. Innumerable fragments and remains of glazed vases,
fabricated by the Greeks and Romans, not only prove the early use of
glazing, but also exhibit, in the present day, many of the noblest
efforts of the potter’s art.”

The use of oxides is also very ancient. The Egyptians employed that of
copper for the production of their turquoise-blue, and possibly also for
their green, manganese for violet, iron or silver for yellows, etc. The
same processes were known in Babylon and Assyria. To the Persians and
Arabians the application of metallic lustres was known at a very early
period. Plumbiferous, or lead-glaze, was employed by the Babylonians,
and the knowledge of its composition was in all probability imported
thence among the Greeks, and by them may have been carried into Southern
Italy.

The course of enamel is equally difficult of definition. Although used
in Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria, it does not appear to have supplanted
the lead-glaze; and for a long period all traces of it are lost, until
it reappeared among the Arabs. We next meet with it as a distinctive
characteristic of the potteries of Spain. It was also known to the
Saracenic and Moorish potters of Sicily, and from either of these
sources may have found its way into Italy.




CHAPTER IV.

MANUFACTURE AND DECORATION.

     Divisions of Chapter.--Japanese Method of Preparing Porcelain
     Clay.--Old Sèvres Soft Porcelain.--Pug-Mill.--Blunger.--Early
     Italian Methods.--Shaping the Clay.--Moulding among the Egyptians,
     Greeks, Italians, and at the Present Day.--Moulding
     Porcelain.--Japanese Method.--European.--Throwing.--The Potter’s
     Wheel in all Countries.--Baking and Firing.--Egyptian, Greek,
     Italian, and Japanese Kilns.--Those of Modern Europe and
     America.--Times of Firing.--Glazing and Painting.--Metallic-Lustre
     Majolica.--Japanese Methods.--Glazing Stone-ware.--Natural and
     Artificial Porcelain.


Having thus glanced at the different wares, and learned the composition
of the leading kinds of paste and glaze, the attention is next attracted
by the processes of preparing the materials, and the different methods
of manufacture. The levigation of kaolin and making of porcelain have
already been touched upon incidentally. The subject of the present
chapter naturally divides itself into the following heads:

  Preparation of the paste;
  Forming the vessel to be made;
  Baking or firing;
  Preparation of the glaze or enamel;
  Applying the glaze or enamel;
  Laying on the color and painting.

To what has been said about the preparation of English and Chinese
kaolin pastes, little need be added. There is, however, a peculiarity
about the Japanese custom not unworthy of notice. In that country the
raw material, whether kaolin, quartz, or felspar, is reduced to a powder
by a horizontal balancing pounder of primitive construction, and worked
by water-power. Two long beams are joined together at one end by an
iron-cased crossbar, and a trough is attached to the other. This frame
is then erected near a stream, so that the water will fall into the
trough. The weight of the water carries the trough down, and the other
end is raised to a corresponding height. When the trough has fallen so
far that, by reason of the slope, the water runs out and thus takes off
the weight at that end, the iron-shod beam at the other descends, and
falling into a stone mortar in which the raw material has been placed,
in a very short time pulverizes it. The above is the only machine
employed by the Japanese. After being pulverized, the paste is sifted,
mixed with water, and decanted, and the water is finally drained off
through matting and sand. The fine clay to be used in making porcelain
is deposited on the mat.

For the old Sèvres soft porcelain, the frit was crushed, cleared of
salts, and ground in water. The paste was then mixed with the other
ingredients, as previously given in the table.

[Illustration: Fig. 21.--Vertical Pug-Mill, in use at Union Porcelain
Works, Greenpoint.]

To prepare clay for making earthen-ware or stone-ware, machines are now
generally used. That for the coarser kind of wares, such as bricks or
common stone-ware jars, is a pug-mill (Figs. 21 and 22). The clay,
having been brought by water to a certain workable consistency, is put
into the mill. This is simply a cylindrical box, with blades projecting
from the inside, and having in the centre a shaft also armed with
blades. By the revolving of the shaft the clay is worked into a perfect
pulp, and in that condition issues from a hole in the lower end of the
mill. Should any hard substance have resisted the knives, it is removed
by hand.

[Illustration: Fig. 22.--Horizontal Pug-Mill, in use at Union Porcelain
Works, Greenpoint.]

For the finer kinds of earthen-ware, into the composition of which
pipe-clay, kaolin, quartz, and felspar enter, the ingredients are mixed
in a “blunger.” This machine is not unlike a steam butter churn, there
being a shaft passing from end to end, in exactly the same way, and
armed with similar paddles. Water is added to the ingredients, and, as
the blunger turns, these are all thoroughly mixed into a “slip,” which
is drawn off at the bottom. It is then strained and finally passed
through a pug-mill, and is ready for use.

Piccolpasso, or the Cavaliere Cipriano Piccolpasso Durantino, who wrote
in Italy, in 1548, gives very minute information regarding the processes
of the potters of his time and country. The clay was either washed down
by rivers or taken from pits. In the former case it was taken from the
river-bed when the water was low, and was placed in holes in the ground,
either after or without being dried in the sun. The object of keeping it
was to allow all impurities to pass off. Where there were no rivers, a
series of pits was dug in any convenient hollow, and connected by a
channel. The earth was washed down by the rain into these pits, and
purified by the passage from one to another. In some cases it was found
necessary to place the earth on sieves exposed to the rain, through
which the finer particles were washed into receivers placed below.
Instead of using a pug-mill, the Italian potters put the earth upon a
table, where it was beaten with an iron instrument, and thoroughly
kneaded and cleaned by hand.

The next process is the formation or shaping of the vessel. This may be
done either by moulding or by “throwing” upon the potter’s wheel. Both
of these methods are very ancient. The Egyptians used moulds in making
bricks before they resorted to the use of fire for baking them. Their
lamps, etc., also give evidence of having been moulded. The Greeks used
modelling tools for their ornaments, and also for _pithoi_, or casks.
Afterward moulding was resorted to, and by that means the potter made
certain parts of the vases--the handles and feet, for example, and also
the ornaments. The entire vessel was sometimes produced by moulding,
such as the _rhyta_, or drinking-cups, with terminations in the form of
animals’ heads. Amphoræ, cups, saucers, and vases of many shapes were
formed by the same process.

We must refer to Piccolpasso again for the manner in which the Italian
potters moulded. Like the Greeks, they appear first to have moulded the
parts, such as the handles, which were fixed to the body after it was
fashioned. They then, again like the Greeks, began to imitate metal
vessels, and thus were brought directly to the process of moulding upon
their models, or shaped pieces ornamented in relief. The moulds were
made of plaster of Paris, and, when ready, the clay was worked into a
cylindrical shape, and sliced by drawing a wire across it. The thickness
of the slice was regulated and made uniform by pieces of wood placed at
either side of the lump of clay. A slice was then taken and pressed into
the mould, and another for the other side into the other half of the
mould. Any excess appearing over the edges was cut away. The feet were
similarly moulded, and subsequently fixed to the body by means of a
composition of clay and fine wool cuttings. In making vases or ewers,
moulds were made for both sides, and joined at the front and back. A
wire was used to cut off the superfluous clay, and the two pieces were
joined together with the composition above mentioned. The handle was
fastened on by the same means.

Moulds are at the present day used in every branch of the art, from the
lowest to the highest. Drain-pipes are made in a cylindrical mould, with
a smaller and solid cylinder inside. The clay is pressed between the two
concentric cylinders. In making earthen-ware, the clay is sometimes
rolled out and spread upon a block of the desired shape. In making
plates, the clay is spread over a round block, and moulded by a form
pressed down from above. When plaster of Paris is used, the process is
very like that described by Piccolpasso. The mould is in two parts, into
each of which the clay is pressed. The two pieces are then brought
together, and the seams joined. Or a plaster mould may be used, into
which the paste is poured in a liquid state. The absorption of the
liquid by the plaster soon gives the clay sufficient consistency to take
the necessary shape. Subsequent shrinkage allows its removal from the
mould. After a partial drying, the ware is dressed or “shaved.” The
process is a very delicate one, especially in the finer kinds of ware,
in which a finely polished surface is necessary. The piece is placed on
a lathe, and cut to the necessary thickness, and receives its ornamental
lines, or has the mouldings applied. The handles are then attached, and,
after drying, the piece is ready for the kiln.

The moulding of porcelain requires very great care, on account of the
fragility of many of the pieces. In Japan, clay moulds were exclusively
used until within the past three years. After being thrown or moulded,
and slightly dried, the pieces are shaped by means of sharp metal
instruments in the same lathe on which the throwing is done. A coat of
pure white clay is then laid on for the purpose of enhancing the beauty
and heightening the effect of the color. This having been done, the
piece is ready for the preliminary firing. When large pieces are made,
the European method is to pour the necessary thickness of slip over the
inside of the mould, against the side of which it is kept by means of
forcing air into the interior, after covering the surface, or exhausting
the air through the mould. When sufficiently dry to support its own
weight, the piece is fired.

[Illustration: Fig. 23.--A Potter in Palestine.]

The other method of forming the wares is technically called “throwing”
upon the potter’s wheel, and is suitable for all circular vessels, or
those with modifications of the circular shape. The process is very
simple. A piece of clay, large or small, as required, is thrown down on
the revolving disk, and, as it whirls round, is formed by the potter’s
hand into the requisite shape. The potter’s wheel is one of the oldest
mechanical appliances in existence. Its invention was due to the desire
of remedying the irregularities of handiwork, and as such was a valuable
and in every way wonderful achievement. It brought symmetry and all the
varieties of circular form within the potter’s reach. Its inventor is
unknown. The prehistoric vases of Greece were made upon the wheel. It
was used in Egypt at least four thousand years ago. In Assyria, and
among the Jews, its use is attested by the frequent reference made to it
in Scripture.

It is curious to find a modern traveller, Dr. W. M. Thomson, speaking
thus in “The Land and the Book” of the potter of Palestine. “I have been
out on the shore again examining a native manufactory of pottery, and
was delighted to find the whole Biblical apparatus complete, and in full
operation. There was the potter sitting at his ‘frame,’ and turning the
‘wheel’ with his foot (Fig. 23). He had a heap of prepared clay near
him, and a pan of water by his side. Taking a lump in his hand, he
placed it on the top of the wheel (which revolves horizontally) and
smoothed it into a low cone, like the upper end of a sugar-loaf; then,
thrusting his thumb into the top of it, he opened a hole down through
the centre, and this he constantly widened by pressing the edges of the
revolving cone between his hands. As it enlarged and became thinner, he
gave it whatever shape he pleased with the utmost ease and expedition.”

[Illustration: Fig. 24.--An Egyptian Pottery. (From a Tomb.) _a_, _e_,
_i_, _p_, the wheels on which the clay was put. Fig. 1 forms the inside
and lip of the cup as it turns on the wheel _a_. _b_, _c_, _d_ are cups
already made. Fig. 2 forms the outside of the cup, indenting it with the
hand at the base, preparatory to its being taken off. Fig. 3 has just
taken off the cup from the clay, _l_. Fig. 4 puts on a fresh piece of
clay. Fig. 5 forms a round slab of clay with his two hands. Fig. 6 stirs
and prepares the oven, _q_. At _s_ is the fire, which rises through the
long, narrow tube or chimney of the oven, upon the top of which the cups
are placed to bake, as in _v_. Fig. 7 hands the cup to the baker, 8.
Fig. 9 carries away the baked cups from the oven.]

The entire process of making clay vessels in Egypt has been preserved in
a scene depicted in a tomb (Fig. 24). The clay was first trampled
underfoot to give it evenness of consistency and make it more perfectly
plastic. It was then prepared for working by being rolled out, and was
then put on the wheel. The latter was either round or polygonal and
flat. It was placed upon a stand, and was turned with one hand, while
with the other the potter shaped the clay, and, as he worked, sat either
upon a low stool or upon the ground. Both the hollowing and external
shaping were done by hand. The furnaces were hollow cylinders, about six
and a half feet high, in which the wares to be baked were placed about
half-way up. An aperture at the bottom admitted draught sufficient to
drive the flames out of the top of the furnace. Among the Greeks the
wheel was also employed at a very early period, so early that its
inventor or introducer is forgotten. One of the Grecian legends ascribes
the honor to Dædalus, an Athenian of royal descent, and inventor of the
wedge, axe, and other mechanical contrivances. Another legend ascribes
it to Talos, the nephew of Dædalus, whose murder compelled the latter to
seek safety in flight. To whatever individual or city the credit may be
due, the wheel was used by Grecian potters from time immemorial. They
turned it with the foot--as did the Egyptians also at one period--and it
appears that the turning was sometimes left to an assistant. The process
was almost identical with that described above. The clay was placed upon
the wheel and shaped by the hand, and when the vessel was of so large a
size as to make it necessary, one hand supported and shaped the clay
from the inside. In this way the body of the vessel was made, and before
the clay dried, the feet, handles, and other parts were fixed to it.
Before the wheel was known, the vessels were hollowed out and shaped by
the hand, and the larger vessels were subsequently made in the same way.

It is said that the potter’s wheel was invented in Japan, in the year
724, by a priest named Giyoki, and the event at once raised the potter’s
art into very high estimation. In Arita, the wheel consists of a
fly-wheel and revolving disk, the latter placed about a foot above the
former, and connected with it by a hollow wooden prismatic axle. In the
centre of the working disk, and between the three sides of the prism, a
hollow piece of porcelain is inserted. The whole is then placed upon a
pointed stick fixed firmly in the ground, in such a way that the entire
weight is supported upon the point of the upright wood. As that point
comes in contact with the inserted porcelain, friction is reduced to a
minimum. Vessels of any size can be thrown in this way--from the huge
basin three feet in diameter to the smallest work which the potter’s
hand has shaped. A driving cord is employed for turning the wheel when
very large pieces are being made.

The Italians of the sixteenth century used the wheel in the same way,
fashioning the clay with the hands and certain tools of wood and iron
(Fig. 25).

It would thus appear that the potter’s wheel improved in due course of
time. At first it was merely a horizontal revolving disk turned by hand;
then it consisted of a three-feet shaft with the disk on the top, and a
driving-wheel below to be turned by the potter’s foot; later still, it
was turned by means of a foot-board, like that of a turning-lathe or
printing-press; afterward the driving-wheel was separated from the disk
which it turned by means of a connecting rope or band, and was worked by
an assistant; more recently, steam has been brought in to the saving of
labor, and in many large factories is the chief power used.

[Illustration: Fig. 25.--Venetian Potters of the Sixteenth Century.
Showing two kinds of potter’s wheels in use among them. (From engraving
by V. Biringuccio.)]

It is almost unnecessary to add that when throwing was resorted to in
place of moulding, the subsequent operations of shaving, polishing, and
attaching the handles and ornaments were performed in the same manner as
that described above.

We now reach the third process, that of baking or firing. Sun-dried
bricks have been found in nearly every part of the world. They were
introduced into Spain by the Arabs, and in the New World have been found
from Mexico to Peru. In Egypt they represent the earliest works of the
potter; and from that country, Assyria, and Babylonia, relics of the
rudest stage of the art of working in clay have reached our own time.
The climate of Egypt was such that unbaked bricks were sufficiently
lasting for architectural purposes, and walls, tombs, and entire
pyramids were constructed of them. The use of sun-dried clay was
restricted in Assyria to bricks and small figures of an apparently
religious character. In Babylon, as in Assyria, similar bricks were used
as foundations for buildings. Among the Greeks sun-dried clay was widely
employed. Many of their temples and the walls of some of their fortified
cities were constructed of bricks dried in the sun. Even statues and
models were made of unbaked clay.

The kind of furnace in use among the Egyptians at a very early period
has already been described. No remnant of those used by the Greeks has
been discovered, and all the information regarding them has been derived
from representations on pottery or gems. A tolerably correct idea of the
more ancient ones may be conveyed by describing them as tall baker’s
ovens, into which the wares were pushed and baked like loaves. There
are several vases now in existence upon which furnaces of this kind
are depicted. A kylix from Vulci, and now at Munich, is remarkable for
the scene depicted on it. One of the epigrammata of Homer, entitled ‘Ο
Καμινς--“The Furnace,” has been translated by Cowper. The explanatory
preface is attributed to Herodotus.

“Certain potters, while they were busied in baking their ware, seeing
Homer at a small distance, and having heard much said of his wisdom,
called to him, and promised him a present of their commodity--and of
such other things as they could afford--if he would sing to them, when
he sang as follows:

    “‘Pay me my price, potters! and I will sing.
     Attend, O Pallas! and with lifted arm
     Protect their oven: let the cups and all
     The sacred vessels blacken well, and, baked
     With good success, yield them both fair renown
     And profit, whether in the market sold
     Or streets, and let no strife ensue between us.
     But, O ye potters! if with shameless front
     Ye falsify your promise, then I leave
     No mischief uninvoked to avenge the wrong.
     Come, Syntrips, Smaragdus, Sabactes, come,
     And Asbestus; nor let your direst dread
     Omodamus delay! Fire seize your house!
     May neither house nor vestibule escape!
     May ye lament to see confusion mar
     And mingle the whole labor of your hands!
     And may a sound fill all your oven, such
     As of a horse grinding his provender,
     While all your pots and flagons bounce within.
     Come hither also daughter of the Sun,
     Circe, the sorceress, and with thy drugs
     Poison themselves, and all that they have made!
     Come also Chiron, with thy numerous troop
     Of Centaurs, as well those who died beneath
     The club of Hercules, as who escaped,
     And stamp their crockery to dust! Down fall
     Their chimney! Let them see it with their eyes,
     And howl to see the ruin of their art,
     While I rejoice: and if a potter stoop
     To peep into his furnace, may the fire
     Flash in his face and scorch it, that all men
     Observe thenceforth equity and good faith.’”

The scene on the kylix at Munich is supposed to represent Homer among
the potters. The furnace is on the extreme right, and has a tall
chimney. The fire is seen below. In front of it is a man who has
apparently been placing a vase in the oven, and behind him comes another
carrying what may be a large jar on his shoulder. The next figure is
that of Homer, holding a staff; behind him is a vase, and a youth
carrying another vessel toward the furnace. The next group shows the
operation of “throwing,” a boy turning the wheel while an old man shapes
the vessel. On the left is a young man sitting and holding on his knees
a vase to which he seems to be attaching the handle. The entire
composition is interesting, since--assuming the old man with the crook
to be Homer, and not the proprietor of the pottery--it illustrates a
poem which shows how widely, even at the early age in which the poet
lived, the various operations in making vases were understood. For our
present purpose, however, attention is chiefly directed to the furnace.

The furnaces described by Piccolpasso as in use among the Italians were
of three kinds, one for oxidizing the tin and lead, a second for baking
glazed ware, and a third for majolica proper, or lustred ware. In the
first the furnace was rectangular, and was divided into two parts, one
of which was occupied by the fire, the other by the tray for the metals.
The latter was raised to such a height that the flames could play upon
the metals as they passed over them to the opening at the other side.
The baking furnace was also rectangular, and was built of brick. It was
divided by a perforated arch into an upper and lower compartment. In the
upper division the wares were placed. It had four openings on either
side and nine in the roof. Under the lower chamber was the ash-pit, and
each chamber had a door at one end. At Castel-Durante the usual
dimensions of a furnace were six feet in height and length, and five in
width. At Venice their dimensions were sometimes double those above
stated. The wares were arranged according to their quality.
Seggars--circular or oval cases of infusible fire-clay, bottomed, but
without covers, and perforated--were used for those of fine quality. The
seggars, which may be seen piled one above another in Fig. 28 and on the
lower right hand of Fig. 29, were placed as in the first of these
engravings, the bottom of the one above acting as a lid to that next
below; and the coarser wares were arranged in rows between the piles of
seggars. The openings having been partially closed, the fire was
applied below, and kept up for about twelve hours, when the first
firing was finished. The majolica furnace will be described hereafter.

[Illustration: Fig. 26.--Common Pottery Kiln.]

Among the Japanese the kilns are arranged in a peculiar manner. That in
which the first firing is done is a small furnace, used only previous to
the painting. The oxide of cobalt, which is more extensively employed
than any other, is laid upon the white clay coating, and the piece is
then glazed, usually in a compound of felspath and wood-ashes. The
second firing then takes place. The kilns are built in terraced rows of
from four to twenty, and rise about three feet above each other, growing
larger in size as they extend up the hill. The ground-plan is
trapezoidal, and the walls rise vertically for a few feet, and are then
rounded off into an arch. The front wall, looking toward the lower end
of the row, is pierced with holes near the ground, and others are made
in the back wall at about three feet above the ground, so as to open
directly upon the floor of the next kiln above. The draught in this way
rushes through the entire row toward the chimneys behind the largest and
uppermost kiln. The fuel is thrown directly into the kiln, and not into
a fireplace. It is arranged along the lower side in a narrow space
divided from the rest of the kiln by fire-clay slabs set upright. The
fire begins in a furnace attached to the lowest kiln. The hot air rushes
through the air-holes into the next kiln, which is thus heated before
its own firing begins, and so on throughout the entire range, the kilns
furthest up the line having thus to stand the highest temperature. Each
one has the benefit of the heat of all the lower ones. The Japanese do
not make any extensive use of seggars. To keep the pieces free from dust
or falling particles of the vault, the inside of each kiln is glazed
before the firing begins. The pieces are placed one above another upon
fire-clay stands. The small kilns for the preliminary firing are in the
potter’s yard, but the kilns above described belong to the community,
and are rented to the manufacturers.

[Illustration: Fig. 27.--Hard Pottery Kiln.]

[Illustration: Fig. 28.--Porcelain Kiln.]

The kilns in use in America and Europe vary very much in shape. M.
Brongniart gives representations of three--that for common pottery (Fig.
26), that for hard pottery (Fig. 27), and that for porcelain (Fig. 28).
Those used in England often take the shape of a low, vaulted chamber,
with the fire at one end, the chimney at the other, and the firing
chamber between. In the United States, the usual shape for both
earthen-ware and stone-ware is conical, not unlike a ball-cartridge. The
common pottery kiln is divided, by means of baked plates, into cells, in
which the wares are placed. The length of time during which they are
kept in the furnace varies according to the nature of the ware. It may
be twenty-four hours or, as in the case of fine stone-ware, several
days. For some wares, seggars are used in place of the open cells; and
the arrangement of the seggars may be seen in the porcelain kiln. When,
in the case of non-vitrifying earthen-ware, a combination of firing and
glazing in one operation is not practicable, the ware is kept at a
white-heat for about thirty-six hours; and on the kiln cooling, the
pieces then known as “biscuit” are removed for glazing. This operation
consists of dipping it into the glaze, composed as previously mentioned,
ground to a powder, and mixed with water until of the right consistency.
The second firing melts the glaze, and covers the surface with a thin,
transparent coating. The Italian potters gradually increased the heat
for four hours, and allowed the ware to remain at a white-heat for
twelve hours, and then to cool. Porcelain is fired according to its
composition. For English porcelain, the first firing lasts about fifty
hours; the second firing, after the glaze is applied, lasts about twenty
hours or less, at a lower temperature. Soft-paste or artificial French
porcelain takes from eighty to a hundred hours for the first, and thirty
for the second, firing. The greatest caution is demanded in placing the
pieces in the seggars and in regulating the heat. The chief peculiarity
about the making of porcelain is that the glaze fluxes with the paste,
and forms, with it, a translucent whole.

[Illustration: Fig. 29.--Broome’s Improved Porcelain or Parian Kiln. A,
ash-pit; G, grate; F F, flues; B B, bags for the flames; D, door for
filling the kiln; E, damper, or draught regulator; S S S, spy-holes for
watching, or trials while burning.]

Mr. Isaac Broome, of Trenton, has invented a new kiln, of which an
engraving is here given (Fig. 29). An equal distribution and perfect
regulation of the heat are the features which commend it to attention.

Very little more need be said here about the preparation and
application of the glaze, and that little can be included in what
requires to be added about the laying on of the colors. The Italians
worked in the following manner: The biscuit having been dipped in the
enamel bath, was allowed to dry, and was then painted and again dried.
The piece was then dipped in the transparent glaze, and, having been for
a third time dried, was ready for the final firing. Piccolpasso gives
much minute instruction regarding the preparation of the colors and
manner of painting, which must here be omitted. What he says about
painting majolica, or lustred ware, is, however, interesting. The parts
to receive the metallic-lustre pigment were sketched in outline, and
left white when the other colors were applied. After the piece was fired
the lustre pigments were laid on, and the piece was again placed in the
kiln. For this purpose a special kiln was necessary. It was built with a
square fire chamber intersected by two arches, on which was placed a
circular chamber large enough to touch the four sides of the square
kiln, but necessarily leaving the four corners uncovered. This chamber
was perforated in all directions, in order to admit the flames to direct
contact with the wares. Dry willow branches were used for the first
three hours, and then dry broom was thrown on the fire, which was kept
up for another hour. The kiln having cooled, the pieces were removed,
soaked in soap-and-water, washed, rubbed dry with flannel, and then
polished with wood-ash and flannel. The object of the process is
obvious. The flames being allowed to play directly upon the wares, the
carbon in the smoke decomposed the salts contained in the metallic
oxide, and the metal was left glittering and iridescent upon the
surface.

The Japanese porcelain painted under the glaze with the oxide of cobalt
has been already described. Other qualities are painted over the glaze
with colored enamels made from glass (or silica, litharge, and nitre)
and white-lead. The coloring oxides are gold for carmine, copper,
antimony, manganese, red oxide of iron, and oxide of cobalt. These are
mixed and applied directly by the painter without any previous
preparation, so that the colors do not show themselves until brought out
by the fire. The method of decoration is peculiar. The design is first
sketched in black lines, with strokes for the shades. When the enamel
colors are opaque, they are laid on thinly; when translucent or
resembling colored glass, so that the design appears under, they are
laid on more thickly. Occasionally a white opaque enamel--but containing
no admixture of tin--is first applied, and the colors are laid upon it.

Stone-ware is very seldom glazed by a “dip.” The usual method is to
combine the firing and glazing. When the ware has been exposed to the
maximum heat for the necessary time, salt is thrown into the kiln. The
heat vaporizes the salt, and of its constituent parts one, the chlorine,
escapes; while the other, the soda, is, on coming in contact with the
silex in the red-hot ware, formed into a silicate of soda, a perfectly
transparent and intensely hard glaze.

In regard to the colors, the only ones now known which will bear the
first firing--_couleurs de grand feu_--and are therefore put on before
glazing, are blue from cobalt, browns from iron, manganese, and chromate
of iron, green from chrome, and yellows from titanium and uranium.
Between these and the more delicate _couleurs de moufle_, or enamel
colors, are violets, reds, and browns from manganese, copper, and iron,
which are designated as _couleurs au demi grand feu_. Beyond these, the
colors used in decorating hard or natural porcelain are laid on the
glaze, to which they adhere without incorporating themselves.

The great difficulties attending the manufacture of porcelain may now be
estimated. The piece must pass through the kiln as many times as there
are colors requiring different temperatures. Too much heat will blot out
the delicate colors, too little will leave them dull. Those on
artificial or soft porcelain sink into the glaze, and thus present a
softness and creamy delicacy never seen on any other kind of ware.

The results are generally a sufficient reward for the difficulty of the
process. This is altogether exceptional in the case of _pate tendre_. As
its alkaline ingredients volatilize at a certain heat, the fire must be
stopped before that temperature is reached. The glaze, also alkaline, is
then applied in the form of dust, and not, as with hard porcelain, in
the form of a dip. The second firing melts the glaze. If the heat be too
strong, the alkalies will fly off; if too weak, the surface will be
uneven. For a third time the same danger is incurred, when the firing
for fixing the colors takes place.




BOOK II.--THE ORIENT.




CHAPTER I.

EGYPT.

     The East the Cradle of Art.--The Antiquity of Egypt: Its Claim to
     Notice in every Branch of Inquiry.--The Fountains of Oriental and
     Greek Art.--The Nile Clay.--Egypt’s Early Maturity.--Limitation of
     Material.--Effect of Religion upon Art.--Two Periods in Art
     History.--Ancient Religion.--Various Symbols.--UNGLAZED
     POTTERY--_Sun-dried_: Bricks.--Moulds, Stamps,
     etc.--Vessels.--_Baked Ware_: Its Early Date.--Color of Vessels and
     Bricks.--Coffins.--Cones.--Figures.--Sepulchral Vases.--Amphoræ and
     other Vessels.--Decoration.--Græco-Egyptian Pottery.--GLAZED WARE,
     miscalled Porcelain: Its Nature, and how Colored.--Wall
     Tiles.--Inlaying of Mummy Cases.--Personal
     Ornaments.--Images.--Beads, etc.--Vases.--Bowls.--Glazed
     Schist.--Stanniferous Enamel.


To the Orient we look for the birthplace of man, and in it we also find
the cradle of Art. How it spread eastward to China and westward to
Egypt, we may not be able, with precise accuracy, to tell; but this we
know, that in and between these two countries the ceramic art had been
carried to a lofty eminence long before Europe had awakened from
barbaric slumber. Western history was, in fact, scarcely beginning, when
Eastern civilization was in one direction fading, and in another was
tottering to its fall.

In beginning with Egypt, the most ancient relics of primitive art pass
first in review. To that wonderful country, long hidden under a thick
cloud of mystery, we must, in fact, first turn, no matter what may be
the subject demanding investigation. It had reached antiquity before the
oldest countries of the West were born. In the ceramic art, it appears
as the centre from which radiated the two great branches, many centuries
afterward converging in Southern Europe. On the one hand is the
silicious-glazed pottery, which, after moving eastward, reached Europe
in a slightly altered form; on the other is the glazed and unglazed
terra-cotta, which the Greeks took up and carried forward to a new and
higher perfection. Egypt thus appears as the fountain-head of ancient
art. The progress it made toward comparative perfection will be
hereafter referred to. Meantime it may be pointed out, that, while
fortunate in one respect, Egypt was unfortunate in another. The banks of
the Nile gave a never-failing supply of pure and plastic clay, admirably
suited to all the purposes of the potter. When the periodical
inundations took place, they left a deposit of exceptionally pure silt
extending from the banks of the river to the furthest margin of the
flood. The material was thus ready to the potter’s hand. The counter
disadvantage was the absence of the materials required for the finest
ware, or their presence in such form as scarcely to suggest their
combination. The Egyptians appear to have carried their ceramic art to a
full development at a very remote stage of their history, or, in other
words, they soon arrived at the point beyond which they never passed.
The limitation laid upon them was that of material. The result of this
is shown by the other directions in which their art branched off. It
seemed impossible to accomplish anything in clay to vie with the
precious metals and stones. For purposes of ornament, therefore, clay
was discarded. It was worked by slaves (Fig. 30), and fashioned into
domestic vessels and bricks; and when the nearest approach to porcelain
was made, then only do we meet with ornamental works, or those of a more
strictly artistic character.

Their religion also appears to have deadened their ambition to reach a
higher excellence. There were two periods in their art history. In
studying the works belonging to the first, the observer will frequently
be impressed by the desire evinced to follow the forms offered by nature
for imitation. Such is the most striking characteristic of what may be
called the first school. It aimed at the reproduction of natural forms
in the most literal manner. Afterward, when the emblematic school took
its rise, the forms were still those of nature, with a religious or
spiritual significance superadded. The idea is evidently fatal to art,
that it can climb to nothing higher than the figure symbolical of a god.
In their efforts toward the production of what was graceful and
beautiful, the Egyptians are not, however, to be despised. Before
foreign influences made themselves felt, the Egyptian forms were
simple, and frequently displayed ideas of beauty which, if ruder than
those of the Greeks, are independent. The Egyptians were necessarily
original. They had no predecessors whose works they could copy; and in
appealing to nature for models, they took the only course open to them.
From their originality the Greeks borrowed and improved upon their
models, and it is in this view of its being a starting-point for
subsequent art that Egyptian pottery demands careful study.

[Illustration: Fig. 30.--Foreign Captives making Bricks in Egypt. 1, Man
returning from carrying load; 2, 7, and 10 carry the clay, after it has
been dug by 9, 11, 12, and 13, and throw it down at 7 and _j_, for the
brickmakers, 8 and 16; 4 and 5 carry them away to the drying-place or
furnace; 3 and 6 are taskmasters; 14 and 15 are carrying water from the
tank, _h_. At _c_ and _a_ are inscriptions to the effect that the bricks
were so made for the Temple of Amun-Ra, at Thebes.]

It is indispensable, in order to understand the highest forms of the art
in Egypt, that something should be known of its religion. In that
strange land we find an answer--possibly the first--to the question,

    “The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills, and the plains--
     Are not these, O soul, the vision of Him who reigns?”

According to Bunsen, “the mythological system proceeded from ‘the
concealed god,’ Ammon, to the creating god. The latter appears first of
all as the generative power of nature in the Phallic god Khem, who is
afterward merged into Ammon-ra. Then sprung up the idea of a creative
power in Kneph. He forms the limbs of Osiris (the primitive soul) in
contradistinction to Ptah, who, as the strictly demiurgic principle,
forms the visible world. Neith is the creative principle as nature
represented under a female form. Finally her son, Ra Helios, appears as
the last of the series in the character of father and nourisher of
terrestrial things. It is he whom an ancient monument represents as the
demiurgic principle creating the mundane egg.” At the head of this
Pantheon stands Ammon, the concealed and invisible. The other figures
are personifications of his attributes, and appear as separate and
individual gods. In order to make the theogony intelligible to the
people, these gods are represented by symbols. There is thus a regular
gradation from the symbol to the divine attribute, and thence to the
Unknown Greatest. It is the sublimity of paganism, presenting us with
one god carrying on the infinite works of the universe by means of his
various attributes. The symbols were chosen from nature, and are
generally expressive, if not always dignified. Firstly, as to the
symbols proper, the lotus and scarabæus may be mentioned as of most
frequent occurrence. The former, the sacred flower, is often met with in
connection with the figures of the divinities, and symbolizes the
beneficence of nature’s revivifying powers, water and heat. The
scarabæus (Fig. 31) is the symbol of creation, and when represented with
out-spread wings, of immortality. It may appear singular that a
loathsome insect should thus have been honored, but the explanation is
simple. It is to be found in the habits of the insect itself. Placing
its egg in a ball, it buried the latter in the sand, where it was
hatched by the rays of the sun, and the ball opening with the breaking
of the egg, the young insect appeared. It was to the Egyptian a perfect
symbol of creation, and hence of the creative god Phtha. When found with
outstretched wings, it is an ornament of the dead, and symbolizes the
apparent circuit of the sun setting at night to rise in the morning.
Thus the sun of life sets in death to reappear in immortality, as the
scarabæus, under the influence of its divine warmth, breaks from its egg
into insect life. The sun was the symbol of Ra, the sun-god, “the father
and nourisher of terrestrial things.” In representing the gods, the
figures selected were to a great extent arbitrary. The Egyptians honored
themselves by discovering that in the humblest form of nature there was
something worthy of honor. They accordingly took the plants and animals
of their land and wove them into their religion, by adopting a system of
natural symbols too intricate to be here given in detail. The following
may, however, be found useful:

[Illustration: Fig. 31.--Scarabæus. Dark-blue Glazed Pottery. (Way
Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The vulture was the symbol of divine maternity, because thought to
conceive spontaneously; and hence Souvan, the mother of all, is
represented with a vulture’s head. This single instance furnishes a key
to the system. The symbol is chosen which most nearly represents the
principle, and thus becomes a part of the embodied form of the deity
possessing the principle as his or her peculiar attribute. The dog and
jackal were emblems of Anubis, the guardian of the tombs, and the deity
presiding over embalmment. The scarabæus was the emblem of the demiurgic
god Phtha. The lion was also the emblem of Phtha and of the goddess
Pasht. Cynocephali were emblems of Chous and Thoth.

Throughout the entire system, the birds, fishes, land animals, and
plants of Egypt, the hawk, vulture, ibis, uræi snakes, the cat, pig,
cow, and so on, are all used as symbols. It will be sufficient now to
glance at the converse, and note the forms under which the deities are
represented. Ra, the sun-god, appears with the head of a hawk; Athor,
the Egyptian Venus, with horns and ears of a cow; Anubis with head of a
jackal; Thoth with head of an ibis; Amun-ra, a man with solar disk on
head, and plumed; Mut, the mother goddess, crowned; Chous, sou of
Amun-ra and Mut, with moon disk, occasionally hawk-headed; Phtha with
scarabæus on head, sometimes with two heads, one of which is that of a
hawk; Pasht, Bast, and Tafne are all lion-headed goddesses; Her has a
lion’s head; Taur appears as a hippopotamus; Osiris sits enthroned with
the cap of truth, and holds a staff and scourge; Isis, like the Roman
Luna or Diana, appears in two forms, sitting as a terrestrial goddess,
suckling Horus or kneeling, or sitting in her celestial character, with
disk and horns, nursing her son Horus.

[Illustration: Fig. 32.--Egyptian Gods. (Way Coll., Boston Museum of
Fine Arts.)]

We are now in a position to give names to the group (Fig. 32), each
piece in which is of the blue or green glazed pottery to be noticed
hereafter. It may be said, however, that no engraving could give an idea
of the exquisite finish of these pieces, especially of the two in the
middle. The lower central figure is the plumed Amun. It is
turquoise-blue, and is one and three-quarter inches in height. The upper
central figure is the lion-headed Pasht, surmounted by the solar disk
and the asp. To the left is ibis-headed Thoth, a flat figure intended to
be sewn into a mummy covering. On the right are Isis and Nepthys, with
Horus between them. From the combination of symbols, the study of the
mythology of the Egyptians as found illustrated on their pottery is of
deep interest, and of great importance both to the ceramist and the
student of the science of religion.

The ceramic productions of Egypt are divisible into two great classes,
unglazed and glazed.

[Illustration: Fig. 33.--Earthen-ware Vessels found at Thebes.]

UNGLAZED POTTERY.--This may again be divided into the unbaked, or
sun-dried, and baked. Of these the former is unquestionably the more
ancient, and Egypt is one of the three countries whose sun-dried pottery
has lasted until the present time. Unbaked bricks are the oldest
examples. Some of those discovered recall the bondage and wrongs of the
Israelites under the “new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph.” The
command of Pharaoh will be remembered: “Ye shall no more give the people
straw to make brick as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for
themselves.” The straw was used to bind them together. They were moulded
generally in a rectangular shape, and were extensively used in the
construction of pyramids of various ages. They vary in size in different
edifices, and are marked according to their composition or destined use.
In the former case, the marks were used merely to distinguish the
quality; in the latter, the marks indicate either the individual’s tomb
in the construction of which they were to be employed, or the king in
whose reign they were made for public buildings. The whole process can
be studied in the engraving (Fig. 30). The stamp for bricks was not used
until the fifteenth century before the Christian era.

The vessels of unbaked clay which have been preserved are few in
number, and are either religious in character, or devoted to sepulchral
uses. The ornamentation is of the simplest kind.

[Illustration: Fig. 34.--Red Pottery Cone. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y.
Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 35.--Fish-shaped Vase of Red Terra-cotta. Egyptian.
(British Museum.)]

Egypt was exceptionally favored by nature for advancing in the potter’s
art. The Nile mud was abundant and plastic, and was suitable for either
moulding or throwing. Specimens of baked earthen-ware (Fig. 33) have
accordingly been found belonging to a very remote period. They represent
the second step in the manufacture, which was reached nearly three
thousand years before our era. From the tombs of that period have been
exhumed vessels of various kinds, such as were employed by the Egyptians
in their households; and taking these as a starting-point, the art can
be traced to its decline under imported ideas and foreign domination.
This ware is mostly of a dull red color, verging at times toward purple
or yellow, according to the temperature at which it was baked. The baked
bricks were of the same red color. They were used, apparently, for
purposes for which the less lasting unbaked bricks were not suitable,
but were not generally employed. Of the same material coffins, although
rare, have also been found. Many of the objects connected with the
Egyptian customs regarding the burial of the dead were made of this
clay. Among these were the cones (Fig. 34), with inscriptions in
hieroglyphics stamped on the base, and giving the name of the deceased.
They indicate the resting-places of many civil and ecclesiastical
functionaries--clerks or scribes, priests, chamberlains, soldiers, and
seldom of women. They appear to have fallen into desuetude in the sixth
century before our era. Figures have also been found in the sepulchres
of a later period. The vases for holding the entrails of the embalmed
dead were of the same ware, and bring up for notice a very singular
custom. The viscera were divided into four parts, and deposited in
separate jars having the shapes of the genii of the Egyptian Hades,
Amset, Hapi, Tuautmutf, and Kebhsnuf. The ibis mummy pots belong to the
same class. They were used for holding the embalmed body of the sacred
bird, and are very frequently of a conical shape, with a slightly convex
lid. Of domestic vases in this ware, the shapes and uses are very
numerous. Great numbers have been found in the tombs, varying as much in
size as in purpose. The latter may often be divined from the shape of
the vessel: thus those for liquids are wide-mouthed for convenience in
drawing the contents; those for bread and flesh-meats are wider and more
shallow. Ointment pots and oil jars are also fashioned in view of their
respective purposes.

Another kind of unglazed ware is of a light gray color, and was common
to Egypt and some of the countries of Asia. Amphoræ have been found of
this material, with long bodies ornamented with horizontal grooves. Of
these the larger ones appear to have been intended for liquids, and the
smaller ones, some of which are very diminutive, for solids. The bases
of the former are pointed, while those of the latter are occasionally
rounded. The handles are both small and large, and the necks open or
contracted, according to their use. These are well deserving of notice
for the sake of comparison with the amphoræ of the Greeks; and for the
same reason reference may be made to the vessels with three handles,
which were in all probability the prototypes of the Greek _hydrai_, and
to others with only one handle, which were also reproduced in Greece.
The former are very frequently oval-bodied, and the position of the
handle is arbitrary. The latter were jugs of various shapes, with
pointed bases. The further we come down, the more distinct become the
proofs of Egypt’s having supplied models to the Grecian potters. It
would be impossible to specify all the shapes, but reference may be made
to those with handle arching the top from side to side, and of so small
a size that they are thought to have been used by children as toys.

[Illustration: Fig. 36.--Egyptian Red-polished Terra-cotta.]

The larger vessels, which answered all the purposes of a modern
meat-safe, have no handle, and have the usual pointed base for fixing
them upright in the floor of the cellar. They taper gradually from the
base upward, until their greatest girth is reached, when they curve more
suddenly inward to a short neck. From these the forms vary through the
intermediate shapes of oval jars, bottles with long necks, and narrow
oil vases, to wide bowls or dishes and plates. Reference was made in the
introduction to the multitudinous purposes to which clay vessels were
put by the Egyptians. They used their ware in many ways which to us
appear very primitive and strange--for storing all manner of eatables
and drinkables, for cooking and smelting. In fact, whatever one may
think of their ideas of beauty in pottery, there can be no doubt that
they took a very wide view of its infinite usefulness.

[Illustration: Fig. 37.--Egyptian Red-polished Terra-cotta Bottle.
(British Mus.)]

Decoration of a simple kind is occasionally found on both domestic and
sepulchral vessels. Colored bands were the usual ornament, and very
rarely the entire body was painted with a ground color upon which bands
were laid, and the whole was then varnished. It is rarely that a leaf or
lotus flower is found. The use of varnish points to a step in advance.
It has not yet been determined whether it is really varnish or a glaze
applied by firing, but in either case it is found upon the finer and
harder kinds of ware. The body color is black, brown, or red, of
different shades (Fig. 36). To this class belong the single and double
cruses, generally of pale red paste, but sometimes black, used
apparently for holding oil or ointment. The best examples of polished
ware are red. They show both ornamentation of a higher order and more
artistic shapes than the others. The shape of one of these vases
resembles the goddess Isis suckling Horus, in the attitude previously
mentioned; another is in the form of a woman playing upon a stringed
instrument (Fig. 37); a third is shaped like a fish; and many domestic
vessels, cups, jugs, and vases are of the same material.

The Græco-Egyptian pottery forms a distinct class, differing in paste,
color, and decoration. The outside shows varying shades of gray and
red, and the ornamentation consists of lines and animal and floral
forms, in colors capable of standing the kiln. At the same period was
introduced the custom of making writing tablets of this ware.

[Illustration: Fig. 38.--Glazed Pottery Vase. Egyptian.]

[Illustration: Fig. 39.--Egyptian Scarabæi used as Signets. Average, ¾
inch in length. Pale and dark green. (Way Coll., Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 40.--Egyptian Pectoral Tablets. (Way Coll., Boston
Museum of Fine Arts.)]

GLAZED WARE.--Leaving the unglazed and polished wares, there yet falls
to be considered that with an undoubted glaze, to which belong the most
artistic works of the Egyptian potters. This is the ware which has been
miscalled porcelain (Fig. 38); and as the unglazed ware was never
employed for purely ornamental purposes, so we find the glazed seldom
used for domestic vessels. Contrary to what might be expected, specimens
have been found as old as the Sixth Dynasty, or nearly two thousand
years before the Christian era. The ware is not at all close in texture,
and the silicious glaze was colored by metallic oxides, of the
properties of which the Egyptians had an intimate knowledge. Chief among
the colors thus produced are the blue and green, exemplified in some of
the finest relics of Egyptian art. Their beauty is occasionally very
remarkable, and led to their being highly valued both by the Egyptians
and others, and to the ware itself being applied to special purposes of
ornamentation. It is found, for example, in the form of tiles as a wall
decoration, and as a material for inlaying. Tiles with figures in
relief, having parts such as the hair, beard, eyes, or extremities
inlaid with glazed ware, are among the most curious specimens
discovered. Detached beards are not unlike spirally ribbed hose.
Coffins, or mummy cases, are similarly inlaid. The forms the glazed
pottery assumes, when employed for this purpose and for figures to be
attached to other substances, are very numerous. The moulded ornaments
and amulets of both the living and the dead were most frequently of the
same material. These take the shape of finger and ear rings (Fig. 39),
small images of the gods and of their symbols, and various other
ornaments, such as bracelets, necklaces, and hairpins. The nature of
the paste leads to the belief that these were more generally devoted to
sepulchral purposes, with a religious significance, than to any other.
All the minute beads, in a net-work of which the dead were often
encased, and also the pectoral or breastplates, were of this material
(Fig. 40). In the lower specimen, Ra is represented by the scarab. In
the barge, on either side, are Isis and Nepthys. This tablet bears the
inscription, “He that is worthy goes over in the barge of Ra.” Of the
upper specimen only one-half is preserved, showing the figure of Isis.
In the hollow centre has been a scarab, probably of jasper, and in the
borders colored stones or glass have been set. The lower border consists
of a series of lotus flowers, and the wavy lines represent the water in
which they grow. Above was the winged disk of the sun. Figures of the
gods and goddesses and their emblems, and sacred animals and plants,
which were deposited with the dead, afford some of the most exquisite
examples of Egyptian glazed pottery. The images have either a perforated
upright support behind, or are otherwise perforated for attachment to
the necklaces of the mummies. The scarabæus is very often met with on
the breastplates. All these symbols and images were employed for the
supposed benefit of the dead, either to save them from evil, or as a
direct means of bringing good, and can only be understood through an
acquaintance with mythology. Rings of various colors appear properly to
belong to the same category of ornaments of the dead. Other sepulchral
figures were deposited with the deceased, besides those of the
protecting gods. These were supposed to aid the departed in his labors
in the future state, and are invariably small representations of a
mummied figure, partially covered with hieroglyphics. Like many of the
other figures and objects, they are generally of the beautiful Egyptian
blue. In the example (Fig. 41) given on the following page, the figure
of a bird with human head, appears upon the breast. It is an emblem of
the soul leaving or returning to the body. The more usual form is that
seen in the central figure in the engraving (Fig. 42), with long beard,
a pickaxe and hoe in either hand, and having a cord in the right hand
which is crossed to the left, and allows the cord to pass over the left
shoulder. At the end of this cord is a bag or basket, which is faintly
discernible on the shoulder of the figure on the right. The
hieroglyphics are passages from the Ritual, in compliance with which
these figures were made. Balls, draughtsmen, and toys were also made of
glazed pottery. All the figures and ornaments to which reference has
been made were turned out of moulds, the friability of the paste not
permitting its being thrown.

[Illustration: Fig. 41.--Egyptian Mummy Figure. Style, XIXth Dynasty.
(Way Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

For the same reason the glazed vases are diminutive, but often very
beautiful, and intended for purely ornamental purposes. They are of
different shapes and sizes, generally a few inches in height, and some
of them illustrate the peculiar ideas entertained by the Egyptians of
personal beauty. One of their customs was that of darkening the eyes
with a black powder, sometimes held in a small case resembling a series
of reeds. The toilet is otherwise represented by a variety of boxes,
jars, bottles, small vases, and oil flasks. The latter are unique, and
sometimes elegant in shape, and supply good examples of the greenish
glazed-ware to which reference has been made.

Many of the bowls evidently used by the wealthy are of a finer and
closer paste, and bear very characteristic ornamentation of flowers,
fish, hieroglyphics, or of lines only. Their uses can only be
conjectured from their shapes. The inscriptions sometimes point to their
owners, and at others to the place of fabrication.

The Egyptians also resorted to a process of glazing vases, figures,
rings, and other articles for which pottery was usually employed, made
of a variety of hard schists. These, however, as not being properly
potter’s ware, are here passed over.

It will thus be seen that the Egyptians did not carry the art to a very
high point. They were, however, successful in creating a foreign demand
for the productions of their potteries. From discoveries made in Eastern
Greece, Nineveh, and elsewhere, it would appear that the fine pottery
ornaments of Egypt were in considerable repute in neighboring countries;
and, as we shall hereafter see, Egypt contributed its full share to the
furtherance of the art by supplying suggestions and models.

[Illustration: Fig. 42.--Egyptian Mummy Figures. Blue or Greenish-blue
Enamelled Pottery. (Way Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

One important matter remains to be disposed of. It has long been a
subject of doubt whether or not Egypt possessed the secret of
stanniferous enamel. It has been already intimated that the discovery of
the use of tin for a pottery enamel is due to either that country or
Assyria. The honor may probably be ascribed to Egypt. In the loan
collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York is a fragment (Fig.
43) of a vase exhibited in the Egyptian section, and referable to a very
remote antiquity, covered with what is apparently tin enamel, bearing
purple decorations. Should this be the case, then this solitary fragment
will settle the matter, and we must believe that the Egyptians possessed
this secret of the art four thousand years ago. In that event, the
Assyrians probably acquired it from Egypt. The fact supplies us with the
means of arriving at a very clear idea of the grand antiquity of that
civilization under which a valuable art was practised, to which Europe
was a stranger for more than three thousand five hundred years
afterward.

[Illustration: Fig. 43.--Fragment with White Enamel. (Trumbull-Prime
Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

It is, as we have seen, long since the art purely its own reached its
culmination. The Egypt of the nineteenth century in this respect
scarcely suggests that of the Pyramids. If we were to take that country
as it appeared at the Philadelphia Exhibition, we would hardly be
prepared to look upon its ceramic products as those of a country in
which the art has been practised for four thousand years. A few pieces
exhibited were of light, slate-colored body, unglazed, and so brittle
that dozens were broken in transit. The ornamentation was laid on the
bare surface, and was, as a rule, bright to the verge of gaudiness. The
greater portion of the painting was the work of an Italian artist
resident in Cairo. Some of the red terra-cotta was more satisfactory;
but all that can be said in favor of either kind is that it was, in its
way, characteristically Egyptian. One specimen of pale green “porcelain”
was sent by the Museum at Cairo. The last is mentioned because it
represented the farthest point which the Egyptians reached on the way
toward a true porcelain.




CHAPTER II.

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.

     Possible Priority to Egyptian Pottery.--Similarity between Assyrian
     and Egyptian.--The Course followed by both Arts.--Unbaked
     Bricks.--Baked Bricks.--Writing
     Tablets.--Seals.--Vases.--Terra-cottas.--Porcelain.--Glazing and
     Enamelling.--Tin.--Colored Enamels.--Babylonian Bricks.--Glazes.


[Illustration: Fig. 44.--Pottery found in the Tombs above the Palaces of
Nimroud.]

Although we have taken Egypt as our starting-point, there may have been
a pottery antecedent to that we have considered. Looking farther east
for the cradle of the human race, knowledge and art may have spread east
and west from the Euphrates, the great river of Babylon. Egypt having
been first inhabited by settlers wandering from the province of which
that city became the capital, who found in the Nile a river resembling,
in many respects, that which they had left, these colonists may have
carried with them some knowledge of the uses of clay. However this may
be, it is beyond question that the oldest pottery of which the age is
known is Egyptian, and that the knowledge acquired from the East was
returned with interest.

[Illustration: Fig. 45.--Terra-cotta Assyrian Venus.]

[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Assyrian Cylinder, inscribed with the Records
of a King’s Reign. (British Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 47.--Inscribed Seal. (Assyrian.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 48.--Seal of Sabaco and Sennacherib.]

[Illustration: Fig. 49.--Impression of Sabaco’s Seal, enlarged.]

[Illustration: Fig. 50.--Back of Assyrian Seal, showing Marks of
Fingers.]

[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Fragment in Porcelain (?). (Nimroud.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Box in Porcelain (?). (Nimroud.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 53.--Enamelled Brick. (Louvre.)]

Assyria and Babylonia are almost necessarily considered in conjunction.
The latter having been a province of Assyria prior to its assertion of
independence, we anticipate, what is actually the case, a close
similarity between the ceramic productions of the two countries. In
tracing the history of their pottery, we not only discover many points
of resemblance between it and that of Egypt, but advance along an
exactly parallel line. From sun-dried bricks we pass to burnt bricks,
thence to unglazed pottery possessed of an artistic character, thence
again to glazed specimens and enamel. In both countries unbaked bricks
were made use of in the construction of mound-like foundations for
buildings. Walls, houses, and tombs were built of similar materials. In
Assyria, bricks were sometimes faced with marble, either externally, for
the sake of strength, or to give greater beauty to an interior. Some
were gilded and others colored. Small figures of both baked and unbaked
clay, and of a religious character, were also made by the Assyrians
(Fig. 45). From the stamped and baked bricks much has been learned of
Assyrian history and topography, the sites of cities and names of kings
having been thus discovered or substantiated. By the same people writing
tablets of rectangular, cylindrical, or prismatic shapes were very
commonly made of terra-cotta (Fig. 46). They form a very curious remnant
of ancient literature, which, thanks to the indestructibility of the
material upon which it was written, is still open to the study of the
historian. All kinds of records have thus been preserved--religious,
legal, and astronomical. The Assyrians and Egyptians both used seals
(Figs. 47, 48, 49, and 50) of baked and unbaked clay, in the same way
that wax seals are still occasionally appended or attached to documents.

[Illustration: Fig. 54.--Babylonian Baked Brick, with Nebuchadnezzar’s
Name. Twelve inches square, three inches thick.]

[Illustration: Fig. 55.--The Mnjellibé, or Kasr. Showing brickwork.]

Many of the vases discovered in the ruined cities of Assyria are clearly
to be attributed to foreign occupants, and are therefore of
comparatively late date. To this class belong many of the cinerary urns
exhumed from the tombs. Ancient and really Assyrian vessels have been
discovered of a pale brown clay (Fig. 44), unglazed, and of various
shapes, but seldom painted. It is, however, difficult, in many cases, to
discover the nationality of the potter or the age of the piece. Of
terra-cotta figures of the gods, several have been found, although these
must have existed in far greater numbers. Porcelain, or fine glazed
pottery (Figs. 51, 52), is rarely met with, and the specimens found are
inferior to the Egyptian. The several uses of the ware appear to have
been the same in the two countries. For a knowledge of glazing and
enamelling, the Assyrians were in all likelihood indebted to the
Egyptians. Bricks subjected to these processes, and ornamented with
flowers, leaves, and animals, were employed in decorating interiors and
even in building walls (Fig. 53). These bricks reveal the fact that the
Assyrians were aware of the peculiar suitableness of tin for making a
white enamel. The other enamels employed were yellow, brown, blue, and
green, and were produced from metals almost identical with those
employed by the Egyptians.

[Illustration: Fig. 56.--Terra-cotta Tablet, from Babylon. (British
Museum.)]

Like the Assyrian and Egyptian, the Babylonian bricks, whether unbaked
or baked, were moulded, and the latter were stamped. Hundreds of these
(Fig. 54) bear the stamp of Nebuchadnezzar, the sites where they were
found indicating with tolerable exactness the bounds of his kingdom. The
extensive use of bricks by the Babylonians may be taken as
characteristic of a people inhabiting the country where the Tower of
Babel was built (Fig. 55). In many respects the vessels found in
Babylonia resemble those of Assyria, so closely, in fact, that they need
not here be separately treated. As in the latter country, the
Babylonians used terra-cotta writing tablets. Several terra-cotta
bas-reliefs have been discovered, of one of the more remarkable examples
of which, now in the British Museum, we give the preceding engraving
(Fig. 56). This tablet was found near Babylon. The dog is of the huge
Thibet breed, and both figures have been modelled. The small size of the
pieces would almost preclude their use as ornaments; and Dr. Birch
ventures the conjecture that they may have been an artist’s studies for
larger works. The fine paste is the same as that used for the writing
cylinders.

[Illustration: Fig. 57.--Ram in Baked Clay, from Niffer.]

In regard to the earthen-ware vessels and figures, the same difficulty
in determining their age is encountered here that was met with in
Assyria. They have been taken from the mounds in large quantities. To
this class belongs the ram (Fig. 57) found at Niffer, on the supposed
site of ancient Babylon.

[Illustration: Fig. 58.--Glazed Coffins, from Warka.]

The Babylonian glazes resemble the Assyrian, and it may be particularly
mentioned that the oxide of tin was employed in making enamel. These
glazes are found upon both bricks and vases, and were applied
extensively to architectural decoration. At Warka, identified with the
ancient Ur of the Chaldees, thousands of coffins made of glazed ware
have been exhumed, variously decorated with figures. Of these one
specimen is given (Fig. 58).




CHAPTER III.

JUDÆA.

     Art Derived from Egypt.--Never Reached any Eminence.--Preference
     for Metals.--Frequent Allusions in Scripture.--Bought Earthen-ware
     from Phœnicia and Egypt.--Home
     Manufacture.--Decoration.--Necessity for Distinguishing between
     Home and Foreign Wares.


[Illustration: Fig. 59.--Earthen-ware Jars and Water-pots.]

We now turn westward to Judæa, in order that, before penetrating farther
into Asia and to the extreme East, we may glance at a country showing in
its ceramic remains unmistakable signs of Egyptian teaching, but
exercising in its turn no recognizable influence upon the art which from
all sides of it was diffused over Southern Europe. The art never reached
any eminence among the Jews. They preferred the richer beauty of the
precious metals. Potters did, no doubt, exist among them in considerable
numbers, and were acquainted with the different processes of throwing,
firing, and glazing; but the formation of such a guild as that of which
Scripture speaks is not of itself a proof that the occupation was held
in high esteem. The few relics which can be ascribed to a purely Jewish
origin might be passed over as immaterial to observers of the progress
of the art, were it not that everything pertaining to the land once
called that of Promise, and now designated by all Christendom as Holy,
possesses an interest altogether independent of its artistic merit.

[Illustration: Fig. 60.--Terra-cotta Lamps and Oil Vessels.]

For such earthen-ware vessels as they required, the Jews appear to have
applied on the one hand to the Phœnicians, and on the other to the
Egyptians. The manufacture among themselves was restricted to domestic
articles. These resemble the Egyptian in both style and finish, the body
being of a somewhat coarse paste, and the glaze of that peculiar kind
which is hardly distinguishable from varnish or mechanical polish. A
fragment now in the Louvre, of blue-glazed earthen-ware, resembling the
finer ware of Egypt, and found in Judæa, further substantiates the close
similarity between the pottery of the Jordan and that of the Nile. In
ornamentation, however, the Israelites have some claim to originality
and independence. Associating the lotus, papyrus, and the symbols of
Egypt with idolatry, the Jewish potters substituted grapes, leaves, and
pomegranates. In the description of the building of the Temple, in the
First Book of Kings, the decoration within the oracle of “carved figures
of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers,” was repeated on the walls
and doors; and on the chapiters of the pillars made by Hiram of Tyre
were long rows of pomegranates. A similar style of ornamentation was
adopted by the potters.

We have already seen that both Egyptian and Phœnician wares were
imported into the country, and in addition to these there have been
found at Jerusalem and elsewhere several examples of the red Roman, or
Samian ware.




CHAPTER IV.

INDIA AND CENTRAL ASIA.

     Mystery Surrounding People.--History of its Art in great measure
     Unknown.--Questions of its Existence and Originality.--How they
     Arose.--The Brahmins.--Geographical Position.--Views of Early
     Travellers.--Later Investigations.--More Ancient Pottery.--Clay
     Used.--Knowledge of Glazing: Its Application to
     Architecture.--Glazed Bricks.--Terra-cotta.--Chronological
     Arrangement.--Porcelain: Its Decoration.--Use of Gold.--Siam.


The antiquity claimed for the Hindoos as a people cannot, unfortunately,
be elucidated either by the help of such chronicles as the granite
records of Egypt, the terra-cotta tablets of Babylon, or the writings of
China. The history of Indian art has been surrounded by a more or less
impenetrable mystery. Two questions accordingly arise as to its ceramic
productions: firstly, Did India possess any knowledge of the plastic
art? secondly--that question having been answered in the
affirmative--Was it original or borrowed? These doubts, in all
probability, arose from the success of the Brahminical endeavors to
invest every branch of Hindoo knowledge with a veil of secrecy, and from
the geographical position of Hindostan. Occupying a peninsula about
half-way on the route by sea between Eastern and Western Asia, Africa,
and Europe, it became the recognized mart for the exchange of mercantile
commodities. European traders found in it a convenient halting-place,
even before they fully realized its actual commercial importance.
Similarly, on the north, it intercepted a portion of the overland
traffic, and ultimately became the centre toward which gravitated the
productions of Persia and Arabia on the west, and of China and Japan on
the east.

Travellers who did not stop to examine things very closely, accordingly
declared India a stranger to ceramic art. Recognizing its importance as
an exchange, from the abundance of imports from abroad, they did not
pierce the commercial conditions which hid its productiveness and
originality. Later researches have shown not only that India was not
dependent upon other countries, but that it had developed an exceptional
skill in the application of porcelain to the embellishment of
architecture. As if completely to subvert the statements of the first
visitors to Hindostan, China, the great seat of the porcelain
manufacture, has acknowledged its indebtedness to that country, and the
extent to which it has imitated its styles. There is no reason for
supposing that a country which had early shown a wonderful capacity for
reaching the highest forms of architectural magnificence, and for
executing work of the nicest delicacy in the precious metals and gems,
lent to China alone its ideas of ceramic beauty. The absence of thorough
investigation on the one hand, and the presence of a tendency to take
refuge in secrecy in regard to both methods and results, rather than to
court observation on the other, may, however, have had their effect in
lessening the influence India might otherwise have exercised on the art.
That she borrowed and adapted styles originating in both Persia and
Japan, after her marts had been flooded with imports from these
countries, there is every reason for believing, even when she preserved
styles sufficiently distinctive to enable us to distinguish the foreign
from the native work.

Of the more ancient forms of pottery, specimens exist which are upward
of two thousand years old. The clay varies from red to a gray color, and
the ornamentation, when used, is simple and chaste. A funeral urn of
this class has a round body without decoration, short, thick neck,
projecting lip, and is accompanied by a lid. Another, of the same red
clay, instead of the rounded base of the former, has a wide, flat
bottom. A band is drawn round the widest part of the body, from which it
curves rapidly inward to the neck, and on this upper part, between the
greatest circumference and the neck, a simple ornament is laid. Although
rather clumsy in appearance, this urn does not lack a certain primitive
symmetry.

Like the other ancient nations of which we have already treated, India
was intimately acquainted with the processes of enamelling and glazing,
and, better than that, brought a cultivated taste to bear upon their
employment in both architecture and the decoration of pottery. Glazed
bricks, of many colors, were used with great effect in the building of
temples and other edifices. They are of much harder and finer material
than the bricks of either Egypt or Babylonia. The application of colors
and glaze to terra-cotta was productive of the most astonishing and
beautiful effects. The specimens preserved of a monumental character
substantiate the right of the Indian potters to a very high rank. Not
only is the coloring of their terra-cotta friezes brilliant, but the
floral and animal forms, introduced either for their symbolical
significance or by way of ornament, are masterpieces of art.

Arranging these products chronologically, the wares belonging to the
second or third century before our era will take precedence. The
buildings in which glazed bricks were used bring us down to from five
hundred to upward of a thousand years later. After them come the
specimens of glazed terra-cotta. Subsequently a kind of faience was made
which has been very generally ascribed to Persia, but which may, from
the internal evidence supplied by a comparison with purely Indian work,
be safely attributed to India. Lastly, there is the faience of the
present time, so intimately allied with the more ancient in both
ornamentation and the prevailing shapes, as to be confidently pronounced
its legitimate successor. Flowers and ornaments, incised or in relief,
and grounds of blue, green, or yellow, are designed and mingled in the
most artistic and effective manner.

The porcelain of India has been ascribed, on the one hand, to Persia,
and, on the other, to China or Japan, while a closer examination would
have revealed the fact that, though having many qualities in common with
them, it is yet radically distinct. It seems probable that in several
processes which the Indian artist borrowed, he followed Japan, without
allowing himself slavishly to copy. The art of India as represented in
porcelain manifests itself in a high technical skill, in the most
exquisite delicacy, and in a close attention to all the _minutiæ_ of
detail. Indian figure-painting owes to these three qualities its
superiority alike over those of Persia and of the extreme East. In the
beauty consisting of delicacy and careful precision of finish, neither
country makes even an approach to an equality with it. This truth is
one, however, which can only be fully understood by actual comparison. A
similarly painstaking care and conscientious literalness of
interpretation characterize the floral ornamentation of Indian
porcelain. Even when we find traces of Eastern inspiration in the Hindoo
deep-blue or green, the Indian artist asserts his superiority in working
out details. In many cases we detect more refined perception combined
with a greater technical skill. A deep bowl has floral decoration in
green, blue, and red, on a white ground, the flowers being alternately
red and blue. Another has a ground of pale green, divided into sections
by arches of gold, immediately under the outward curving lip. Upon this
are laid larger sections of a rich red color, and filled with flowers.
The contrasts are strong, and the effect is magnificent. In one respect
the Indian artists are particularly skilful, and that is in the use of
gold. It is employed generally with reserve, and always with rich
effect.

[Illustration: Fig. 61.--Washington’s “Indian” Porcelain Vases. Deep
blue and gold.]

A specimen of Indian porcelain (Fig. 61), of exceptional interest to
Americans, as having once belonged to George Washington, formed part of
the collection at Arlington House. It consists of a set of three vases,
presented to Washington by Mr. Samuel Vaughan, of London. Their value,
for our present purpose, is somewhat lessened by the fact that, though
made in India, the vases were painted in London.

In Siam, a style common to that country with India is prevalent, and is
the result of imitating _cloisonné_ enamel in porcelain. The practice
has had one result in both countries. It has led to a comparison of the
native porcelain with native work in metal, and the originality of the
decoration of the former has thus been substantiated and its source
explained.

[Illustration: Fig. 62.--Group of Chinese Porcelain. (From the Avery
Coll.)]




CHAPTER V.

CHINA.

     Art Different from that of Europe or America.--How it must be
     Viewed.--Religion.--Legend.--Hoang-ti the Inventor of Pottery.--The
     Leading Points of Religious System.--Personified
     Principles.--Lao-tsen, Confucius, and Buddha.--Kuan-in.--Pousa or
     Pou-tai.--Dragons.--Dog of Fo.--Ky-lin.--Sacred
     Horse.--Fong-hoang.--Symbols.--Meaning of Colors and Shapes.


As we approach China, we must prepare ourselves for the consideration of
its ceramic products, by once and for all giving up the attempt to judge
them by European or American standards. Whether or not art may have
travelled to China eastward from the cradle of the human race, it
certainly crystallized in China into distinctive forms. This fact must
be constantly kept in mind, if we would succeed in appreciating at its
true value the art of the Celestial Empire. As in criticising a book, it
is less essential to measure the difference between one’s own ideas and
those of the author, than to look at the subject from the author’s
stand-point, and to examine the result from the inside, so, in
estimating art, it is equally essential to enter into the artist’s
views, and to study not only the ideal he means to portray or the real
he tries to imitate, but also what he considers essential to imitation
and portrayal, and the intelligence to which he addresses himself.

[Illustration: Fig. 63.--Cheou-lao, God of Longevity.]

We have seen that the Egyptians honored the gods through their works.
The Chinese present us with a religion based, like that of the Greeks,
Scandinavians, and many other nations, upon hero-worship. We recede from
mankind backward to the time when heroes and gods are commingled, and
reach the horizon where humanity and divinity are one. It is claimed for
the Chinese that they are the only possessors of a correct, or at least
an exact, chronology, but even it does not substantiate the existence of
the first of human creatures, who is said to have lived well-nigh a
hundred millions of years before the Christian era. Fou-Hi was the first
man of whom we can take cognizance, and he lived B.C. 3468. Nearly eight
hundred years afterward, Hoang-ti invented pottery and was translated,
and the beginning of the manufacture may reasonably be fixed at that
date. He did many other useful things besides inventing pottery; but
what is now to be chiefly noted is that he was raised to the Chinese
heaven for his beneficence. Behind this simple and almost universal
hero-worship was a religion compounded of pantheism and a peculiar kind
of spiritualism. Chang-ti bears some resemblance to the Egyptian
concealed god Ammon, and those who choose may find similar counterparts
to the creative and productive principles of the Chinese theogony. These
were called the “yang” and the “yn,” and appear to be the active and
passive principles personified in Ti and Che, the presiding powers of
heaven and earth. In pottery, they frequently appear in connection with
the Pa-kwa, or eight diagrams of Fo or Buddha, a series of combinations
of three lines by which nature’s changes were represented. Thus on each
side of a square vase are the _yang_ and _yn_, with one of the diagrams
above and one below. On another piece of porcelain the _yang_ and _yn_
occupy the centre, round which, in a circle, the diagrams are arranged.
With such a foundation Chinese religion is divisible into three
component parts--that based upon the teachings of Lao-tseu, that of
Confucius, and Buddhism. Lao-tseu and the legend of his birth are
especially interesting to the student of Chinese ceramics. The story
goes that, after a pregnancy of eighty-one years his mother brought him
into the world, while she was a wanderer in the country. When born, his
hair was as white as that of an old man, and hence his name, Lao-tseu,
the old man-child. When he grew up, he became a recluse, and spent years
in the study of abstract religion, out of which studies grew the
“Tao-te-king,” an exposition of his views of religion and morality. His
followers deified him, and in course of time he was regarded as
identical with Chang-ti. In this form the potters represent him, and
also as the God of Longevity. He is called alternatively Lao-tseu and
Cheou-lao. As the God of Longevity he is represented (Fig. 63) with long
white beard and lofty, conical, bald head. His face wears a broad smile,
and in his hand is the fruit of the fantao, a fabulous tree symbolical
of long life, because it was said to bloom only once in three thousand
years, and to bear fruit a thousand years afterward. As Chang-ti, the
supreme god, he is riding or leaning upon a deer, is dressed in yellow,
and around him are clusters of the immortalizing agaric, ling-tchy.

Confucius, or Koung-tseu, who followed Lao-tseu, was a conservative
philosopher, who led his countrymen back to old forms and ancestral
hero-worship. He appears as the representative of Buddhism alternatively
with Fo or Buddha, and as such holds a roll of manuscript or a sceptre
in his hand.

Kuan-in (Fig. 64) was first taken to be the Chinese Venus. She is
represented in various attitudes--standing with downcast eyes, or
sitting, and holding either a child or a rosary.

[Illustration: Fig. 64.--Kuan-in. (S. P. Avery Coll.)]

Pousa, or Pou-tai, the God of Contentment, is also styled the potter’s
god. How he came to be the latter, or to be a god at all, is explained
by a good story. The emperor for the time being demanded porcelain, the
fabrication of which was represented to him as an impossibility. This
information only served to whet his appetite; and to gratify his
imperial whim, the workmen were oppressed by their overseers, and driven
by threats and blows to make all kinds of sacrifices and exertions to
reach the unattainable. At length one of them gave up the struggle, and
in despair threw himself into the furnace. When the contents of the kiln
were taken out, they were found to be all that the emperor desired, and
the rigor from which the potters had suffered was abated. The workmen
apparently concluded that such a result was due to some property unknown
to alchemy in the body of their comrade. Gratitude led them to respect
his memory, and in due course he became a hero and a god. Images of him
abound in the workshops of King-teh-chin. Full of sensuality and
good-humor, his face wears the laugh of contentment, and his heavy,
corpulent body is supported by the wineskin upon which he leans. Without
resorting to the explanation to be found in the story, one can readily
understand why such a god as Pou-tai should commend himself to the
slavish and impoverished potter.

In every collection of Chinese ware will be seen certain forms made use
of for decorative purposes, and which have also a symbolical
significance requiring explanation. Without going into the question of
the origin of the wonderful dragons of the Celestials, their presence,
in various degrees of hideousness, on vases and elsewhere, cannot fail
to attract attention and suggest inquiry. They are many-shaped, as the
devils which beset the good St. Anthony. There are the Long, dragon of
heaven; the Kan, dragon of the mountain; Li, dragon of the sea, and
many others, scaled, winged, horned, and hornless. Under the form of a
dragon many of the immortals are represented, and it only appears in our
mundane sphere on some great occasion, when, for instance, Hoang-ti was
called upon to join the powers above. As emblems, the dragons require
attention, since their significance varies with the number of their
claws. That with five claws is seen upon the imperial standard, and is
the emblem of the emperor and princes of the first and second class. The
four-clawed dragon is the emblem of princes of the third and fourth
rank. The Japanese dragon is a tripedal representative of the species.
Chinese princes of the fifth rank and mandarins have the four-clawed
serpent, Mang.

[Illustration: Fig. 65.--The Dog of Fo.]

Another figure very often seen upon Chinese vases, and now, alas! on
some European vases also, is the Dog of Fo (Fig. 65). It frequently does
duty as a handle, but occasionally it forms an ornament, either by
itself or sporting with another of the species. In the latter cases its
lion-like appearance degenerates into a hideous ugliness thoroughly
Chinese, and illustrates the peculiar tendency of that people to bestow
upon their fantastic monsters a massive breadth of jaw and cavernous
oral capacity, such as we find in their dragons and in the Ky-lin next
to be noticed. The Dog of Fo is the Buddhic guardian of temples and
altars.

[Illustration: Fig. 66.--Vase, surmounted by Ky-lin. Flowers in Relief.
(A. Belmont Coll.)]

The Ky-lin (Fig. 66) is one of the most forbidding chimeras ever chosen
as an omen of good. Its scaly body, its wide mouth fully armed with
formidable teeth, its dragon-like head and hoofed feet, make up a
monster as horrible in aspect as it is gentle in disposition.

[Illustration: Fig. 67.--The Sacred Horse.]

The Sacred Horse (Fig. 67) is preserved by the Chinese among their
symbols, because by the marks on the skin of a horse which suddenly rose
from the river, the philosopher Fo was inspired with his diagramic
solution of the methods of nature.

[Illustration: Fig. 68.--The Fong-hoang.]

The Fong-hoang (Figs. 68 and 69), the immortal bird, harbinger of good,
very often resembles a peacock on the wing. When represented in front,
its arching neck is turned to one side, and the long tail feathers are
fantastically drawn high over its body. Formerly it was the imperial
emblem; but on the adoption of the dragon it was relegated to the
empress, whose emblem it became.

The symbols of longevity are the white stag, the axis deer, the bat, and
the crane; of filial piety, the stork; of happy marriage, the mandarin
duck. The months are represented as follows: January, tiger February,
rabbit; March, dragon; April, serpent; May, horse; June, hare; July,
ape; August, hen; September, dog; October, wild-boar; November, rat;
December, ox.

[Illustration: Fig. 69.--Vase with Fong-hoang. (Robert Hoe, Jr., Coll.)]

In China, almost every usage is regulated by a specific rule; and we are
not astonished, therefore, to find that colors and shapes in porcelain
and pottery are distinctive of the rank of the possessor, and have,
besides, a symbolical signification. Thus one dynasty, the Tsin (A.D.
265), took blue as its imperial color; the Soui (581-618) took green;
the Thang (618-907) took white; the Ming, green; the Tai-thsing, yellow.
The colors thus frequently give a clue to the age of pieces. The first
dynasty began B.C. 2205; the twenty-first, or Ming, A.D. 1368; and the
twenty-second, or Tai-Thsing, in 1616.

Apart from the dynastic significance of colors, they enter largely into
the complex system of Chinese symbolism. Thus the points of the compass
and the elements are represented as follows:

  Red                    Fire                 South.
  Black                  Water                North.
  Green                  Wood                 East.
  White                  Metal                West.

The earth was figured by a square, fire by a circle, water by a dragon,
mountains by a deer.

The form of a vase is also of value in determining its use. Besides the
complimentary manner already alluded to, in which vases were employed,
they were bestowed as rewards upon deserving public functionaries, and
passed between friends as tokens of good wishes. They also occupied a
prominent place in religious rites.

We may now proceed to a division of Chinese wares into pottery and
porcelain.


POTTERY.

     When First Made.--Céladon.--Crackle.--How Made.--Porcelain
     Crackle.--Decorations on Crackle.--Household
     Vessels.--Stone-ware.--Licouli.--Tower of
     Nankin.--Pipe-clay.--Boccaro.--Colors and Decoration of
     Pottery.--Colors on Crackle.


Although we may not accept without question the statement that pottery
was first invented either by the Emperor Hoang-ti, or during his reign
by Kouen-ou, it may at least be taken for granted that pottery preceded
porcelain. To define the character of the earliest ware is not
unattended with difficulty. One fact which had a great influence upon
Chinese art may here be referred to. So soon as pottery was invented, it
was taken under government supervision. Subsequently, when porcelain was
discovered, the manufacture for many years made very little progress. It
was not until it came under imperial protection and patronage that it
rose to its greatest height. It will be seen hereafter that in
Continental Europe also the best works in ceramic art were, as a rule,
produced under the fostering care of the sovereign power.

The oldest Chinese pottery is very hard, opaque, closely akin to
stone-ware, and covered with a partially translucent enamel. The latter
called Céladon, and made by mixing the colors with the glaze, varies
from the old, and now very rare, sea-green to a brown-gray. The term
_céladon_ was originally restricted to the sea-green variety, but was
ultimately applied to all wares, of whatever color, made in the same
manner. The most ancient specimens are of the coarse body above referred
to. Occasionally they are decorated with incisions in the paste under
the glaze, or with studs and other reliefs, or with flowered designs
(_céladon fleuri_), and are called by the Chinese _Tchoui_. There is
also a céladon of a deeper green than that last referred to, which, with
that of the gray varieties, is very often covered with an inextricable
net-work of cracks. This is the kind known as crackle. The process which
the Chinese succeeded in bringing to the most exact precision in regard
to the size of the cracks is not thoroughly understood. Several theories
have been advanced to explain it. Examination shows that the paste or
body of the ware and the glaze differed in consistency, the one being
more or less expansive than the other. To perform the operation
successfully, the vessel is while hot, plunged into cold water, or
brought suddenly into contact with cold air, when the glaze is at once
broken up into the much admired net-work of minute fissures. From this
it would appear that the desired effect is caused by the shrinkage of
the glaze on being suddenly exposed to cold. Another explanation is that
there are two layers of paste of different composition, and that the
cracks appear in the outer one. When the piece is glazed, the cracks are
covered over, and the surface made perfectly smooth, unless the cracks
are very coarse and large, in which case they are perceptible to the
touch. Through the cracks the fused paste or inner core appeared, and
made them more distinctly visible; or, to reach the same effect, ochre,
ink, or other coloring material was rubbed into the cracks. To produce
them with the absolute precision to which the Chinese attained, they
must have thoroughly studied the composition of the paste and glaze
employed, as we frequently find different kinds of crackle on the same
vase.

Steatite was sometimes mixed with the glaze, and had the same effect as
a sudden immersion. It would naturally follow that no such ornamentation
could be applied to porcelain, the paste and glaze being too closely
allied in composition. To surmount this difficulty, the glaze was
combined with materials destructive of its close affinity with the
kaolinic paste. A simultaneous shrinkage being thus made impossible, the
glaze cracked. Although both Chinese and foreigners place a high value
upon good specimens of crackle, admiration of such a style of ornament
involves a decided perversion of taste. It is safe to say that nine
persons out of ten would, if left to exert their own uninfluenced
judgment, condemn a crackle vase as devoid of all pretension to
ornament. It is when we find that the deformity is the result of design,
that the piece is a curiosity of workmanship, and represents the
mechanical ingenuity of the potter, that it becomes an object of
interest and a desirable possession. Crackle-ware has been made by the
Chinese since the Song Dynasty, which extended from A.D. 960 to 1279,
and probably from a much earlier date. Ornamentation is sometimes laid
above the glaze. One very old style of decoration in relief upon the
crackle (Fig. 70) consists of medallions and bands of a brown paste, of
which imitations, having lions’ heads holding rings in the centre of the
medallions, are abundant.

Pottery is used by the Chinese in the making of household vessels and
utensils of all kinds--as extensively, in fact, as by the Egyptians.
They have earthen-ware reservoirs and basins, lamps, cooking-pots,
water-filterers, teapots, and toys. Ornamental vases are also made of
earthen-ware, and some specimens show that the Chinese lavished upon
their comparatively humble wares--according to our ideas--ornamentation
as beautiful and elaborate as that upon porcelain.

[Illustration: Fig. 70.--Rice-colored Crackle, with Brown Zones. (S. P.
Avery Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

Their stone-ware, covered with porcelain, presents us with some of their
most wonderful works. This ware is made into jars, seats, cisterns, and
many other utensils and objects. It is said to have been in attempting
to make plaques of this kind that Pousa or Pou-tai met with his tragic
end as before told. The plaques, Licou-li, or glazed tiles, are devoted
to the embellishment of imperial and religious edifices, and by the
brilliancy of their many colors, yellow, blue, green, red, and violet,
produce a dazzling and gorgeous effect. The famous porcelain tower of
Nankin (Fig. 71), or, as it is alternatively called by the Chinese,
Tower of the Licou-li, or Poa-en-ssi, the Convent of Gratitude, was
covered with tiles of the above description. This building has been
repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. The original consisted of three
stories, and was erected B.C. 833. Having been demolished, it was
rebuilt A.D. 371-373. It was again destroyed, and again rebuilt by one
of the Ming emperors, who, after nineteen years’ work, finished it in
1431. Once more it was demolished during the insurrection of the
Taepings; and although travellers--including some Americans--have within
the past twenty years been fortunate enough to secure a few fragments as
relics (Fig. 72), nothing now remains to mark its site. It was this last
tower which was known as the Convent of Gratitude. It consisted of nine
stories, and was three hundred and fifty-three feet in height. It was
covered with enamelled bricks of red, white, blue, brown, and green
colors; but whether the previous towers were so decorated is not known,
so that the Tower of Nankin cannot be brought forward as proving the
architectural use of enamelled stone-ware at a very remote age.

[Illustration: Fig. 71.--Tower of Nankin.]

A material which is neither stone-ware nor porcelain, but resembles very
fine pipe-clay, is used in making opium pipes. The bowl is enamelled,
and decorated with flowers or other forms, and is not unfrequently
almost perfect as a work of art. The Chinese _boccaro_ remains one of
the finest specimens of a _grès_ known to ceramists, and far above any
of the stone-wares of Europe. Some specimens are as perfect in their
beauty as jewels. The paste is sometimes brown of a reddish tinge,
sometimes a gray faintly colored with yellow. It is made into single
pieces and services, occasionally of fantastic design. When covered with
colored enamels, the _boccaro_ is at once so delicate and brilliant as
to be likened to nothing but a gem.

[Illustration: Fig. 72.--Enamelled Bricks from the Tower of Nankin. (N.
Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

At a very early period the Chinese attained to that wonderful mastery of
the secrets of color which made them the envy of the artists of all
subsequent time, and has led to the adoption of certain of their colors
as universal standards of beauty and excellence. Combined with the
certainty of their operations in crackle, their skill in color led to
many remarkable effects in wares, the precise nature of which cannot be
defined. Upon a rich golden crackle, white-and-blue figures are
occasionally imposed (Fig. 73). In some cases the enamels used for this
super-ornamentation are so transparent that the cracks can be seen
through them. Possibly the most curious kind is that in which the vase
is encircled by bands of crackle, some coarse and irregular, alternating
with others fine and regular, and divided by stamped zones of brown
ferruginous paste. Both Japanese and Chinese place a very high value
upon the ancient specimens, the priority in point of time being accorded
to the light blue. Besides the colors already mentioned, turquoise-blue,
yellow, and a bright red are found upon crackle, to the first of which a
special value is attached. The fine crackle, called by the French
_truité_, is most frequently applied to vases of pale and olive-green
not otherwise decorated. One cannot look at the exquisite coloring of
some of the rare old pieces, without being led to the conclusion that
the Chinese placed a value upon their ceramic productions not more than
commensurate with the artistic skill developed among them.

[Illustration: Fig. 73.--Crackle Vase, with Crabs in Blue. 7 in. high.
(J. C. Rankle Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 74.--Chinese Porcelain Lantern. (S. P. Avery Coll.)]


PORCELAIN.

     When Invented.--King-teh-chin.--All Classed as Hard,
     Exceptions.--Old Porcelains.--Kouan-ki.--Blue-and-white.--Persian
     Styles.--Turquoise and other Blues.--Leading Events of Ming
     Dynasty.--Egg-shell.--Tai-thsing Dynasty.--Mandarin
     Vases.--Families.--Old White.--Jade.--Purple and Violet.--Liver
     Red.--Imperial Yellow.--Chinese Ideas of
     Painting.--Soufflé.--Grains of Rice.--Articulated and Reticulated
     Vases.--Cup of Tantalus.


Porcelain having been invented in the province of Ho-nan, during the Han
Dynasty, between the years B.C. 185 and A.D. 88, was manufactured for
upward of fifteen hundred years before it was generally known in
Europe. For about five or six hundred years the industry made
comparatively little progress, but after A.D. 583 it advanced with great
rapidity. In that year the imperial patronage was bestowed upon
King-teh-chin, a city in the district of Fauling, and province of
Kiang-si. There were here at one time, in 1717, three thousand furnaces.
It is said by some recent authorities that all the kilns and potteries
were destroyed by the Taepings, and that the entire city was reduced to
ruins. According to the official catalogue of the Chinese department at
the Centennial Exhibition, the city must have been rebuilt. Both the
largest quantity and finest quality of porcelain are said still to be
made at the imperial potteries at King-teh-chin, and out of upward of
seventeen hundred and fifty pieces exhibited, all were from that city,
with the exception of ten from Ningpo, Nankin, and Pekin. Some of the
others, although painted at and sent from Canton, were manufactured at
King-teh-chin.

All Chinese porcelain has been classed as hard. The only kind about
which any doubt has been entertained is the white, variously ornamented
in relief. To this ought, however, to be added certain rare but superb
specimens which come from China as well as from Persia. The process by
which they were manufactured is not known, but it seems clear that they
belong to the same family as the _pate tendre_ of France, that is to
say, that their vitrification is due to an alkaline frit, and that the
glaze is also alkaline.

Of the dynastic colors the azure-blue adopted by the Tcheou, in 945, is
the most celebrated. It was very highly valued, and after the secret of
making it passed out of sight, which it did at a very early date, it was
never rediscovered. It is known as Tch’aï porcelain, and in color
resembled the “blue of the sky after rain.” Under the Song Dynasty four
very valuable kinds of porcelain were made. The first of these was the
Jou-yao, a very fine blue, produced at Jou-tcheon, where crackle
porcelain was also made in great perfection; the second (1107-1117) was
the famous Kouan-yao, or porcelain for magistrates, of two shades of
blue, with a slightly reddish tint; the third takes its name from the
Tchang family of potters, and was pale blue and rice-colored crackle;
the fourth, the Ting-yao, was of different colors--red, white, brown,
and black, and was of great value. These, with the Tcheou blue, are the
five ancient qualities held in highest estimation.

There were many other kinds, too numerous to be here given in detail,
including the “porcelain of concealed color,” so called because designed
for imperial use, and others of varying tints of violet, brown, purple,
and blue. At King-teh-chin jade-colored porcelain was made before the
tenth century, and a hundred years later the entire empire was
interested in the manufacture. With a mere reference, in the mean time,
to the blue-and-white porcelain of the Youen Dynasty, we pass to that of
the Ming, to which some of the porcelain most highly prized by
collectors belongs. When, in 1369, a factory was started at
King-teh-chin to supply the imperial wants exclusively--an event not to
be confounded with the foundation of the King-teh-chin manufactory,
which took place during the Song Dynasty, three hundred and fifty years
previously--the vases of blue camaïeu, called Kouan-ki, or magistrate’s
vases, were made in that city. These valuable works were probably
intended to follow as nearly as possible the more ancient Tcheou
porcelain, which had reached so great a value that even fragments of it
were employed like precious stones. It will be observed that the earlier
magistrates’ porcelain was made under the Song, and the explanation is
given that the Ming Kouan-ki were so called to distinguish the porcelain
made at the royal factory from those made for vulgar use. It may be
added that the old turquoise blue was made from copper, and the sky-blue
from cobalt.

The blue-and-white “Nankin” is a comparatively modern ware made at
King-teh-chin. It takes its name from the place of export. It is, in the
strict application of the term, not older than the beginning of the
sixteenth century, when the Chinese began to use imported cobalt; but as
now employed, it includes all Chinese porcelain with blue-and-white
decoration. The folly of such an unmeaning subdivision finds its reward
in the confusion of the student. The blue-and-white is not only the
oldest of all Chinese decoration in colors, but is found upon some of
the most interesting and valuable works.

[Illustration: Fig. 75.--Pearl.]

[Illustration: Fig. 76.--Sonorous Stone.]

[Illustration: Fig. 77.--Tablet of Honor.]

[Illustration: Fig. 78.--Sacred Axe.]

[Illustration: Fig. 79.--Celosia.]

[Illustration: Fig. 80.--Treasures of Writing.]

[Illustration: Fig. 81.--Outang.]

[Illustration: Fig. 82.--A Shell.]

The best pieces, whether ancient or modern, are distinguished by the
purity of the white and the clearness of the blue. To this class belong
the Kouan-ki already referred to as having been made soon after the
middle of the fourteenth century at King-teh-chin. These productions
frequently bear certain honorific marks, from which their destination
can be inferred. The leading symbols are eight in number; and when, as
is very often the case, they have a ribbon attached, the pieces are
designed for sacred use. Thus the pearl (Fig. 75) marks pieces destined
for poets or literati, and is the symbol of talent. It varies slightly
in form, being in some cases very small, with a conical top, and in
others resembling a flattened sphere. The “sonorous stone” (Fig. 76) is
for judges or magistrates, and was hung above their door or at the
temple gates, to be struck by those seeking an audience. Pieces with
this mark were, therefore, exclusively for the use of judges. The Kouei,
or tablet of honor (Fig. 77), is the symbol of office. It was given by
the emperor to his noble functionaries, who were required to hold it
when discharging the duties of their office, and during an audience. The
sacred axe (Fig. 78) is the mark of warriors. The cockscomb (Fig. 79) is
the symbol of longevity. The “sacred things” or “treasures of writing”
(Fig. 80) are the emblems of the learned, and consist of paper, pencil
or brush, ink and pumice-stone. The outang (Fig. 81) is a leaf, the
significance of which is not understood. It is frequently found on the
bottom of pieces. The meaning of the univalve shell (Fig. 82) is also
unknown. These marks and many others are found variously disposed upon
blue-and-white porcelain. In the illustration (Fig. 83) the pearl, the
sonorous stone, and the Kouei are seen in combination with others, and
the inference is that the piece was intended for a man of letters, of
noble rank, who also held the office of magistrate. The lace or
lambrequin decoration round the border is exceedingly rich and fine,
and shows at once whence the artists of Rouen borrowed their favorite
design. In other pieces the honorific marks are introduced in the
design, or appear upon the neck of vases, or are so disposed as to
constitute the chief ornaments. The latter arrangement is exemplified in
a small vase, also in Mr. Runkle’s collection, where the symbols are
suspended one above another.

[Illustration: Fig. 83.--Blue-and-white Plaque, with Honorific Marks.
(J. C. Runkle Coll.)]

There is in Mr. Avery’s collection a Ming bowl, or cup of “the learned,”
which closely resembles one described by Jacquemart. The rim projects
slightly, and in panels reserved in the border are the honorific marks.
The author is represented seated at a table, deep in meditation, in the
very throes of composition. From his forehead issues a scroll which
expands into the semblance of a cloud, wherein are depicted by the
artist the scenes of the drama which the poet is composing. This method
of representing literary travail is in our time left to the
caricaturist; but it is, nevertheless, a vivid way of giving artistic
form to the thoughts passing in the brain of “the learned.”

[Illustration: Fig. 84.--Blue-and-white. Eight Chinese Celestials
standing on Clouds. (W. L. Andrews Coll.)]

The blue-and-white will amply repay the most careful and critical
study. This is absolutely necessary if we would distinguish not only the
art which is Chinese, but the best of the Chinese--that emanating from
King-teh-tchin--from the works of other factories. The influence of the
imperial factory is felt throughout the empire. Its styles and methods
are copied and adopted, but imperial patronage, and the resources of a
factory carried on under the highest political auspices, make the work
of provincial imitators difficult. Then, again, the blue-and-white of
Japan is sometimes mistaken for that of China, and it must be confessed
that the difference is not always easily detected. Close observation,
however, shows that the white of the Japanese differs from the Chinese,
and that the blue is less soft. The white of Japanese pieces is purer,
and sometimes it is what we understand by the phrase “dead white;” that
is, it resembles chalk, and lacks clearness. As a consequence, the color
does not derive from the glaze the softness and transparency of the
Nankin blue, but appears to lie upon the surface in harder outline and
with less depth. Besides the Japanese, there are qualities of blue from
India, Persia, and other countries, which require careful examination to
prevent their being confounded with those of China.

[Illustration: Fig. 85.--Blue-and-white Lancelle Vase, Ming Dynasty. (W.
L. Andrews Coll.)]

An exceptional style of decorating blue-and-white Chinese porcelain is
that in which a light buff, varying at times to a clear brown, is
mingled with the blue. This is seen in bands surrounding the necks of
bottles and similarly shaped pieces, and is also occasionally mingled
with the blue on the necks of vases.

[Illustration: Fig. 86.--Blue-and-white Chinese. (J. C. Runkle Coll.)]

As to the forms and styles of decoration of blue-and-white porcelain,
they are too varied to permit of classification. Some of the finest
shapes are to be found in this class, and also some of the most unique
and curious. Beakers, with gracefully expanding necks alternate with
clumsy pieces without any claim to beauty of form, and these, again,
with such elegant shapes as the Lancelle (Fig. 85). The decoration
includes every style known to Chinese art. On the Kouan-tse are dragons
writhing in tortuous folds among the clouds or in the water, and flowers
profusely scattered without any attempt at orderly disposal. On others
are historical scenes, _lang lizen_--the long young ladies of Dutch
traders--lace or lambrequin patterns, and many other designs. The
palm-leaf is very effectively used. In a beaker in Mr. Runkle’s
collection, the conical leaves are arranged round the body, whence they
rise toward the top and descend toward the bottom, and thereby give
emphasis to the shape as it expands to the lip and base. In such an
arrangement the taste of the Chinese artist is infallible. The
disposition of the decoration, which at first seems stiff and formal, is
not only in harmony with the shape of the beaker, but is the only one by
which its beauty of form could be fully brought out. When historical
incidents are the subjects of the painting, the execution of the figures
is admirable. It is in such pieces that we can best appreciate the
accuracy of the artist, and his admirable control of his brush. He
understands that a few judicious strokes may have a finer, and, by their
suggestiveness, a fuller, effect than crowded detail and the most
delicate shading. They show, further, that the art of decorating a vase
with human figures consists in judgment as much as in execution. Thus,
where the forms are distorted and the unity of the composition destroyed
by the shape of the vase and the disposition of the figures, not only is
the decoration unpleasing, but the artist fails in reaching the effect
aimed at. These are faults of which the Chinese artists are seldom
guilty, and their skill in overcoming the difficulties presented by the
curves or angles of the object to be decorated can be better studied in
a collection of blue-and-white than among the porcelain of any other
family. When it is considered that only one color is employed, the
diversity of the results is wonderful. In many cases this is effected by
apparently varying the application of the pigment, and laying it on more
thickly in some places than in others. We have seen this exemplified on
a vase where the ornamentation was chiefly floral, and the flowers were
painted so thinly as to give the effect of a distinct and paler shade of
color. We have also seen pieces where the differences of shade were so
regular and striking as to leave little doubt that two distinct
qualities of blue were used.

[Illustration: Fig. 87.--Blue-and-white Chinese, “Hawthorn” Pattern. (S.
P. Avery Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

When the Chinese artist condescends to adopt a regular pattern, his
attention is directed to relieving the monotony of repetition by
diversity of detail. In the vase (Fig. 86) there are at least six
distinct styles of edging, and a slight change in the arrangement of the
same pattern on the body and neck gives all the variety of two distinct
designs.

A well-known but rare pattern is that called Hawthorn (Fig. 87) by
Europeans, on the _lucus a non lucendo_ principle, since the so-called
“hawthorn” is the blossom of certain fruit-trees better known to the
Celestials. In this the blue is the ground-color, and in it the
decoration, consisting of sprigs of bud and blossom, is reserved. The
ground is varied with dark blue lines, as if to simulate crackle, and
the sections are shaded so as to have the appearance of overlapping each
other. The irregular lines and changing tints not only relieve the
ground of monotony, but enrich the general effect, and give the blue
additional depth and transparency. The illustration gives a good idea of
the freedom with which the spray is disposed, and the good taste with
which its arrangement is adapted to the shape of the vase. The
decoration is generally applied to vases and pots of the shape given
above. Further examples are in the collections of Mr. Robert Hoe, Jr.,
and Mr. W. L. Andrews. There are also many smaller pieces, such as
plates, narrow cylindrical beakers, and others, upon which it may be
seen. These are represented in the collections of Mr. Francis Robinson
and Mr. W. T. Walters. In such pieces as those last mentioned the ground
is less broken up by lines, and in some cases the white is reserved in a
ground of unbroken pale blue. In the second specimen (Fig. 88) the white
blossom is used with a more sparing hand than in the others, and the eye
more readily appreciates the wonderfully beautiful shading of the
overlapping sections. The unevenness of surface is also more perceptible
to the touch, and, to use a familiar illustration, resembles the
overlapping of slates upon a roof.

[Illustration: Fig. 88.--Blue-and-white “Hawthorn” Vase. (J. C. Runkle
Coll.)]

Although not belonging to the same family, we may here refer to a rare
vase (Fig. 89), which supplies us with a remarkably fine specimen of a
kindred style of ornamentation. In this case the ground is black, and
the “hawthorn,” or plum-tree, sprays, with white flowers, are wreathed
gracefully over its surface. The green of the leaves would lead us to
class it with the Green family. The piece is, however, exceptional,
since black is, as a rule, seldom introduced to any great extent in
decoration. To what fabric or age shall we attribute it? It is possibly
a specimen of the skill of Thang-kong, who lived between 1736 and 1795,
and was director of the Imperial works. Thang not only reproduced some
of the ancient colors, such as the dark-blue and red, but gave full sway
to his own inventive genius. Among his original works are a purple, a
black enamel, and a black enamel with white flowers, which suits the
description of the unique specimen referred to. It is, in any event, by
reason both of its graceful shape and decoration, deserving of
attention.

[Illustration: Fig. 89.--Chinese Porcelain. White “Hawthorn” on Black.
(S. P. Avery Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

To return to the blue-and-white, there are specimens, generally plaques,
with flowers resembling asters, painted in blue (Fig. 90). One has some
difficulty in bringing the formal arrangement of these flowers into
accord with Chinese art as we find it elsewhere. The flowers are
regularly disposed in the centre of the plaques, and repeated, in
smaller size, in a single row round the rim. It seems more than probable
that the style is borrowed or slightly modified, and one is strengthened
in such a supposition by the fact that it is seldom, if ever, found upon
pieces as pure in paste as the average Chinese porcelain. Possibly, with
the intention of following his model more closely, the Chinese artist
designedly resorted to an inferior body, such as might have reached
China from Persia.

There are certain pieces of blue-and-white in which both Persian forms
and Persian styles of decoration have been followed, and these introduce
the general subject of Persian influence as felt in China. It first
manifested itself as far back as the Siouen-te period (1426) of the Ming
dynasty, and is further represented by pieces belonging to the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The most easily recognized are
those in which the Persian form is adopted, although the paste alone
would lead one to ascribe them to China, as it is invariably finer than
anything known to have come from Persia. There is in Mr. Runkle’s
collection a ewer decorated with flowers in light-blue, resembling that
of Tch’aï porcelain, the famous “blue of the sky after rain.” Real
examples of this old blue must needs be rare, since the porcelain,
variously called Tch’aï, Tcheou, and Tchi-tsong, was, like the old
white, valued, even in fragments, as highly as jewels. A second from the
same collection is given on the following page (Fig. 91). The panels are
black, the flower and border decoration are in pink, green, and yellow,
and show the variety and execution distinctive of Chinese work. There
are many pieces of the same class in which the artist has attempted to
follow the Persian styles more closely, but even a slight examination
can leave little doubt of their Chinese origin. In connection with the
blue-and-white decoration may be mentioned the vases of sea-green
céladon, in which panels of white are reserved. On these are figures of
men and animals, landscapes or flowers, in blue. A favorite form, and
one well suited to this style of decoration, is a square bottle or vase,
the sides of which enable the artist to paint the design in blue upon
the flat.

[Illustration: Fig. 90.--Aster Decoration. Blue-and-white. (W. L.
Andrews Coll.)]

Of the other blues which were used as ground colors, one of the most
famous is the turquoise obtained from copper. It has all the clear depth
of the stone from which it takes its name, a liquid transparency
elsewhere unequalled. It appears on a great variety of pieces--gods,
kylins, birds, dogs, and vases. The latter are very often graved in the
paste, after designs more or less ornate. In the specimen given (Fig.
92), which is very finely crackled, the leaves are bound together by a
zone decorated with the Greek fret.

The _lapis lazuli_ blue has a deeper tint, and is usually decorated with
gold. It is used as a ground color, and fine specimens lead one to
question the appropriateness of the name, as the porcelain so decorated
has a brilliancy and depth far in advance of the comparatively dull
stone. The color is occasionally employed in Persian decoration, and
varies in shade.

[Illustration: Fig. 91.--Chinese Porcelain. Persian Style. (J. C. Runkle
Coll.)]

The mazarine blue is similarly treated, and is also effectively
heightened by a super-ornamentation of gold of different shades. There
are many other tints to which it is hard to give even a distinctive
name. They illustrate the extreme partiality of the Chinese for this
color, a partiality which has never wavered for at least sixteen
centuries. It has been the means of giving to the world a greater number
of beautiful works of art than would otherwise seem to be within the
reach of the most skilful manipulation and the most prolific fancy, when
restricted to a single color.

The _soufflé_ porcelain will be hereafter noticed, but in the mean time,
to prevent misapprehension, reference may be made to the _bleu fouetté_,
a style sometimes confounded with the _soufflé_. It is less deep in
shade than the _lapis lazuli_, and has a mottled appearance. It is used
as a ground color, in which are sections of white, and on the latter are
brilliant designs in red, green, and gold. The effect is rich, and the
contrast between the panel painting and the more sombre ground color is
very striking. There are also blues splashed over with spots of red and
lilac, and many others, such as the “transmutation” or flashed glaze,
illustrative of the magical dexterity of the Chinese workman. What on
first sight seems the result of an accident in the kiln, will often
prove to be that of a carefully conducted operation and deliberate
intention.

We may now glance briefly at the various fabrics of the Ming Dynasty, in
their chronological order.

[Illustration: Fig. 92.--Turquoise-blue Chinese Porcelain. _Truité_
Crackle. (S. P. Avery Coll., New York Metropolitan Museum.)]

The establishment of an imperial factory at King-teh-chin, as above
stated, marked the beginning of the Ming, during which (1368-1649) the
art rose to its highest level. After the blue Kouan-ki came vases and
vessels of various colors and styles of decoration. Between 1403 and
1424, egg-shell porcelain, so called from its remarkable thinness, was
first issued from King-teh-chin, and between 1465 and 1487 reached its
greatest excellence and fineness. It was made as thin as paper, and was
so favorably regarded by the emperors that they gave rewards to those
making the finest pieces. Its gauzy transparent tenuity is effected by
grinding it down after glazing. Vases, as well as cups, etc., were made
of egg-shell, which at a later date was painted in colors. The fifteenth
century saw the greatest triumphs of Chinese artists. From 1426 to 1435,
the Siouen-te period, very brilliant blue, red, white, and veined
crackle was made. Representations of crickets were a fashionable style
of ornamentation. Afterward, between 1465 and 1487, although the colors
deteriorated, the beauty of the ornamentation increased toward its
artistic extreme. With the sixteenth century, we have seen that foreign
material for ornamentation began to be introduced; and although many
original artists continued to appear, others restricted themselves
almost exclusively to the imitation of ancient wares. Tcheou, who lived
between 1567 and 1619, took particular delight in puzzling collectors by
skilful counterfeits of the most famous, rare, and valuable old wares.
According to a story told by Julien, he imitated the ancient Ting white,
made from three to six hundred years before his time, so closely, that
he duped the most acute collectors. More than a century later, between
1735 and 1795, Thang-kong, already referred to, displayed great
imitative skill. It is, however, evident, and a matter of regret, that,
from the beginning of the eighteenth century, the ceramic art of China
declined. While the materials employed are still equal to the most
ancient, the ornamentation after that date became, as a rule, manifestly
inferior. To what extent a more intimate intercourse with foreigners and
the more extended demands of trade resulting therefrom may have
contributed to such a result, we need not now inquire. The greater
rapidity of execution necessitated by increasing orders from abroad, and
the influence of European models, had no doubt their effect. All the
best pieces were retained for native use, and only the inferior
qualities were exported. The estimation in which the Chinese hold the
rarer pieces is further illustrated by the fact that specimens which
have found their way to Europe have been sent back to China to be sold,
because there they would realize higher prices. Many of the better kinds
have never been seen in Europe; and when in addition to this it is
remembered that, while skilled in production, the Chinese were equally
clever in imitation with fraudulent intent, many other kinds are in all
likelihood really unknown beyond the bounds of the Celestial Empire.

There are, besides the works of such an artist as Thang-kong,
exceptional pieces of the Tai-thsing Dynasty, especially those of the
Kien-long period, during which Thang-kong lived, that are in every way
admirable. One example of this period (Fig. 93) has a ground color of
light green, overrun with a graceful floriated design graved in the
paste, and having reserved panels, in which are a landscape on one side
and a tree and bird on the other. In another the ground is a delicate
pink, and the figures are raised. Examples might be multiplied to any
extent, which show that, however faulty the later specimens may be,
there is no lack of variety. The artists resorted to every style of
decoration within the reach of their skill, and some exceedingly
beautiful porcelain of various families will be found to belong to the
Kien-long period.

[Illustration: Fig. 93--Kien-long Green Porcelain Vase. (J. C. Runkle
Coll.)]

The Tai-thsing Dynasty is also marked by the production of the vases
called “Mandarin,” usually, but in our opinion mistakenly, ascribed to
Japan. The history of China at this time is for our present purpose
valuable. So long as the two dynasties were at war, art was neglected;
and we therefore find that, for several years prior to the establishment
of the Tartar Dynasty, the manufactories gave out no works of note. When
the Tai-thsings were firmly seated on the throne the art received a new
impulse. While Khang-hi reigned (1661-1722), Thang-ing-siouen was
director of the imperial factory, and made two yellows, a green and
blue. He was succeeded in 1722 by Nien, who was equally successful, and
in 1736 was associated with the artist Thang-kong before mentioned.
After Kien-long, the fourth of the Tartar Dynasty, the art went rapidly
downward. It will be observed from these few facts that when the decline
of Chinese art is spoken of as beginning with the eighteenth century,
allowance must be made for the check experienced under Kien-long
(1736-1795). When he ascended the throne there were, according to M.
Julien, fifty-seven manufactories of porcelain in China, of which seven
besides that of King-teh-chin were in the province of Kiang-si. Whatever
condition art may have been in, there was plainly no stagnation in
production.

And now as to the mandarin vases, which strictly reflect the history of
China: the word “mandarin” is applied to all the public functionaries
of China, and, in the decoration of porcelain, includes all the figures
with toque and vest seen on the vases of this period. When the Tartar
Dynasty came in, one of the first imperial acts was to issue an order
that certain new customs should be adhered to, and old ones renounced.
Though politic, in tending to erase even the remembrance of the
dethroned Mings, the act was in certain particulars a cruelty to the
conservative Chinese. It involved in their eyes degradation to the level
of the victorious Tartar; and rather than conform to the order requiring
the head to be shaved, many were willing that it should be cut off.
Conformity came in time, and the pigtail was an accepted necessity.
Changes in costume were also gradually effected. Of these the most
marked features are the rolled-up cap or toque and the short coat. To
distinguish the nine orders of public officers, the most minute
regulations were issued. These affected chiefly the button on the toque,
the squares on the front and back of the coat, and the decoration of the
belt.

The mandarin vases upon which these costumes are seen, are thick in the
paste and frequently uneven on the surface. The hexagonal form, as well
as the general features of the decoration, were followed and made
familiar to Europeans by the potters of Delft. The decoration is so
varied that the group is divided by Jacquemart into six sections. The
chief colors are pink, lilac, green, iron red, Indian ink, gold and
black. The painting is not executed after the usual Chinese fashion, and
the faces in particular are finished with a minute care suggestive of an
influence not felt before this period. What concerns us chiefly at
present is the reason given by Jacquemart for assigning the entire group
to Japanese workmanship. He says:

“The special character of this costume marks out perfectly the group of
porcelain upon which it is to be found. It offers, besides, the
advantage of rendering incontestable the Japanese origin of these
porcelains. The artists of the Celestial Empire have never represented
mandarins in their lacquer-work, carved wood or ivories, vases, bronzes,
hard or soft stones; no authentic _nien-hao_ piece has depicted anything
besides the heroes of ancient times and the subjects of ancient history.
It was left to neighboring nations, at the same time inquisitive and
commercial, to multiply upon the vases this execrated costume, imposed
only after a time by force.”

[Illustration: Fig. 94.--Chinese Ming Vases. White Ground. In
medallions, green and brown characters and figures. Darker part red and
white, with green flowers. (Geo. R. Hall Coll., Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.)]

This appears rather a slight reason for giving the entire group to
Japan. Let us look back to history. From the Wan-li period of the Ming
(1619) to the final fall of the dynasty in 1647, or from the irruption
of the Tartars in 1616 down to 1662, the Khang-hi period of the
Tai-thsings, we know of no porcelain having been made; but in that
period, as we have seen, the industry revived. It is then that we again
find a director at King-teh-chin, and seventy years later Thang-kong was
reviving the bright red and devising the gold ornamentation on black
which we find on the mandarin vases. Jacquemart suggests “some years”
after 1616 as the date when the Tartar costume was applied to vases. It
is probable that it was at least from fifty to seventy years after that
date, and that the best specimens belong to the Kien-long period, which
began in 1736. After 1662 the imperial factory was apparently as much
under the Emperor’s control as it had been under the Mings; in which
case he could, it is presumed, order such paintings and figures in such
costumes as he pleased. We know, further, that in 1698 two foreign
artists--an Italian and a Frenchman--were at the palace giving the
Chinese several new ideas about art, especially, as we shall see, about
perspective. This may, in part, account for the miniature appearance of
the face paintings on the mandarin vases. There is, moreover, no
ostensible reason for assigning to the Japanese the origination of a
style of decoration at variance with everything else we know of the
early traditions of their art, although they followed it afterward. We
might rather look to India. We know, at least, that during the Kien-long
period the Chinese incurred and acknowledged certain debts to India, and
it is in the same country that we find the best miniature painting of
the East. Such a supposition would also account for the unusual type
presented by some of the mandarins with long pointed beards.

[Illustration: Fig. 95.--Ming Vase. Historical Subject. (J. C. Runkle
Coll.)]

An apparently fanciful grouping of Chinese porcelain originated with
Albert Jacquemart and Edmond Le Blant. They divide it into four
families, the Archaic, the Chrysanthemo-Pæonian, the Green, and the
Rose: Céladon, Crackle, White, Blue, Turquoise-blue, Violet, Bronze, and
Lacquer are classed as exceptional. The Chrysanthemo-Pæonian is so
called from the prevalence of chrysanthemums and pæonies on the ground,
and the Green and Rose from the predominating colors. A large proportion
of the household ornaments of China, garden vases, and table-wares
belong to the first of these classes. Blues, red, and gold mingle with
each other, and are relieved by green, and sometimes black. Red and blue
grounds will be found with designs in white, green, and yellow; or a
rich gold will be overspread with green, pale buff, and white; or the
ground itself will be white, on which are designs in black, filled with
gorgeous flowers. These are the works of artists whose skill and
ingenuity are almost as limitless as their fancy. There is no law but
the harmony demanded by a florid taste, no aim but effect.

[Illustration: Fig. 96.--Green Family. Ming Dynasty. (F. Robinson
Coll.)]

Green was the imperial color under the Ming Dynasty (1368), and the
greater portion of the ornamentation of this family has either a
religious or a political significance. The bright copper-green lies
perfectly transparent upon the pure white paste. We have already seen
the eight immortals riding upon clouds, in a piece of blue-and-white,
and the design is repeatedly met upon pieces of the Green family. It is
here, in short, that we have the best opportunity of studying the
religious system and symbols of China. Dragons are represented with
diabolical ferocity; cranes, kylins, fong-hoangs, are intermingled with
floral designs, in which are asters and other flowers, and insects. On
the sacrificial cups of this family, dragons with forked tails climb the
handles, or hang head downward from the lip, while a hideous dragon-head
is introduced in the sides. From these grotesque and terrible figures we
turn to the pieces of a historical character. The scenes depicted are
chiefly taken from the early history of China, which was as prolific a
source of ideas to the Chinese artist as classical history and legend to
the poets of Europe. Vases of this character are also deserving of
study, as illustrating to a farther extent than was done in the
Introduction that aspect of the potter’s art in which it appears as the
handmaid and illuminator of history. The Chinese artist is rarely seen
to better advantage than when painting vases of this family. With a rich
palette comprising the prevailing green, blues of every shade, violet,
red, yellow, gold, and black, he produces effects of the most charming
beauty. When green is used as a ground color, as in the case of the
Kien-long vase referred to (Fig. 93), either it covers the entire
surface, or reserves are left for the landscape or trees. In the former
case the fruit, flowers, and leaves lie upon the bright-green enamel. To
the pieces in which green is mingled with yellow and blue upon a white
ground, producing the effect of variegated marble, the Chinese give the
name of Ouan-lou-hoang.

[Illustration: Fig. 97.--Chinese Plate. Rose Family. Sixteenth Century
(?). (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

The Rose family (Fig. 97) is distinguished by the prevalence of the
color to which it owes its name--a pale red applied over the glaze. It
comprises what may most emphatically be called the decorative porcelain
of China. The body is the perfection of Chinese paste, and the
decoration partakes to the full of the vast wealth of Chinese color.
With regard to form, this family represents the most perfect pieces in
the art of China. With the exception of the old white and the modern
decorated with blue, the Tho-tai-khi, “porcelain without embryo,” or
egg-shell, belongs almost exclusively to this family, which is admirably
represented in Mr. W. L. Andrews’s collection. In such pieces we fully
apprehend the beauty of the “rose-back” decoration. The ruby color is
laid upon the back of the edge or rim of plates and saucers, and shines
through the thin paste with the softness of the pink lining of a shell.
It would be impossible to specify all the methods of decorating the
egg-shell belonging to the Rose family. We see borders of pink and
raised white enamel, others traced as delicately as the finest lace, and
still others with reservations filled with bouquets. The decoration
sometimes takes the form of exquisite paintings of birds, insects, and
flowers; and when scenes with figures are introduced, they are of a
totally different character from the religious and historical subjects
found in the Green family. They are drawn in part from literature, and
in part from the home life of the people. There is in Mr. Avery’s
collection at the Metropolitan Museum, a plate having a rose border with
raised flowers, and other objects in reserved sections. In the centre is
a young girl surprised, as she walks the garden at night, by her lover,
who, having thrown his shoes in advance, is mounting the wall. M.
Jacquemart informs us that the incident is taken from the “Si-siang-ki,”
or, History of the Pavilion of the West, a lyric drama composed by
Wang-chi-fou about A.D. 1110. A frequent design is a home scene, in
which a lady sits near a table attended by two children, and with one or
two vases standing round. These glimpses of domestic life afford some
little insight into the usages of the people, the courtesies of society,
and the occupation and pastimes of the young. When the pieces are larger
in size, the subjects are taken from court life, and very rarely from
religion. When strong contrasts are resorted to--as by coloring the
inside green and the outside rose--the effect is no less pleasing. The
combinations are almost confusing in their multiplicity, and in the
essential differences of their character. One piece may have flowers and
various household articles (Fig. 99) upon a white ground, or rose may
mingle with turquoise and maroon in the border. Nothing is too bold for
the Chinese artist, and no effect appears to be unattainable or untried.
He is equally at home painting on white enamel a delicate border, or
rivalling the rich hues of a gaudy butterfly in a life-like imitation of
the fluttering insect.

[Illustration: Fig. 98.--Chinese Rose Family. (Robert Hoe, Jr., Coll.)]

Before leaving the Rose family, let us glance at a few of the pieces
ascribed to Japan, and which ought to be restored to China. To
illustrate the difficulty of assigning them, with positive certainty, to
either country, the plate given on page 143 may be referred to (Fig.
100). Mr. Andrews considers his piece Japanese, and his opinion is
supported by the fact that other specimens, also claimed for Japan, have
the same subject painted in the centre. When a photograph of the piece
was submitted to the Hon. Jushie Yoshida Kiyonari, the Japanese Minister
at Washington, he replied: “It seems to me certain that the subject, as
well as the style of the painting, are strictly Chinese; and this much
I would say, if I had the piece in my possession, I could not but
consider it as a _good Chinese specimen_.”

[Illustration: Fig. 99.--Chinese Bowl. Rich Decoration, chiefly Yellow
and Rose. Height, 11 in.; circumference, 5 ft. 8 in. (Mrs. John V. L.
Pruyn Coll.)]

When Jacquemart tries to find an origin for the Chinese Rose family, he
says: “Does it issue from the accidental discovery of the red of
Cassius? Is it contemporary with other porcelains? Does it come from a
particular centre? We think its creation is to be attributed to the wish
of imitating the admirable porcelain of Japan.” The same writer, in
treating of what he calls “artistic” porcelain of the Japanese Rose
family, says: “If we required to seek the cause of these modifications
and of the particular style of artistic porcelain, we should find it in
a desire of rivalling the Chinese porcelain of the Rose family.” In
other words, the Japanese Rose suggested the Chinese Rose, and the
Chinese Rose suggested the Japanese Rose--a stage at which the
discussion becomes neither lucid nor satisfactory.

The circumstances leading to the confounding of Chinese and Japanese
porcelain arose chiefly from trade. The Japanese are said to have gone
to King-teh-chin, even in early times, to buy porcelain. According to
Duhalde, the Chinese repaid the compliment by loading their vessels with
Japanese porcelain on returning from that country. This is corroborated
by the missionaries at Pekin, who state that the people there highly
prized the Japanese porcelain, which was, in consequence, both rare and
dear. They even used it in preference to their own in making presents
to the emperor and grandees. De Pere states that when the Emperor wished
to send a present of porcelain to Peter the Great, he chose that of
Japan, where, says the writer, the people surpass those of China in all
the arts and industries. We know, moreover, that the Japanese import
Chinese egg-shell for decoration, that the Chinese have borrowed the
designs of the Japanese, and that the Japanese have borrowed those of
China. The most skilful imitators in the world, living next door to each
other, complimented each other’s skill by mutual imitation.

There are two chronological points that may help us to throw some light
into this confusion, which writers have succeeded in making twice
confounded.

[Illustration: Fig. 100.--Rose-back Egg-shell. (W. L. Andrews Coll.)]

There can be no doubt that the porcelain of the Rose family was at its
best about the end of the fifteenth century and beginning of the
sixteenth. Jacquemart, therefore, argues that the Japanese imitations
would date from the first half of the sixteenth century, and the
vitreous enamelled pieces would go back, at least, to the fifteenth. He
labors under a very serious mistake, which evidently takes its rise in
the assumption that the ware made by the Japanese in the seventh century
was translucent pottery, or that Kato-siro-ouye-mon, in the thirteenth
century, had acquired the art of making porcelain. We shall handle this
subject more in detail when treating of Japan; but meanwhile let it be
noted that the Japanese themselves call the thirteenth century ware
stone-ware, and that there is no reason for believing that porcelain was
made in Japan until near the middle of the sixteenth century, or about
the date assigned by Jacquemart to the so-called Japanese imitations of
the Rose family of China.

If this be admitted, it must be supposed that Japan began by imitating
some of the choicest works of China, and those presenting the greatest
difficulty to a beginner not perfectly sure of his practice. The
necessary result of this, so far as M. Jacquemart is concerned, would be
to transfer what he calls artistic porcelain to China. In any event, it
is clear that all representatives of that family which can be ascribed
to a date earlier than the latter part of the sixteenth or the beginning
of the seventeenth century are Chinese. Many years must have elapsed
before the Japanese could, with Shonsui’s assistance, attain to such
perfection in working a new material that their ware could be mistaken
for that of their teachers.

The difficulties of collectors are thus restricted to pieces which are
comparatively modern. Nothing is more natural than that, when the
manufacture was temporarily paralyzed in China by the disturbances
attending the change from the Ming to the Tartar dynasty, for several
years prior to 1662 the Japanese should have bestirred themselves to
supply the demand created by the regular trade in China. It is of this
period, and down to the beginning of the eighteenth century, that the
missionaries write when they speak of the demand for Japanese porcelain.
It must have been early in the eighteenth century, also, that the
imperial present of Japanese porcelain was sent to Russia. Japanese art
was rising as that of China declined; and so far from suggesting the
Rose decoration to China, the Japanese Rose was merely striving to take
its place, when the original was passing away. The Japanese found the
Chinese patronage valuable, and therefore they tried to please their
customers by perpetuating the styles of decoration with which they were
familiar. Their imitative skill makes the task of distinguishing the two
fabrics one of considerable difficulty, even with the limitations in
point of time to which we have alluded. The distinctive characteristics
of Japanese porcelain will be referred to in their proper place under
Japan; but, in the mean time, it is evident that many of the supposed
Japanese pieces, with domestic scenes, or with fan-shaped reservations
in wide borders of geometrical patterns, and containing brilliantly
feathered birds, are Chinese.

We have now glanced at the three leading families, even while disposed
to call in question the utility of the arrangement. A classification of
the above kind has the one great objection, that the exceptions are so
numerous as to leave the rule inapplicable to a vast number of the most
interesting specimens. And, further, no perfect arrangement is
practicable. The Chinese have always been imitators. The potters and
artists of the thirteenth century imitated those of the tenth; those of
the fourteenth imitated their predecessors of the thirteenth, and so on.
Any attempt at a chronological arrangement, with any pretensions to
absolute truth, is, for this and other reasons, out of the question. The
classification by families, besides its necessary deficiencies, gives no
assistance to one studying and trying to master the principles of
Chinese art. To such an one, therefore, the only course is to take every
specimen at its artistic worth. He may find a large proportion of
table-ware of the Chrysanthemo-pæonian family, but he will also find
much that is not of that family. He may find much of the Green family,
especially under the Ming Dynasty, with a political or a religious
significance, but he will also fail in discovering any such meaning in
many of its representatives. He will find chrysanthemums on members of
the Green family, and pæonies on members of the Rose. In short, the
better plan is, as we have said, to admire what is admirable, and to be
too curious neither about chronology nor the relationship of color.
Otherwise, in the latter case, he will come upon incongruities. The weak
and the beautiful will be placed side by side, as in the human family a
dwarf may be full brother to an Adonis.

From what has been said it will be inferred that the Chinese held in the
highest admiration the beauty to be found in color alone. In producing
it, they stand at the head of the ceramic artists of the world. The old
white porcelain--that is, porcelain decorated with white, and not the
undecorated ware--is by some considered the most ancient quality, and
is most carefully preserved by the Chinese. It was decorated with
designs either graved in the paste or painted in relief, or with figures
inserted between two laminæ of paste. In the latter case the design
remained invisible until the cup was filled with liquid. Others required
to be held up to the light before the design revealed itself. The best
white porcelain was made during the Song Dynasty (960-1278). Mention is
made of white porcelain manufactured for the Emperor during the Wei
Dynasty (A.D. 220-264), and we have already seen that white was the
dynastic color of the Thang Dynasty (618-907), but little or nothing is
directly known of these fabrics. That of the Song Dynasty was the
Ting-yao, already referred to as one of the five great qualities of
ancient porcelain. A cup (Fig. 101) of great beauty, very thin and
transparent, in the collection of Mr. J. C. Runkle, gives a good idea of
the old white. Its purity and brilliancy give a fine effect to the
decoration in relief. The latter consists of small sprays of blossoms
delicately moulded or carved, and showing through the clear glaze the
finest touches of the modeller or carver. This is one of the methods
followed in decorating the Ting porcelain with flowers, which were
either graved in the paste, applied in relief, or painted. The white of
the Yong-lo period (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty was also decorated
with engravings in the paste. Toward the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,
about 1380, a peculiar quality of white was made upon the same principle
as the egg-shell, _i. e._, by grinding down the paste, by which means
the piece assumed an unctuous, shining appearance.

[Illustration: Fig. 101.--White Chinese Porcelain, with Blossom in
Relief. (J. C. Runkle Coll.)]

With the white there naturally falls to be considered the porcelain
compared by writers and by the Chinese themselves with jade, the most
precious of stones in the eyes of the Orientals. It is likened in the
Li-ki, or Book of Rites, to the rainbow solidified and turned into
stone; and in another work occurs the passage, “When I meditate on that
wise man, his thoughts appear to me like the jade.” This applies to the
discourse of Confucius. The philosopher’s language is quaint and
figurative: “It is not,” he says, “because the jade is rare that it is
valued, but because from all time the sages have compared virtue to
jade. In their eyes the polish and brilliant hues of jade represent
virtue and humanity. Its perfect compactness and extreme hardness
indicate exactness of statement; its angles or corners, which are not
incisive, however sharp they seem, are emblematic of justice; the
pearl-like jades suspended from the hat or the girdle, as if falling,
represent ceremony and politeness; the pure sound which it emits when
struck, and which suddenly stops, figures music; as it is impossible for
the ugly shades of color to obscure the handsome ones, or for the fine
colors to cover up the poor ones, so loyalty is prefigured; the cracks
which exist in the interior of the stone, and can be seen from the
outside, are figurative of sincerity; its iridescent lustre, similar to
that of the rainbow, is symbolic of the permanent; its wonderful
substance, extracted from mountains or from rivers, represents the
earth; when cut as knei or chon, without other embellishment, it
indicates virtue; and the high value attached to it by the whole world,
without exception, is figurative of truth.” It is further used
throughout Chinese literature as a simile for the highest qualities of
virtue and purity.

The stone is called _yu_ by the Chinese, and is obtained from Tai-thong,
in the province of Chenn-si, and in larger quantities from Khotan, where
an entire mountain is said to be composed of it. It has been held in the
highest estimation among the Chinese from ancient times, and
notwithstanding its extreme hardness, it is made into the most beautiful
and curious objects, such as vases, cups, incense-burners, flasks; and
even instruments of music.

These facts will enable us to appreciate the comparison so often drawn
between porcelain and jade. Thus, the Thang white made by Ho is said to
have been “brilliant as jade,” and a contemporary was making vases of
artificial jade. Again, in the Song Dynasty, a red porcelain was made at
Ting-tcheou, decorated with flowers, graved, painted, or in relief, and
said to resemble “sculptured red jade.” Coming down to the Siouen-te
period of the Ming Dynasty (1426-1435), we again meet with cups “as
white and brilliant as jade,” with their surfaces slightly punctured.
These appear to have been imitated in the Wan-li period (1575-1619),
when beautiful cups of the whiteness of jade figure in the altar
services of the Emperor. The same description will apply to the
porcelain of both periods. The glaze is likened to “a layer of congealed
fat,” and has a pure ivory-like appearance and a soft unctuous touch,
more nearly resembling that of French _pate tendre_ than any other
modern ware. This feeling is heightened rather than diminished by the
slight roughness, or rather, irregularity of the surface, such as might
be caused by sinking minute grains in the glaze.

Let us now see how far these comparisons with jade are warranted by the
stone itself. Let it first be noted that many travellers bring from
Canton a green and dark-green quality of chalcedony, under the
impression that the wily merchants have given them genuine jade. There
are also certain kinds of felspar, called nephrite, which have been
mistakenly called jade. The genuine _yu_ varies in color from an ivory
white to a dark green. It is very hard, very heavy, and fine in grain.
Even after it is polished it has the appearance of wax, and the
impression made upon the eye is confirmed by the smooth, greasy touch.
The exceptional colors are red, black, orange, citron yellow, turquoise
and a deeper blue. The white variety called, _par excellence_, Oriental
jade, reflects a pure milky light nearly resembling that of the opal.
Japan and India supply a quality of white with the faintest possible
tinge of green. Another very beautiful variety is the “imperial jade,”
or emerald green, which is occasionally found mixed with white, like the
colors in agate.

The value attached to jade was so great, that in China a special officer
was appointed to take charge of the jade used in the personal decoration
of the emperor, who wore several pieces attached to his girdle. Every
description of jewel was made of jade, including those worn in the hair.

From these facts, and those previously narrated, it is evident that to
compare porcelain with jade is to compliment it in terms beyond which
Chinese language cannot go. Nothing higher or more laudatory can be said
of it, and we can thus form some idea of the extreme beauty of the
almost opalescent white porcelain of the Siouen-te and Wan-li periods.
The admiration of the Chinese for this stone in colors now unknown may
possibly also have inspired them to attempt its imitation in many of the
finest colors which claim our admiration. The passage quoted from
Confucius further suggests that even crackle may have originated in
trying to reproduce in pottery and porcelain the cracked variety of
jade.

Equal to the turquoise in purity is the violet obtained from the oxide
of manganese. Two artists (father and daughter) named Chou, made very
beautiful porcelain of this color during the Song Dynasty. Specimens are
now very rare, their brilliancy and richness leading collectors to grasp
with avidity at any opportunity of becoming possessors of a good
example.

[Illustration: Fig. 102.--Chinese Five-fingered Rosadon. Blood color,
shading from crimson to scarlet. Upper rim, cloudy white. (G. W. Wales
Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The aubergine, or purple egg-plant violet, was also made under the Song,
and is one of the celebrated productions of Kiun, in the province of
Ho-nan. This is, however, inferior in beauty to the manganese violet.
There is a third tint, of great softness and beauty. The violet is often
used in conjunction with turquoise blue, as in a crackle teapot in the
Avery collection in the shape of the peach of longevity, in which the
body is violet, and the spout and decorating leaves, which are in
relief, are in turquoise blue. The colors are also found intermingled in
such groups as the Dogs of Fo sporting. Very curious effects are
produced by shading the violet on either hand to blue and red. In pieces
of this character the blue will be found on the base, and the color
changes as it ascends, becoming a rich violet on the body and red on the
top. The violet is treated in a manner precisely similar to the
turquoise, the pieces being frequently decorated with incised designs.

The shaded violet specimens alluded to remind us of others, in a rich
liver-red, where the color becomes paler as it ascends. Thus, in the
five-fingered rosadon (Fig. 102) the base is a deep crimson, which turns
to scarlet on the body, and finishes on the tips of the fingers in a
cloudy white. This color, like the aubergine violet, and a bright red
were found upon some of the works made at Kiun in the tenth century; nor
must we forget the pieces like “red jade” made at Ting-tcheon about the
same period. It does not appear to have been used at King-teh-chin until
the Yong-lo period, early in the fifteenth century. The bright red was
reproduced by Thang-kong, the artist already mentioned, in the
eighteenth century. It is difficult to follow the Chinese in the
handling of colors so nearly akin, and yet differently treated, and
producing effects so varied. The liver-red often appears as a true
_céladon_ upon pieces closely resembling in paste the hard opaque body
of the old sea-green. These have rarely any decoration, and resemble in
this respect many small objects, such as narrow-necked bottles, to which
a bright red lends a color that in vivid brilliancy and clearness
involuntarily recalls the comparison of the Ting porcelain with red
jade.

[Illustration: Fig. 103.--Chinese Yellow; Green Decoration. (Sutton
Coll.)]

Of the yellow called “Imperial,” from its being the color adopted by the
Tai-thsing Dynasty, little is known. The shades vary from a deep orange
to a light straw color, but that called Imperial is said to be the
citron yellow. Mr. Marryat says that he has seen genuine specimens in
only two collections--the late Mr. Beckford’s and the Japan palace at
Dresden. He adds, that imitations have been made at Canton and exported.
Mr. S. P. Avery, of New York, has a number of pieces of different
tints--chrome, citron, lemon, pale and deep yellow, some of which are
very curious in both form and decoration. The different shades are also
well illustrated in Mr. W. T. Walters’s collection.

[Illustration: Fig. 104.--Grains of Rice. (S. P. Avery Coll.)]

The Chinese have ideas of painting peculiar to themselves. They have
little regard for perspective, and in ancient times had none whatever.
Even so late as the seventeenth century perspective was at direct
variance with the rules guiding their art. We can, for example, see
vases--particularly those of the Ming Dynasty--in which the personages
in a scene appear to be piled directly one above another, or mount
stairs, like upright ladders, in order to reach other personages
evidently some distance off, but as much in the foreground of the
picture as those nearer at hand. Coming down less than half a century
later, there is a change. In the Kien-long vase before given the view
recedes, and the far-off hills are partially shrouded in shadowy vapor,
which adds to the dimness of distance. The perspective is perfect. The
change is, no doubt, due to European intercourse. We may, therefore, in
cases of doubt derive from this feature a hint of the age of certain
pieces. But how account for the older usage? It is said that, when shown
the effect of perspective, the Chinese argued against it. There is not,
and cannot be, distance on a flat surface, they said; therefore
perspective is contrary to nature. They did not see that their art
should take cognizance of the delusions of vision, and represent things
as they _appear_, not as they _are_. To explain this farther, we have
only to look at the Chinese practice in decorating porcelain. The
painting is regarded as a purely mechanical process, and the same piece
may pass through seventy or eighty different hands, each artist
contributing his specialty to the general result, and knowing little or
nothing of the subject as a whole. Can we wonder, then, that he did not
learn to appreciate perspective, if he painted his figures without any
idea of their relation to each other or to the rest of the composition?
The most remarkable feature of the case is, that in this prejudice
against perspective, and supposed constancy to nature, the Chinese
artists take up an attitude altogether different from that in which they
usually appear. Everywhere they give a free rein to fancy. They are
perfectly unconscious of anomaly, or incongruity in, for instance,
painting a stag yellow or a horse green. They paint birds, butterflies,
flowers, in hues which nature never wore. Their taste for that harmony
of tints which is the perfection of surface decoration demands the
abnormal colors, and they never hesitate about using them. Their variety
is as wonderful as the wealth of their resources. One may turn from a
vase, representing the exercise of the most fearless and riotous fancy,
to another in which the details are as realistic as the lizards of
Palissy. Or, again, a vase which looks as though it might have been cut
out of a precious stone, with no decoration but its inimitable color,
may stand side by side with another covered with flowers so tenderly
treated and delicately colored, that one is inclined to pronounce the
painstaking Celestial the prince of artists.

[Illustration: Fig. 105.--Chinese Reticulated Vase. (S. P. Avery Coll.,
N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

Conceits in shape or design and victory over technical difficulties are
his delight. The _soufflé_ decoration is characteristic. The color is
inserted in a tube having one end covered with fine gauze, and when
blown upon the piece to be decorated, falls in minute air-bells, which
break into little circles. Red and blue are thus applied upon a pale
grayish-blue, and the effect is beautiful and entirely unique. When, as
frequently happens, the bubbles do not break, the result is hardly less
attractive, the color running into the ground and giving it the
appearance of jasper.

Another method of decorating porcelain, is that called “grains of rice
work” (Fig. 104), and is of Persian origin. The design is cut through
the thin paste, and on the piece being dipped in the glaze, the latter
fills up or covers over the interstices, leaving the design distinctly
traceable and perfectly transparent.

Among the curiosities of workmanship the most notable are the
reticulated and articulated vases and the “surprise hydraulique,” or Cup
of Tantalus. The outside of the reticulated vase (Fig. 105) is
perforated in different patterns and covers the inner vase without
touching it, except at the neck and possibly also the bottom. Ornaments
are often attached to the outside of the open-work. More wonderful than
the vases are the services of the same kind, in which the outer and
inner parts come so closely together as to render the baking of the
pieces extremely difficult and uncertain.

The articulated, or jointed, vases represent a similar victory over the
difficulties of workmanship. The vase is cut into two sections, which,
although separate, cannot be taken apart.

The “Cup of Tantalus” is so constructed that when raised to the lips the
expectant drinker finds himself deluged with the contents. It is a
Chinese practical joke, played by means of a syphon concealed in the
interior of the vessel. Our enumeration may conclude with this specimen
of manual dexterity.

[Illustration: Fig. 106.--Oriental Porcelain. Brought to Albany by
Captain Dean about 1777. (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

To an American or European taking a wide view of the ceramics of the
Chinese, while it is evident that they have produced a vast amount of
very beautiful work, the question will no doubt present itself, whether
they do not sometimes confound ingenuity with genius, and value the
mechanical more highly than the artistic. That they were skilful and
rejoiced in exercising their skill is evident; but no one can look
without admiration upon their exquisite coloring and flower decoration.
If one could find anywhere a _complete_ collection of Chinese pottery,
stone-ware, and porcelain, it would be found to contain nearly
everything admirable in ceramics, although occasionally hard to
appreciate or understand. It would be found to illustrate the entire art
history of a people patient, laborious, keen to observe, and swift to
imitate, and whom, curiously enough, many of us would rather hear from
through the china merchant or collector, than meet in more direct
intercourse.




CHAPTER VI.

COREA.

     Geographical Position.--Successive Conquests.--Its Independent
     Art.--Confused Opinions regarding it.--Its Porcelain.--Decoration.


[Illustration: Fig. 107.--Old Corean Earthen-ware Five-handled Jar.
Yellow on Green. (A. A. Vautine & Co.)]

To the north-east of China, across the Yellow Sea, and adjoining the
Chinese province of Shengking, lies the peninsula of Corea. Situated
between China and Japan, it was alternately under the domination of its
more powerful neighbors, and has given, in its ceramic productions,
abundant evidences of their sway. At first its works were attributed to
Japan, from which country they were carried to Europe. Further inquiry
led to the discovery that Corea had an independent artistic existence,
and that, while borrowing from either side of it, it imparted to both
China and Japan the secrets it had mastered in the art of painting
porcelain. The confusion regarding Corean ceramics is entirely due to
the commercial intercourse between it and its neighbors, whose styles it
adopted and occasionally mingled. Its wares were also sent into their
markets. It long ago ceased to produce any kind of porcelain.

Describing some specimens of Corean porcelain, Julliot, a dealer of the
last century, speaks of “the fine grain of its beautiful white paste,
the attractive lightness and softness of its dead red, the velvet of its
bright-green and dark sky-blue colors.” The decoration consists of
conventional forms, either floral or animal. The peacock, pheasant, and
dragon are met with. The colors are limited to red, black, gold, and
pale shades of green and yellow, and the glaze is less vitreous than
either the Japanese or Chinese. The Coreans adapted the decoration to
the destination of the work. The pieces with Japanese ornamentation were
intended for the markets of Japan, those with Chinese for China. On some
of the pieces the styles are mixed, Chinese figures being accompanied by
Japanese marks, or _vice versa_. Many of the pieces display very fine
workmanship and simplicity of design. Finding their way to Europe in the
cargoes of Dutch traders, they were highly valued by collectors, and for
a long time served as models to both French and German artists. Their
simple style and the chaste employment of a few colors rendered them
peculiarly liable to kindle the emulation of unpracticed European
decorators.

[Illustration: Fig. 108.--Corean Porcelain. (W. L. Andrews Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 109.--Corean Porcelain; Persian Decoration.]

[Illustration: Yebis. Shiou-ro. Bis-jamon.

Benten. Tossi-toku. Daikoku. Hotei.

Fig. 110.--Picnic of the Household Gods of Japan.]




CHAPTER VII.

JAPAN.

     How to Study Japanese Art: Its Origin.--Its Revived
     Independence.--Nomino-Soukoune.--Shirozayemon.--Raku.--When
     Porcelain was First Made.--Shonsui.--Form of Government.--The
     Gods.--Symbols.--“Land of Great Peace.”--Foreign
     Relations.--General Features of Art.--Chinese and Japanese
     Porcelains.


On coming to the land of Nippon, “source of the sun,” known to the
outside world as Japan, we must still keep in mind the warning with
which we entered China. Japanese art is of Chinese origin, but was
modified as it developed. It adapted itself to Japanese tastes, and to
the ideas of a people quick to imitate, but possessing a marked national
individuality upon which to modify their imitations. When Chinese art
began to fall under foreign influence and to renounce its own national
characteristics, the more conservative Japanese offered a greater
resistance to the overwhelming influx of ideas from abroad. That which
had been the strength of Chinese artists now became their weakness.
Foreign models gave them new subjects upon which to exercise their
marvellous mechanical skill and imitative dexterity, and their artistic
nationality was in a measure lost. The Japanese appeared doomed to a
similar fate. Western aggressiveness made its impression, and Europe
seemed to have led the extreme East captive. The death of an art
distinctively Japanese was predicted by some, and by others it was said
to have already taken place. These are the views of extremists. It is
just possible that the Japanese derived a hint of what their own
imitations were likely to be considered by the more fastidious
Europeans, from their own opinion of European imitations of the
decorations of China and Japan. For it must not be imagined that the
imitation was all perpetrated on one side. It is no unusual thing for
the frequenter of dealers’ emporiums to find a European vase surmounted
by the Dog of Fo, or decorated by birds nowhere visible except to the
imagination of a Celestial artist. Art cannot exist in slavery. The
European borrowed, and made himself ridiculous; the Japanese imitated,
and with servility found degradation. From his temporary aberration it
is to be hoped he will thoroughly rouse himself. The contact with Europe
which led him to follow after strange gods was not without its lessons.
In later times he has shown some capacity for studying and profiting by
them. It is the Japanese side of Japanese art that foreigners admire,
and not the produce of a foolish combination of the Oriental with the
European. It is idle, in view of what may be a lasting return to native
models, to bemoan their desertion. The Japanese have already shown a
capacity for appreciating their neighbors’ faults and their own merits
at a proper value. Comparison is leading them to adopt a standard of
criticism; and if they will only persist in cherishing their own good
traditions, and in giving play to their distinctively national genius,
it will certainly be better for their art, and probably for their
commerce also. At the Vienna Exhibition they made the discovery that the
imitation of the European had better be abandoned. At Philadelphia they
gave proofs of an almost complete emancipation from foreign domination
in ceramic art. There is, moreover, abundant reason for the
entertainment of such a hope in the evident enlightenment pervading the
councils of the Mikado. The following is the language of a Japanese
writer, and it shows that the press reflects an intelligence which even
that of America or Great Britain cannot afford to contemn: “The
Americans and Europeans are enlightened people, and do not without cause
call us semi-civilized. But what is the meaning of civilization? It
surely is not limited to the possession of fine houses, fine dresses,
and to sumptuous living. It is not confined to a flourishing state of
its manufactures or machinery. It means an advance in knowledge and
politics, a reverence for religion, the proper estimation of good
character, and the observance of good customs.” The press which can
convey such truths as these is not likely to neglect the national
evidences of civilization furnished by the arts and manufactures. If it
will not allow its readers to look for the signs of civilization upon
the outside of foreign institutions, it is as little likely to overlook
the best elements at home, whether in religious reverence, good customs,
or in art.

To begin with the rise of the art in Japan, although legend would carry
us back to the era of Oanamuchi-no-mikoto, and the inventor Oosei-tsumi,
long before history begins, we may content ourselves with a less hoary
antiquity. It is said that in the sixth century before Christ certain
kinds of pottery were ordered by the Emperor Jinmu for religious
purposes. The next five hundred years give no additional knowledge, but
in B.C. 29 we learn that in the province of Id-soumi there lived a
certain worker in stone and pottery called Nomino-Soukoune. The custom
at that time was for slaves to be buried with their dead masters,
presumably that the latter might have some one to wait upon them in the
next world. When Nomino-Soukoune heard of the death of the Empress, he
quickly made some images of stone or earthen-ware, and, taking them to
the Emperor, induced him to bury them with the Empress as substitutes
for her favorite attendants. The cruel rite was thereafter abolished,
and the potter and sculptor, as a reward and distinction, was allowed to
take for his surname Haji, the artist in clay. Two years later, B.C. 27,
a Corean prince, a son of the King of Sin-sa, landed in “The Land of
Great Peace,” and settled in the province of Omi, where his followers
founded a potters’ guild. It is said that both Haji and the visitors
from Corea made porcelain. But this is extremely improbable, as it was
only about the same period that porcelain was invented in China, and all
the evidence goes to show that the knowledge of making a translucent
ware passed from China to Japan. It is, therefore, not at all likely
that a secret jealously guarded by the Chinese should at once have
passed to a neighboring country.

After the above date the accounts open to us become slightly
contradictory. A maker of tiles is said to have come from Corea, about
the year 590, to Japan, to teach his business; that about sixty years
later the experiment of tiling a temple roof was first tried, and that
the pagoda of a temple in Yamato was built of brick. These assertions
point to a relatively backward state of ceramic art in Japan as compared
with China; and if tiles and bricks were still novelties in the former
country, we are quite prepared to hear that it was only in the year 724
that the monk or priest Giyoki introduced the potters’ wheel. This same
individual apparently figures in another account, under the name Gyoguy,
as a Corean priest of Buddha, who spread the knowledge of making
“porcelain.” In the ninth century the number of factories had greatly
increased; but native skill does not appear to have developed to any
great extent, although an imperial official superintended the trade.
Toward the earlier part of the thirteenth century, Kato Shirozayemon,
not being content with the rude works he was turning out, called _Koutsi
fakata_, pieces with worn orifice, undertook the journey to China, in
the company of a priest named Fogen, to acquire, if possible, additional
skill. In this he was successful, and on his return settled at Seto, in
the province of Owari, now celebrated for its porcelain. Several authors
speak of the earlier wares of Japan as porcelain; and Jacquemart says
that Kato Shirozayemon returned with _all_ the secrets of the art. The
question occurs, Is it likely, that, if Japan was at the beginning of
our era acquainted to any extent with making porcelain, it would, after
experimenting for twelve centuries, be so dependent upon Chinese
teaching as to make Kato Shiro’s journey necessary? The probability is
the other way. More than that, even the last named traveller cannot,
without question, be conceded to have mastered the secret of making
porcelain. The Japanese say that he only made stone-ware. Evidence to
the same effect is deducible from a Japanese custom. Tea was not
introduced from China until the beginning of the thirteenth century,
about the time of Kato Shiro’s journey. In or about 1450, the Shiogun,
or Tycoon, instituted the “Tea-parties” called _Cha-no-yu_. Toward the
end of the sixteenth century, under Hide-yoshi, the ceremonial was
improved. The guests drank out of a bowl of common pottery. These bowls
were sometimes imported from Siam and other countries, and vessels of
“raku” were made for the same purpose. This “raku” was a ware introduced
by a Corean called Ameya, about the beginning of the sixteenth century.
It is said that his descendants of the eleventh generation still pursue
the trade in Kioto. Raku is nothing more than a lead-glazed earthen-ware
(Fig. 111); and if porcelain was known even at that late date, it is
hard to understand why the Tycoon should have honored Ameya with a gold
seal for introducing the comparatively coarse raku. It is equally hard
to understand why raku should have been preferred to porcelain for this
special ceremonial. The fact that raku bowls are still used at the
_Cha-no-yu_ is probably to be credited to the regard for a custom
instituted by a Tycoon.

[Illustration: Fig. 111.--Raku Bowl; Green and Gold.

(A. A. Vantine & Co.)]

It may, further, be pointed out that the existing samples of the ware
made by Giyoki, or Gyoguy, in the seventh or eighth century, and now in
the temple of Todaiji, Yamato, are said to be earthen-ware. Upon the
whole, it is most probable that the secrets acquired by Kato
Shirozayemon did not carry him farther than the making of stone-ware,
and that real porcelain was not made in Japan until between the years
1530 and 1540, or about fifty years prior to the date of the discovery
of artificial porcelain in Europe. About that time Goro-dayu Shonsui, a
native of Ise, went to China, and, on returning from a lengthened
investigation, settled in Hizen, and instituted the manufacture of
porcelain. So thoroughly had he mastered the processes of China, that
he succeeded in producing all the wares which to-day give Hizen its
pre-eminence, viz.: Sometsuki, porcelain decorated with blue paintings
under the glaze; crackle; céladon ware; red Akai ware; and “Nishikide”
porcelain, decorated with vitrifiable colors upon the glaze. Japan
incurred, however, still further debts to Corea. In 1592 a number of
Corean porcelain makers were taken to Japan, and their descendants still
live in Arita. About the same time the Prince of Satsuma invaded Corea,
and took several families engaged in the porcelain industry back with
him. To these settlers Japan is indebted for its well-known Satsuma
ware. Through all these different channels Japan derived its knowledge
of ceramic processes from China and Corea, and was enabled not only to
equal, but in many respects to surpass, both its teachers.

[Illustration: Fig. 112.--Kiri-mon.]

[Illustration: Fig. 113.--Guik-mon.]

It is unnecessary for our purpose to enter fully into an examination of
the government of Japan. The central power is the Mikado, descendant of
the gods, political and ecclesiastical head of the government. The
Tycoon was the executive head, but was expelled a few years ago. What is
here to be chiefly observed is, that in the Mikado centres the loyalty
of his people, a loyalty based upon tradition and sanctified by
religion. The Mikado’s arms are twofold, the (Fig. 112)
Kiri-mon--official, and the (Fig. 113) Guik-mon--personal, the former
being the flower and leaves of the _Paullownia imperialis_, the latter
that of the chrysanthemum. The Tycoon’s arms (Fig. 114) consisted of
three mallow leaves.

[Illustration: Fig. 114.--Arms of the Tycoon.]

The religion of Japan, apart from its symbolism, has little appreciable
influence upon its pottery, possibly on account of the comparatively
late and rapid growth of the ceramic art. The original religion was
Kamism or Shintoism, the worship of ancestors. This is the religion
upheld by the Mikados. Upon it Buddhism was in-grafted, and supported by
the Tycoons. The two harmonized well, thanks to Japanese toleration, but
their combination presents many a curious puzzle. The Japanese cosmogony
is simple. Heaven and earth were evolved out of chaos, and then the
presence of controlling power being necessary, the gods came. At first
there were only three, but afterward seven generations of gods and
goddesses succeeded each other, and from the last pair of these came
Sin-mon, the founder of Japan. The seven household gods concern us more
in looking at Japanese ceramics. These represent the physical wants of
the people, and correspond with the Chinese god of longevity and his
compeers. The first, Ben-zai-ten-njo, or Benten, is the Madonna of
Japan, the ideal matron; Quamon, queen of heaven, appears to be the
ideal of happiness; Yebis is a jovial marine god, the food provider, and
is generally represented with long legs, claws, drapery of marine
origin, and riding on a dolphin. Hotei, a portly, complacent deity, is
the very picture and god of contentment. A totally different being,
short, thick, and almost lost in his clothes and under the burden of his
wealth, is Daikoku, the god of riches. Shion-ro, with long beard, placid
face, and towering cranium, is the god of longevity. He leans upon a
staff, and is attended by either a tortoise or a stork. He is evidently
a relative of the Chinese Cheou-lao. Tossi-toku, with staff and fawn, is
the dispenser of knowledge. The last and least esteemed of the seven is
the strong, armor-clad Bis-ja-mon, god of glory. Who shall say that
there is not philosophy in a religion which thus holds up military glory
almost to contempt, and discriminates between riches and contentment?
Besides the gods here mentioned there is a host of demons which need not
be enumerated, and which, with the household deities, are met with under
the most fantastic forms and in the most ridiculous situations, for,
according to Japanese ideas, ridicule did not necessarily involve
impiety.

[Illustration: Fig. 115.--Japanese Porcelain Bowl. Diameter, 3 ft. 7 in.

(Corcoran Art Gallery.)]

The symbols of Japan are nearly all taken from China. The imperial
dragon, though having only three claws, is closely allied to the four
and five clawed dragons of China. The Ky-lin and Dog of Fo both
reappear, and the Fong-hoang, or Foo, again presents itself with added
elegance of form and supreme beauty of plumage. Another bird, resembling
an eagle, deserves its title of imperial from its majesty of gait and
expression, and seems in perfect keeping with its accompanying noble
emblems. The sacred tortoise has a long feathery and fan-like tail, and
appears in numberless compositions. The crane, turtle, pine, and bamboo
are the emblems of longevity.

In view of all that Japan owes to China and Corea--a great part of its
religion, its knowledge of art processes, and its symbols, one would
expect to find little that is original in its ceramics. There is, on the
other hand, often visible a decided individuality and independence.
Japan absorbed and transmuted, while apparently engrossed in copying.
The process of assimilation, of bringing the foreign suggestion into
subjection to native principles, took time; but even while Japan was in
its pupilage, its national character was asserting itself. Its history
and position show alike the favorable conditions under which its art
grew up. After the aboriginal Ainos had been once subdued by their
Asiatic conquerors, history substantiates the claim of Japan to the
title of “The Land of Great Peace.” It is true that revolution has of
late years changed the form of government by the removal of the Tycoon;
but from the beginning of the historical period, B.C. 660, to the civil
wars which preceded the establishment of the Tycoons nearly three
hundred years ago, there was no war of any consequence. After that
event, and down to the return of the executive authority into the hands
of the Mikado, there was another long peace. The Japanese, be it again
observed, cared little for their god of glory, Bis-ja-mon. Isolation and
freedom from the disturbing consequences of war gave the Japanese an
opportunity of cultivating the arts of peace with a constantly
increasing show of independence, even when the art was based upon a
foreign foundation.

In viewing their earliest ceramic productions, there is some difficulty
in distinguishing them from those of China and Corea, and this
difficulty is increased when we find upon their vases scenes from the
court life of China, and a great deal of borrowed ornamentation. In
both countries it is said that the ceramic art rose to its highest point
in the sixteenth century, and then, we are told, declined. This date
may, in the case of Japan, be safely advanced to the seventeenth or
eighteenth century. Japan was even then not independent of its teachers,
and suffered from the influences adverse to art which affected them. The
Portuguese were the first nation to trade with Japan, and were expelled
in 1637. The tolerant Japanese, who were willing to make room for any
religion containing the seeds of good, could brook neither intolerance
nor interference with their civil government. Portuguese intrigue
accordingly led to expulsion and the massacre of forty thousand converts
to Christianity.

Specimens of “Christian” porcelain, made apparently by the Chinese for
the persecuted of Japan, are still in existence, and may be seen in many
American collections. After the Portuguese came the Dutch. Had the
latter restricted themselves to trading in porcelain, it would have been
better for Japanese art. Instead of doing so, they tried to imitate the
native wares, and, which was far worse, commissioned the native artists
to adopt European styles and to attempt to gratify the whims of European
taste and fashion. We cannot wonder that art declined, but are rather
led to be surprised that the decline was not more speedy and permanent.

The points of difference between the porcelain of China and Japan may be
briefly stated after the general features of Japanese art have been
examined. It is to the American a peculiar art. It does not touch our
admiration like the Greek for the truthful working out of its ideal
forms, nor for the ideals themselves. It does not imbue us with a sense
of the mysterious like that of Egypt. We can all admire its wonderful
coloring and its perfection of finish; but besides these there is a
fascination in the exuberant fancy, richness of invention, and happy
blending of tints. The Japanese are true to nature, far more so than the
Chinese; but they do not copy nature in every detail. In their best work
we will often find that, with a peculiar delicacy, the artist merely
indicates what an American or European artist would feel it incumbent
upon him to represent. The former holds our attention by leaving it to
the imagination to make his work complete. This will suggest what is
actually the case--that, as a rule, form is secondary to color.

Japanese porcelain and pottery differ from those of China in the
following general respects: perspective is permissible in painting; as a
rule, there is greater simplicity of design, and the ornamentation is
more chaste and less profuse; and, as already noticed, nature is more
closely followed. To explain the greater purity and refinement of
Japanese art, there are three points to be noticed. While the Chinese
degraded art by degrading the artists, the best and noblest Japanese
were themselves artists. Princes are said to have engaged in
lacquer-work. The Chinese lowered ceramic art into a merely mechanical
pursuit, by dividing the different parts of the ornamentation among
several workmen. Artistic conception was almost lost sight of where
mechanical finish was thus painfully sought. The Japanese give us the
creations of individual men, who bring their own marvellous industrial
skill to the expression of their own ideas. The third advantage which
they possessed was that already incidentally referred to, viz., the
prevalence of hereditary occupations. It has been seen that descendants,
of the eleventh generation, of Coreans who settled in Japan as workers
in stone-ware are now engaged in the same pursuit. The transmission of
technical knowledge was thus amply provided for.

Possessing such advantages and tendencies, the Japanese surpassed the
Chinese in several respects. That they do so to-day, the Centennial
Exhibition, even making a due allowance for the superior organization of
the Japanese section as a government representation, placed beyond all
question or cavil. This truth is one to which ceramists, undeceived by
the exaltation of China and the treatment of Japan as a mere offshoot,
should not be strangers. In lacquer-work the Japanese have always been
superior, and at the Exhibition one of the best specimens in the Chinese
section was from Japan. The lacquer was so laid on that the
ornamentation on the underlying porcelain disclosed itself, and animal
forms in red and gold decorated the lacquer. Similar acknowledgments of
the excellence of Japanese porcelain have been otherwise made. The
Chinese sometimes copy Japanese decoration. Further evidence is not
wanting, and has been referred to under China, of the rarity and high
value of Japanese porcelain in China.

In any event, the time for servile imitation has passed with all that
was worth imitating. Instead of devoting themselves, as the Chinese
have done for two hundred years, to vain attempts at rivalling the
attainments of their ancestors, the Japanese have shown an inclination
to return to their old and renounced standards as bases from which to
reach a new originality. They are, in one word, progressive in the best
sense. Instead of nineteenth century representations of the works of the
seventeenth, it may reasonably be hoped that the present day will
disclose an art at once national and its own.


POTTERY.

     Geographical Distribution.--Classification.--Satsuma.--Difficult
     Ware.--Saki Cups.--Imitations of
     Satsuma.--Kioto.--Awata.--Awadji.--Banko.--Kiusiu.--Karatsu.--Suma.

[Illustration: Fig. 116.--Satsuma Vase. Dragon in Red and Gold. Height,
16½ in. (Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The ceramic industry of Japan is chiefly, if not entirely, confined to
the southern half of the empire. A line drawn from Tokio (Yeddo) to Kaga
is its northern limit, and between that line and Satsuma, one of the two
most southerly provinces of the island of Kiusiu, the manufacture is
pretty evenly distributed. The great centres are Kiusiu, in which are
Hizen and Satsuma; Kioto, round which are clustered the prominent names
of Awadji, Hiogo, Idsumi, and Nara; Owari and Mino; Kaga, including
Kutani, Yamashiro, and in the adjoining province of Echizen, the village
of Ota; and, lastly, Tokio, including Yokohama. From these five centres
come nearly all the wares which have of late years become so familiar in
the American markets. These wares are now known exclusively by the name
of the place of manufacture or the inventor. Whatever rule may have been
followed in the past, it is now therefore evident, that hereafter
Japanese pottery and porcelain must be treated after a method precisely
similar to that followed in discussing the wares of France or of
England, where, instead of families, we have Sèvres, Limoges, Palissy,
Worcester, Derby, and Wedgwood.

[Illustration: Fig. 117.--Satsuma Vase. (A. Belmont Coll.)]

The Japanese have an endless variety of earthen-ware made for household
use. Of this class some pieces are left unglazed, and others have a very
fusible plumbeous glaze, under which painted decorations are sometimes
to be seen. Of their semi-porcellaneous, highly refractory potteries,
the two best known in America are the Satsuma and Awata. The former
(Fig. 116) is so called from the province of that name, in the south of
the island of Kiusiu, where it has been made at or near Kagoshima for
nearly three hundred years. The latter is made in one of the suburbs of
Kioto, in Central Japan. The clay is kaolinic, and the glaze felspathic,
but not of the purity of porcelain; and, as a consequence, they do not
fuse to the same extent. The body and glaze not being perfectly
homogeneous, the latter presents a fine net-work of cracks. The
beautiful and soft buff color of the Satsuma ware is its first
characteristic. The ornamentation generally consists of birds and
flowers delicately outlined and colored. The chrysanthemum, the pæonia,
pheasants, and peacocks are especially abundant. This ware is
extensively used in the making of tea-sets, charming alike in form and
color. So light are the pieces that it is difficult to persuade one’s
self that they are not porcelain. The shapes are quaint, and suggestive
of flower-cups and leaves. One style of decoration may be taken as
typical. The delicious creamy buff paste, covered with crackle glaze, is
sprinkled with gold, after a manner in which the Japanese have no
equals. On this rich but delicate ground are many-colored flowers,
birds, or insects, which harmonize admirably with the shape of the cups.
In America so much beauty could be possessed only by the rich. In Japan
almost any one may be its owner. A feature distinctive of Japanese art
is, that it attempts to reach every grade, high as well as low; and that
art, being valued for its own sake, and not purely for its commercial
value, is brought to the embellishment of the lowly object as well as of
the intrinsically rich.

[Illustration: Fig. 118.--Satsuma Vase. Very Fine Crackle. Decoration:
leaves brown, veined with gold. Height, 15 in. (R. H. Pruyn Coll.)]

Another product of Satsuma is called “difficult ware,” from the extreme
nicety of the operation performed in making it. In this the body is
coarser than in that last mentioned. The ground is similarly prepared,
and upon it are laid in relief flowers and birds of fine porcellaneous
paste. The technical difficulties attending the production of such ware
are obvious. By what ingenuity does the Japanese artist overcome the
difference between decorating material and body? A precisely similar
style of decoration is employed on many household vessels of
earthen-ware or majolica. In these very fine effects are secured by the
choice of a sombre ground, from which the porcelain flowers and animals
stand out in clear and bold relief. The best Satsuma ware and crackle
are perfect marvels of color. The decoration bears a general resemblance
to that already described, but is finer. The cracks are scarcely
visible, the gold is more cloud-like and fleeting, and the floral
ornamentation is more tropically luxuriant. In the higher qualities of
crackle, the paste and glaze differ widely in composition, in order that
deeper and more distinct cracks may be produced; and tangled in the web
are wreaths of green, purple, crimson, and blue flowers mingled with
gold. A totally different style of decoration is seen on many
cylindrical vases, and shows that the Japanese artists have a clear
perception of the subtle harmony existing between form and ornament. In
these, to be in sympathy with the simple shape, the designs are bolder,
and the colors are laid on with a freer hand.

[Illustration: Fig. 119.--Satsuma Vase. Height, 7½ in. (J. W. Paige
Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The Satsuma paste varies in tint from buff to a cold and dark shade of
brown; but the decoration of the latter is, as a rule, decidedly
inferior. The shapes are manifold, and are generally characterized by
simplicity and elegance. When the potter turns to intricate designs, his
skill in manipulating the clay seems almost boundless. This feature is
more remarkable in the older pieces than in those of more recent date,
and is well illustrated in the vase on page 167 (Fig. 117), where a
series of thin loose rings gives the piece an appearance altogether
unique. The vase from Mr. Robert H. Pruyn’s collection (Fig. 118) is
presumably from the Prince’s workshop, and is an excellent example of
the refinement of Japanese taste. Full effect is given to the admirable
workmanship displayed in the basket-work moulding, which is relieved,
but not concealed, by the ivy decoration. A more prevalent style is
exemplified by the vase (Fig. 119) in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The flowers appear to grow from the base to the neck, where a single
flower and a few green leaves are left to finish the bouquet. The piece
is a rare specimen both in regard to fineness of paste and the delicate
treatment of the flower decoration. It belongs to the large class which
is illustrative of the Japanese preference of flowers before figures,
and of the careful fidelity with which the former are treated. They lead
one to think that in the Japanese workshop the “Feast of Flowers” knew
no end.

A singular example of Satsuma ware--so singular both in body and
ornamentation as almost inevitably to suggest a doubt of its coming from
the same workshop--is the Sutton vase (Fig. 120). The decoration is in
high relief, and stands out strongly against the brown ground. There are
many fine examples of designs executed in relief. These assume the forms
of turtles, fishes, frogs, lizards, and crabs, carefully modelled and
truthfully colored. On pieces of a religious character the gods of the
Japanese pantheon are moulded in bold relief. The same idea is
occasionally carried out to a fuller extent by moulding the piece itself
after a natural form. Thus we find trays shaped like leaves, cups like
lotus leaves, teapots like melons, and one remarkable specimen in the
form of an elephant, with a saddle brilliantly painted on grounds of red
and gold.

[Illustration: Fig. 120.--Satsuma Faience. Buff and Gold; Decoration in
Relief. (J. F. Sutton Coll.)]

The religious vessels are very often elaborately decorated. Incense jars
have figures of the gods; the turtle, symbolical of longevity; and
medallions of flowers surrounded by borders of green, crimson, and gold;
or we may find the gods Shiou-ro and Tossi-toku, of longevity and
wisdom, in a landscape; or combats between gods and demons; or a mixed
assemblage of priests and gods. When the figures of the gods are painted
on the inside, the value of the piece may be estimated by the delicacy
of the figure-painting. Hotei, the god of contentment, and Yebis, are
thus figured on the inside of bowls; and sometimes there are priests and
women; or gods and dragons may be seen on the inside and priests on the
outside. Satsuma ware is also found in round, oval, or leaf-like
plaques, on which are religious and other subjects.

More frequently in Kaga or Kutani porcelain, but sometimes also in
Satsuma ware, will be found what are called “Saki” cups. Saki, or Sake,
is the chief alcoholic drink of Japan, and is made from rice. It is
drunk hot at meals from the cups known by its name. The size of these
pieces precludes excessive decoration, and the artist concentrates his
efforts upon fineness of execution and finish.

Satsuma ware is imitated at Kioto, Yokohama, and elsewhere; and there is
little doubt that pieces from these and other centres make their
appearance in America under the adopted and better known name. There are
no safeguards against deception but the character of the dealer and the
good taste and judgment of the collector.

[Illustration: Fig. 121.--Kioto Faience Censer. (A. A. Vantine & Co.)]

The Kioto pottery is scarcely inferior to the Satsuma. In the specimen
given below (Fig. 122) the creamy ground is covered with a kaleidoscopic
mingling of colors--yellow and purple chrysanthemums and cloudy masses
of gold--and in the foreground is a cock with brilliant plumage. Other
specimens are seen in Figs. 121 and 123.

Awata ware is made at Kioto, and is of more recent origin than the
Satsuma, from which it differs chiefly in the more pronounced tint of
its prevailing yellow color. From the latter characteristic it has been
called “egg pottery.” In the older pieces the style of decoration is
entirely different from the Satsuma. The colors used were few in number
and neutral in tone. More recently the artists of Kioto have resorted to
imitations of Satsuma and porcelain decorations, and of European styles.

[Illustration: Fig. 122.--Kioto Vase. Very Brilliant Colors. Height, 18
in. (Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

Awadji, an island lying between Shikoku and Hiogo on the main-land,
produces a ware closely allied to the Satsuma. The glaze is similar, and
the kaolinic paste is made from ground granite found on the island. The
body-tint is an extremely soft yellow, the cracks are usually fine, and
the painting, outlined in black, is decided in character. From the same
place comes a strong stone-ware, either with a glaze containing oxide of
copper or covered with a slip. The cracks are few in number, and the
prevailing colors are green and russet.

The above names, it will be observed, are taken from the places of
manufacture. The Banko-yaki is so called from the inventor, and is made
in the province of Ise. The paste is a strong, tough brown clay, on the
unglazed surface of which enamel painting is laid. Very curious
tea-sets, wonderfully light and thin, considering the quality of the
paste, are made of this material. They are finished by hand, and the
marks of the potter’s fingers are distinctly visible on the clay. These
sets are favorites with the tea-drinkers of Japan. The white clay of Ise
is also used for pieces which come in biscuit. When mingled with brown
clay, the result is a peculiar mottled ware which has been extensively
made within the past few years. The Banko tea-sets are sometimes moulded
into imitations of the lotus leaf.

[Illustration: Fig. 123.--Kioto Faience. Brown, Red, and Green on Buff.
(J. F. Sutton Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 124.--Kiusiu Earthen-ware. Blue on Purple. Height,
15 in. (A. A. Vantine & Co.)]

The ware called “Kiusiu” takes its name from the island already
mentioned, but the exact place of its manufacture is not more
specifically stated. The illustration (Fig. 124) exemplifies a large
division of this pottery, which has designs more or less intricate
graved in the paste, and painted purple or plum and turquoise blue. Some
of the finer pieces have floral and emblematic incisions, and upon the
mingled blue and plum are chrysanthemums and vines in lacquer.

Karatsu is a town in the province of Hizen, and gives its name to a buff
ware, somewhat resembling in appearance the darker qualities of Satsuma.
It is finely crackled, and the designs are exceedingly varied. The
tenacity of the fine paste is exemplified in the reticulated vase (Fig.
125), in which frequent changes in the pattern lighten, by variety, the
sombre character of the piece. It will be observed that the inner
surface is also decorated, and we are thus furnished with another of
the frequently recurring evidences of inexhaustible Oriental patience.
All the examples of this ware that we have seen are covered with very
minute cracks like those overspreading the Satsuma. The paintings on
tea-jars and incense-pots consist usually of flowers, insects, vines, or
bamboos sometimes arranged in panels or medallions.

[Illustration: Fig. 125.--Karatsu Vase. Reticulated Buff Crackle. (J. F.
Sutton Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 126.--Suma Earthen-ware. Blue Slate Color; Black,
Red, and Reddish-brown Decoration. (A. A. Vantine & Co.)]

It is unnecessary to do more than enumerate the wares of Suma, or Soma,
Nara, Ota, Idsumi, and Kaga, or Kutani, some of which approach
translucent porcelain so nearly as to be entitled to be classed with it.
The specimen (Fig. 126) is chosen for illustration for a very simple
reason. The body is a common coarse earthen-ware, manipulated with very
moderate skill, and the color is in no respect remarkable. But in the
disposal of the grape-vine decoration, and the drawing and attitude of
the bird, there is nothing more simple and tasteful to be seen on the
finest Hizen porcelain. In spite of the humble material, the artist
compels our admiration. It is the same wherever we turn. Art is for all,
the lowly as well as the rich, and embellishes every object, the humble
as well as the most costly.

There are simple vessels, teapots, and cups of clay, thin as Banko ware,
and left unglazed, which for very oddity and perfection of workmanship
are worthy of a place in any collection. Mr. Sutton has two pieces of
this character. One is a teapot shaped like a partially folded leaf,
having its sides drawn together to form the spout. The lid is like an
elongated shell, and is thin and light as a leaf. The other is also a
teapot, and resembles a transverse section of the trunk of a tree. In
such cases the artist is lost sight of in the workman. The pieces have
neither grace of form nor beauty of color, but they attract us by the
evidences they present of human skill contending with difficulty for the
mere satisfaction of overcoming it. They are triumphs of dexterity and
curiosities of design, and, though rare, are thoroughly representative
of a large section of Japanese ceramic art. In its simplest as well as
its most beautiful forms, nature is the promptress of the Japanese
artist (Fig. 127). We see it in such works as those last described
equally with the gorgeous flowers and drooping vine, and in it have the
key to the infinite variety of the art of Japan.

[Illustration: Fig. 127.--Satsuma Vase. Decoration, Green and Red.
Height, 13 in. (Robert H. Pruyn Coll.)]


PORCELAIN.

     Leading Differences between Japanese and Chinese.--Sometsuki
     Blue.--Ware for Export.--Gosai, or Nishikide.--Arita, or
     Hizen.--Families.--Decoration.--Modern
     Hizen.--Seidji.--Kioto.--Eraku.--Kaga.--Portraiture.--Owari.
     --Lacquer.--Cloisonné.--Rose Family.--Early Styles: Indian:
     Dutch Designs.--General Characteristics of Japanese Art.

In porcelain, even to a more marked degree than in pottery, the
peculiarities of Japanese art are noticeable. It brings before us, in
their greatest perfection, the careful attention to finish, the
harmonizing of the most minute detail with the general design, the
boundless variety of form, and the general tendency to subordinate the
latter to ornamentation and color. The porcelain is less capable of
resisting heat than that of the Chinese.

[Illustration: Fig. 128.--Japanese Porcelain Plaque. (W. L. Andrews
Coll.)]

The leading differences between the porcelains of the two countries are
that the Japanese is of a purer white and finer quality, that its glaze
has a bluish tint, that the Japanese forms are usually better, and that
the extravagancies of Chinese decoration are toned down. The chief kinds
of porcelain are the Hizen (also called Imari and Arita), the Owari,
Kioto, Mino, and Kaga. That made at all these places, except Kaga,
belongs chiefly to the kind called Blue Sometsuki, in which the body is
decorated before glazing with painting in blue derived from cobalt. This
is the leading ware for home consumption. Two of the largest and finest
specimens that ever reached America were the immense vases and basins
sent to the Centennial Exhibition. Reference has been made, under China,
to the difference between the blue-and-white of Nankin and that of
Japan, viz., that the white of the latter is purer and the blue less
transparent. This may be accounted for in part by the inferiority of the
cobaltiferous ore of Japan, a circumstance which has led to the
importation of Chinese material, and in part by the preparation of the
paste. After being thrown or moulded, dried and turned, the piece is
covered with pure white clay, and then fired. The blue is afterward laid
upon the clay coating, and the piece is then glazed and fired a second
time. By the use of the _engobe_, the brilliancy of the blue is thought
to be enhanced, and the purity of the white must certainly be
heightened. The glaze is always felspathic, and is said to be less
vitreous than that of China. Like the Chinese, who made a specific ware
for the “Sea-devils”--a euphonious title under which all Europeans were
classed--the Japanese export from Hizen the same kind of porcelain as
that above described, but decorated with bright enamel colors on the
glaze, and specially designed for the foreign trade. The preparation and
application of the enamels have been described elsewhere. Paintings in
relief are produced by first laying on the parts to be colored a white
enamel of powdered glass and stone, and white-lead. This ware, once
called “Gosai,” and now “Nishikide,” is made at Arita, and was taken to
Nagasaki, and thence to the island of Desima, at the time when the old
Dutch traders had their settlement there. It is, therefore, this
porcelain that the Dutch first carried to Europe. That we may have a
clear view of the early condition of the industry, we must bear in mind
that it was in Hizen Shonsui put in practice the knowledge he had
acquired in China. It may, therefore, be expected that the older
specimens will show signs of Chinese teaching. That such is the case may
be inferred from the grouping usually resorted to in dividing Japanese
porcelain into Chrysanthemo-Pæonian and Rose families.

The place of manufacture of many of the pieces belonging to the first of
these families is authenticated by the peculiar Japanese symbols, such
as the Imperial bird, the _guikmon_, the Imperial three-clawed dragon,
the crane, bamboo, and other emblems of longevity; and also occasionally
by the pieces being decorated with legendary subjects. One of the latter
is decorated in part with a water-fall, and a carp leaping upward. The
latter is a symbol borrowed from China. Mr. Griffis says of it: “The koi
(carp) leaping the water-fall is a symbol of aspiration and ambition,
and an augury of renown. The origin of the symbol is Chinese. In an old
book it is said that the sturgeon of the Yellow River make an ascent of
the stream in the third moon of each year, when those which succeed in
passing above the rapids of the Lung Men become transformed into
(white) dragons.” The same writer relates that when Kiyomori was on his
way to view Kumano water-fall, a carp leaped out of the river upon the
deck of his state barge, and gave rise to much rejoicing as an
auspicious omen.

[Illustration: Fig. 129.--Old Imari Porcelain. (A. A. Vantine & Co.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 130.--Japanese Dish. Ground, Red and Blue; Figures,
Green and Gold. Diameter, 11 in. (Robert H. Pruyn Coll.)]

The paste and glaze of the older examples of Hizen are inferior to the
Chinese, the former being thick and comparatively coarse, as we find it
in the accompanying specimen (Fig. 129). Such are the early vases of the
Chrysanthemo-Pæonian family. They represent, apparently, the struggles
of workmen attempting to apply recently acquired knowledge to native
material: a further proof that when the Dutch opened their trade with
Japan the porcelain industry was still in its infancy. That the
manufacture improved with great rapidity is evident from such examples
as the dish (Fig. 130), an admirable specimen of early Gosai, or
Nishikide. Only five colors were employed in its decoration: black for
the outlines; red, green, gold, and blue, as we find them on Mr. Pruyn’s
dish, where the design in green and gold is laid upon a ground of red
and blue.

In modern times the porcelain of Hizen includes some of the best coming
from Japan. To it we owe those exquisite specimens of a double art,
trays and vessels of porcelain, decorated with flowers and birds in
raised enamels, encased in a cover of bamboo wicker-work.

The rich beauty of the coloring of Hizen porcelain is indescribable. One
vase has birds and flowers freely disposed over its surface; another has
reserved panels with birds and chrysanthemums in relief, and a third has
birds and flowers on a ground of gold, and set in an open border. The
desire to imitate objects in shape as well as color animates the
porcelain makers of Hizen equally with the potters of Satsuma. We find
bowls in the form of chrysanthemums, with the turtle, emblem of
longevity, on the cover. One of these is decorated with stripes of blue,
red, green, and yellow, and the favorite flowers and insects in enamel
colors. The rare and very handsome example of the striped style of
decoration here given (Fig. 131) was obtained at the Lyons sale, and is
presumed to be Hizen. The ground is a rich, clear blue, and the cranes,
foam of the sea, and stripes on the neck are in white relief. One is
anxious to find the sentiment embodied in such admirable work; and it is
possible that the piece may originally have been meant to convey a wish
for long life--by its symbol, the crane--amidst the mutations of life,
symbolized by the foam of the ever-changing sea.

[Illustration: Fig. 131.--Hizen Vase. Blue Ground; White Decoration.
Height, 13½ in. (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 132.--Japanese Porcelain Vase. (H. C. Gibson Coll.)]

Another piece, about which nothing certain is known, is the vase (Fig.
132) from Mr. Gibson’s collection. It is a marvel of patient and skilful
labor, and tells its story, no doubt, if the means of reading it were
only within reach. The lattice of gold hangs as fine as gossamer over
the figures, with sufficient transparency to leave the inside scene
distinctly visible.

To return to the modern pieces known to be Hizen, the bowls above
mentioned are supplemented by others shaped like pomegranates, and
profusely decorated, sometimes both inside and outside, with flowers,
insignia, and the imperial bird, or with vines and flowers in gold and
crimson. All family relationship is forgotten in the boundless variety
of the designs. A charming illustration of the refined taste of the
porcelain manufacturers of Arita was shown at the Centennial Exhibition.
It consisted of a set of three small oviform vases of a very delicate
blue tint, and having white dragons for handles.

The ware called Seidji is the Japanese _céladon_, and is decorated after
the style seen in China, _i. e._, with designs graved in the paste. It
has been made in Hizen ever since Shonsui settled in that province (A.D.
1580).

Leaving Arita, in the mean time, there are several other centres
demanding notice. The blue Sometsuki is also made in Owari and Kioto.
With the latter is associated a distinctive ware called Eraku, from its
inventor, in which gold decoration is laid upon a red ground. When
Indian-ink and the colors of the Nishikide are found on Kioto porcelain,
it resembles very closely that of Hizen. Green, blue, and gold are
frequently mingled. As in other Japanese centres, the tendency to seek
nature, either for suggestion or imitation, manifests itself at Kioto.
Vases with crabs and shells, moulded and painted from nature, remind us
of the “Palissy pottery, with raised fishes and fruit,” of which Sir R.
Alcock speaks.

[Illustration: Fig. 133.--Kaga Ware. Decoration, Red and Gold. (A. A.
Vantine & Co.)]

Somewhat similar to Eraku is the porcelain of Kaga. One quality (Fig.
133) of the latter has gold decorations on red or black grounds, mingled
with flowers or birds traced either in red or black, according to the
ground. On another quality the painting outlined in black is executed in
enamel colors, resembling those already described as in use at Arita.
The result is exceedingly rich. One specimen is described by Mr. Jarves
(“Art of Japan”), and is in the possession of Mr. Sutton, of New York.
On the outside are two men holding a conversation on the bank of a
stream. In the inside, in Chinese characters--adopted by the Japanese in
the third century--of the minutest size, is the following explanatory
legend: “Kutzen had already taken his leave, and was wandering by the
side of the river, in a sorrowful and dejected manner, when he met a
fisherman, who said, ‘Why do you come here? You are the chief retainer
of King Sâ.’ Then Kutzen replied, ‘The men of the world are all alike,
and as impure water, but I am pure; they are all drunk, but I am sober;
therefore I come here.’ Then the fisherman said, ‘An ancient sage has
said, that if we mix and associate with the men of the world, we shall
become as impure as they are; if they are all drunk, we shall be drunk
also, and drink the sediment of their drink; if they are dirty, we shall
be dirty also, and stir up the mud.’ Then Kutzen replied, ‘It is an
ancient saying, that when we dress our hair, we necessarily rub the dust
off our cap; when we bathe in hot water, we necessarily shake the dust
off our clothes; thus, when our hearts become pure, we shake off all
defilement. I would rather throw myself into the river, and become food
for the fishes, than to be defiled by thee!’ Then the fisherman went
away smiling, and, striking the gunwale of his boat, sang: ‘So, when the
waters of Soro are clean, I will wash my cap-strings; when the waters of
Soro are dirty, I will wash my feet.’”

Another cup, also in Mr. Sutton’s collection, of a somewhat similar
shape, _i. e._, narrow and high, has the inside almost entirely covered
with these minute characters. It is well-nigh impossible to trace with
the eye those near the bottom, and an estimate can thus be made of the
difficulty of forming them with the brush.

The decoration particularly characteristic of Kaga porcelain is the
multiplication of portraits. Occasionally we find medallions of flowers
set in colored borders, or fishes on the inside of both vessel and
cover, and vines and flowers on the outside; but the style most
intimately associated with Kaga is the marvellously minute and highly
finished painting of a crowd of faces. We have seen whole tea-sets thus
covered with what were said to be portraits of the poets of the Mikado’s
empire, executed with the most perfect finish upon a ground of pure
gold. On the inside of one shallow dish there were no fewer than
sixty-five portraits, on a ground of gold, and on the outside was a
landscape set in flowers. A plaque of the same ware had eighty figures,
on a gold ground, surrounding a medallion with flying birds. The
porcelain chosen for these curious and wonderful works is generally
thick and of inferior quality, but the effect of the red and gold
grounds, occasionally alternated with blue, is unquestionably rich.

[Illustration: Fig. 134.--Owari Porcelain, decorated at Yeddo. (Yoshida
Kiyonari Coll.)]

At Owari, the favorite colors would appear to be deep-blue and white,
the former being generally used as a ground, the latter for
ornamentation. The seat of the manufacture is Seto, a village near
Nagoya, the chief town of the province of Owari. Many of the heavy
vessels now manufactured at Seto have no artistic quality to recommend
them, but smaller specimens of great beauty may occasionally be met
with. A small vase, for example, has the base of deep blue, the body of
a paler shade, and the upper part deepening into a purplish tint. In
some cases the white decoration is in relief.

The porcelain and pottery reaching us from Yeddo (Fig. 134), or Tokio,
is largely composed of the different provincial products. They are taken
to that city to be decorated, and it is almost impossible in the great
majority of cases to specify the place of manufacture.

Two remarkable methods of decorating porcelain bring us to lacquer-work
and cloisonné enamel. Lacquer is a sap or gum drawn by tapping from the
_Rhus vernicifera_, a tree cultivated for this special purpose
throughout the entire southern half of Japan. After settling, the
lacquer is mixed with certain coloring and hardening powders, and
strained. The black quality is made by exposing the viscous gum for a
few days to the open air, and then diluting it with water which has been
for some time mixed with iron filings. The greater part of the water is
then allowed to evaporate, and the process having been completed, the
lacquer is ready for use. The ornamentation consists either of
mother-of-pearl, ivory, or metal sunk into the lacquer before it
hardens, or of painting. A pair of tall Arita vases (Fig. 135) which
were exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition are examples of this work.
Cloisonné enamel on porcelain (Figs. 136 and 137) is to be regarded
chiefly as a curiosity of workmanship, and as an example of the
irresistible tendency discoverable in Japanese artists to cope with
mechanical difficulty, since the very same effects are produced with
greater ease upon a metal base. Fine metallic lines divide the surface
into spaces or cells shaped according to the details of the design, and
are fixed to the biscuit by means of a fusible glass. The compartments
are then filled with vitrifiable enamels. These adhere after firing, and
help in keeping the cells in position. The chief places of manufacture
are Owari, Kioto, Osaka, and Tokio.

[Illustration: Fig. 135.--Lacquer on Arita Porcelain. Height, 8 ft. 8
in. (Corcoran Art Gallery.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 136.--Tokio Cloisonné Enamel. (Sutton Coll.)]

The system of classification which has hitherto been followed has been
adopted mainly in view of the modern manufactures of Japan. In looking
at its more ancient wares, the place of manufacture being, us a rule,
unknown, the method of assortment usually adopted is that based upon
general characteristics and marked features of resemblance.

Following the Chinese parallel, there are, as we have said,
Chrysanthemo-Pæonian and Rose families, but no Green. The symbols,
whether consisting of flowers or animals, are the best and safest
indications of the origin of the piece. Many of the finest specimens
belong to the Rose family, and it may as well be stated at the outset
that, in spite of the most careful examination, it is sometimes
impossible to ascribe its representatives to a certain origin, and to
discriminate between the works belonging to China and those of Japan. It
follows, that the finer pieces are at least equal to anything China has
produced. The Japanese used to say that human bones formed one of the
ingredients of the paste, and a meaning can easily be found for the
phrase in the vast amount of labor demanded by its preparation.
Specimens of the best qualities are as plentiful in Europe as in Japan:
perhaps they may become more so, should the revival now expected not
fulfil the hopes entertained regarding it.

[Illustration: Fig. 137.--Owari Cloisonné Enamel. (Sutton Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 138.--Japanese Vase. White, Red, Rose, and Green.
Blossoms on Left; White Enamel Raised. Height, 6½ in. (Robert H. Pruyn
Coll.)]

Jacquemart classes all the fine porcelain of Japan under the Rose
family, to which would, therefore, belong the vase (Fig. 138) with white
enamel decoration in relief. The subdivision of the family into vitreous
and artistic porcelain, leads us to examine the grounds upon which it is
made. The distinction between the two classes is based upon the styles
of decoration. In both qualities the paste is very translucent, and the
colors are pure and clear. The decoration of the vitreous is sparing,
and of most careful execution, as though the artist were desirous of
giving full effect to the natural beauty of the ware in its unadorned
purity. Decorations of this kind gradually merge into more elaborate
designs, in which flowers are strewn in careless grace over the
opalescent paste, or animals are represented in gold and red. In the
artistic porcelain the decoration partakes more of the Chinese intricacy
and richness of color. Red, blue, green, yellow, and black mingle in
scenes in which appear birds, figures, and flowers surrounded by deep
and delicately shaded borders. It is inferred, from the gradually
increasing elaboration of the designs, that the vitreous preceded the
artistic, and that the latter, while tolerably distinct from the Chinese
Rose, is the result of Chinese influence.

By reason of his faulty chronology, M. Jacquemart’s inference is open to
question, although in the present case he appears to have reached a
partial truth. The condition of both China and Japan, as it can be
gleaned from history, detracts somewhat from the probability of the
assumptions of the author mentioned. Europeans first landed in Japan in
1542--almost contemporaneously with the earliest manufacture of
porcelain--and, in 1549, the first missionaries followed. In about
thirty years (1581) one hundred and fifty thousand converts had been
made, and, in 1583, an embassy was sent to the Pope by the daimios of
Kiusiu. This is the Japanese embassy referred to by Mr. Marryat, as
having taken place in 1584, on which occasion statuettes of the Virgin
and Child, made by the Chinese for the Japanese Christians, were sent to
Europe. But foreign intrigue and sectarianism soon culminated, and, in
1587, Hideyoshi banished all foreign missionaries. The work of
proselytism was still carried on in private by the Jesuits, and, in
1596, a number of missionaries and converts were crucified at Nagasaki,
in Hizen. The history of the next forty years is a narrative of
desperate contention between the missionaries and converts on the one
side, and the government on the other. The drama may be said to close
with the massacre already referred to, which took place in 1637, when
thousands of Christians were put to the sword, and thousands more were
drowned in the harbor of Nagasaki.

Mr. Marryat says that the interference of the missionaries with the
decoration of porcelain, by substituting scriptural subjects for the
“ancient orthodox native patterns which had existed from time
immemorial,” is supposed to have contributed to the massacre. In
connection with this subject the same author quotes from D’Entrecolles,
who states that a plate with a biblical subject was brought to him, and
that he was told this porcelain was formerly carried to Japan, but that
none had been made for sixteen or seventeen years; that apparently the
Christians of Japan had made use of this manufacture during the
persecution, but that discovery led to a stoppage of the traffic, and
that, in consequence, these works had been discontinued at
King-tehchin. Mr. Marryat then refers to the Chinese pieces sent with
the Japanese embassy to Europe. Assuming the statements in these
passages to be correct, it is well to bear in mind that they refer to
three distinct fabrics. To arrange them chronologically, the last
mentioned is the porcelain made by China for Japan, before its own
porcelain industry was well established, or before it had, at least,
been fully developed. This supports the statement that porcelain was not
made in Japan until shortly before the middle of the sixteenth century.
Otherwise, the question will at once occur, Why, if porcelain had been
made in Japan since the thirteenth century, should China be supplying it
with religious figures before any steps had been taken in Japan against
the new religion? The first of these measures, as we have seen, was the
decree of Hideyoshi, passed in 1587. The porcelain first referred to by
Mr. Marryat comes second in point of time, and is the porcelain assumed
to have been made in Japan, in the beginning of the seventeenth century,
for the Christian converts. The second is, chronologically, the last,
and is the porcelain made in China, about 1755, for the same people,
secretly adhering to their religion one hundred and twenty years after
the supposed extirpation of Christianity in Japan. Père d’Entrecolles
was attached to the King-teh-chin mission, about 1770.

While the religious troubles above detailed were keeping Japan in a
continual ferment, China was disturbed by the incursion of the Tartars
and the usurpation of the Tai-thsing Dynasty.

In Japan we have, therefore, an undisturbed period of not more than
fifty years (1540-1587) favorable to the development of that originality
which, according to Jacquemart, preceded the imitations of Chinese work.
Some singular evidence, which may be read, in one sense, to the same
general effect, has been brought together by Mr. B. Phillips, in the
_Art Journal_, in an article devoted to the Medicean porcelain in the
Castellani collection. He says that two Japanese experts examined the
specimen engraved (Fig. 223), and pronounced the decoration Japanese.
The style they attributed to Shonsui, and said that it was in use toward
the middle and close of the sixteenth century. A piece made by Shonsui
bore out the statement, it having similar decorations, even to the
flutings, which had been shaded after the same method. If the Medicean
bowl be examined, simplicity will be found to be the most marked
characteristic of the decoration; and it is clear that it must have been
copied from some Japanese porcelain made not later than 1580.

It may, therefore, be accepted as an incontestable fact, that there was
an essentially Japanese style of decoration, in the sixteenth century,
applied to the blue Sometsuki, the porcelain destined for the home
market. This leaves the question of precedence between the vitreous and
artistic porcelains of the Rose family practically unaffected. The
probabilities are all against M. Jacquemart’s, or any other unqualified,
theory of chronological sequence. The natural course is to proceed from
copying to originality. Japan had acquired the ceramic art from China.
Was it not likely to occupy its attention first with copying the simpler
styles of its experienced neighbor, while feeling after an equally
simple originality, such as the Italians copied in their turn? From the
first it may have had foreign taste to contend with, although very
little is said of a Portuguese trade in porcelain. Then came religious
troubles to delay the development of a national art, and, before they
were over, the dynastic war in China, causing a suspension of production
in that country, offered an inducement to supply a new market, and thus
again delayed the national development. One historical fact remains to
be added: In the “_Ambassades Mémorables_,” published at Amsterdam in
1680, we find allusion made to porcelain sent from the Dutch
trading-post at Deshima, which did not sell well, _because it had not
flowers enough upon it_. This clearly cannot refer to the “artistic”
porcelain of Jacquemart, with its rich borders and crowded flowers. The
only inference from all that can be said and legitimately assumed is,
that the Hizen porcelain of the beginning of the seventeenth century is
that which most nearly resembles the Chinese. To that period, therefore,
may chiefly be assigned those rich pieces of Japanese Rose which have
been confounded with the Chinese. When, afterward, the native taste for
simplicity was striving to reassert itself, it was again obstructed by
the demands of Dutch trade, and the requirements of such connoisseurs as
Wagenaar, who objected to a paucity of flowers. It follows that many
specimens of the vitreous class must have been subsequent to the
artistic. From the beginning of the history of Japanese porcelain
external influences were at war with native taste, and, in determining
the sequence of styles, the only data open to consultation are the
events ostensibly giving rise to them--the demand creating the
supply--and the probable condition of the skill required to meet that
demand.

The porcelain long called “Indian” belongs to the same period of
Japanese art, and was taken home in ship-loads by the Dutch monopolists
of the seventeenth century. The foreigners, not content with compelling,
by the influence of trade, a bending of Japanese styles to their taste,
supplied special designs. These were reproduced by the Japanese artists
with the most exact and faithful precision.

A story is told by Captain French, of New York, that when in China some
years ago, he saw fit to increase his wardrobe to the extent of a new
coat. He had some difficulty with the native artist of the shears, and
ultimately decided to send him an old coat as a pattern. In due time the
new garment was finished, and so closely had the pattern been followed,
that the sleeves were adorned with a couple of patches which had been
applied to the old coat to prolong its natural term of service to the
end of a protracted voyage. The Japanese artists were equally
unreasoning in their adherence to designs supplied from Holland. They
laid them upon the porcelain in all their crudity and roughness, and
treated imperfections as the tailor did the patches--reproduced them
with the most serious and unwavering fidelity to their model. Contact
with foreign nations has never had any other than a bad effect upon
Japanese art, excepting, of course, its early intercourse with China.
The genius of the people has been diverted from its natural channel. Art
has been in a manner subjugated by commerce. Hence came gloomy
forebodings and threatened ruin. Whenever it had an opportunity of
seeking free expression it changed its character. Instead, therefore, of
classifying Japanese porcelain according to the families above
mentioned, a better method might be to divide it into two great groups,
the national and the commercial. A great part of the so-called artistic
porcelain of the Rose family will belong to the latter class. It can
only be distinguished from the Chinese by observing the points already
noticed: the paste, the glaze, the greater purity of the enamel colors,
the insignia, symbols, and flowers. Even these will fail at times, as
the Chinese, led away by the improvements effected by the Japanese in
imitating their styles, did not hesitate to appropriate those of Japan;
while Japan, we are told, imports Chinese egg-shell for decoration.

Apart from these doubtful pieces, we can see, in both the old and modern
porcelain of Japan, national characteristics struggling with many
difficulties to reach artistic expression. We find technical skill
handling the finest material, shaping it into graceful form, and
decorating it with carefully compounded colors of the greatest beauty.
The true history of Japanese art is the history of the art we have
called national; all else is but the prostitution of individual genius
to commerce. In the former we find simplicity and piety mingled with a
humor often quaintly clothed in clay. There is abundant material for
research, for study and close examination. The art of Japan has many
peculiarities, and will give an observer ideas of artistic beauty and
æsthetic taste which an American or European education would never
suggest. In it we find, above all things, a deep love and admiration of
nature. All this is contained in the lines of the Laureate of the
Potter, which are charged with the very essence of Japanese art:

    “All the bright flowers that fill the land,
     Ripple of waves on rock or sand,
     The snow on Fusiyama’s cone,
     The midnight heaven, so thickly sown
     With constellations of bright stars,
     The leaves that rustle, the reeds that make
     A whisper by each stream and lake,
     The saffron dawn, the sunset red,
     Are painted on these lovely jars.
     Again the skylark sings, again
     The stork, the heron, and the crane
     Float through the azure overhead,
     The counterfeit and counterpart
     Of nature reproduced in art.”




CHAPTER VIII.

PERSIA.

     Persia, and its Influence.--History.--Conquests.--Religious
     Revolutions.--Zoroaster.--Mohammed.--Geographical
     Position.--General View of Influences bearing upon
     Art.--Decoration.--Flowers and Symbols.--Conventional
     Styles.--Whence came the Monsters Appearing upon Wares.--Metallic
     Lustre.


[Illustration: Fig. 139.--Persian Faience Plaque. (Robert Hoe, Jr.,
Coll.)]

It is unfortunate, considering the great importance of Persia in the
history of ceramic art, that it should have been a debatable ground to
travellers and ceramists. Of the extended influence of Persia upon
neighboring countries there can be no doubt. The Arabs acquired from
that people much of the knowledge which they subsequently brought to
Europe, and which will be treated of more fully as Saracenic and
Mauresque. Persia gave a language to the Mussulmans of India, and
supplied her with at least suggestions in the plastic art. Her art, in
fact, spread far beyond the wide bounds of that empire, which extended
from India on the east to the Mediterranean on the west, and from the
Black Sea and Caucasian range on the north to the Persian Gulf and
Arabian Sea. To have an exact knowledge of the problems with which we
have now to deal, the several great revolutions recorded in the history
of Persia may be briefly summarized. These changes were both religious
and political in character. Beginning with Cyrus the Great, we find the
empire as above described, about the year B.C. 559, when Media became
tributary to Persia, into which other kingdoms were afterward merged in
quick succession. The empire lasted until B.C. 331, when Alexander the
Great included Persia in his grand series of Asiatic conquests. On
Alexander’s death, when the tributaries of Macedonia were divided,
Seleucus Nicanor obtained Persia for his share; and the Grecian dynasty
lasted until the Parthians revolted, and met with such success that a
Parthian dynasty was founded which lasted for nearly five hundred years.
This brings us down to the year 229 of our era, when Artaxerxes headed a
revolt and laid the foundation of the second Persian empire. This is
known as the Sassanian Dynasty, which held the sovereignty until the
incursion of the Arabs, more than four hundred years later. Persian
independence was reasserted after the lapse of a second period of four
hundred years, and lasted until Genghis Khan and Tamerlane successively
brought it under Mogul domination. The succeeding wars with Afghans,
Turks, and Russians need not here be detailed.

The two great religious revolutions were occasioned by the adoption of
the doctrines of Zoroaster and Mohammed. The first of these appears to
have suddenly emerged from the comparative obscurity of the court of
Bactria--a country situated upon the eastern confines of ancient
Persia--and to have led the Persians to renounce their gross idolatry.
The leading tenets of his creed were the existence of a supreme being,
eternity, and the contending principles Ormuzd and Ahriman, good
symbolized by light and evil by darkness. The never-ceasing contention
between these two opposite principles is often represented by a bull and
a lion in conflict. The cypress was Zoroaster’s emblem. This religion
took a deep hold upon the Persians, and the first serious shock which it
sustained was from the religion founded by Mohammed in the wilds of
Arabia Petræa. Of the two Mussulman sects, Schiites and Sunnites,
created by the dissensions following upon the Prophet’s death, as to the
choice of a successor, the Persians preferred the former, and are
believers in Ali. The Turks, on the other hand, are Sunnites, believers
in the legitimate succession of Abubeker, Omar, and Osman. Propagandism
by the help of the sword being the privilege and virtue of the believers
in the Prophet, it is not astonishing that Turk and Persian should have
met in the argument of battle.

Coming next to the geographical position of Persia, it intercepted, in
its ancient extent, all communication between East and West. The vast
extent of territory owning its sway, stretching nearly three thousand
miles east and west, and two thousand miles north and south, must needs
be traversed by travellers between Europe and the extreme East. Long
before navigators had found the ocean highway round the Cape, Persia
received all the traffic from India, China, and Japan passing through
the Persian Gulf to Europe.

Let us now take in all that has here been stated, at one glance, and we
shall see clearly why Persian ceramic art has been viewed with doubt.
Overrun successively by Greeks, Parthians, Arabs, Moguls, and Turks;
widening and contracting its boundaries as the tide of conquest ebbed
and flowed; lending to India, and probably borrowing from it; taking
part, at one time, in the Zoroastrian worship of fire, and, at another,
in the Mohammedan praise of Allah; connected, through trade, with the
far East on the one hand and with Europe on the other, Persia was
pre-eminently a country to confuse the investigator by the mingled
types, symbols, and ideas which it derived alike from conqueror and
trader. One fact of peculiar interest remains to be added. When, in the
middle of the thirteenth century, Hulaku Khan came to Persia, he brought
among his Mogul followers a number of Chinese artisans. The Mogul
territory touched the western boundaries of China, so that it is quite
possible, that to the specimens of Chinese porcelain brought to Persia
by sea may have been added a number of Chinese artists and potters
arriving with the Moguls by land. In view of these facts it is not
difficult to account for the prevalence in Persia of imitations of the
Chinese, nor is it altogether incomprehensible that a question should
have been raised whether what is called Persian porcelain is not in
reality Chinese.

[Illustration: Fig. 140.--Persian Plaque. Crimson Pæony in Centre;
Foliage and Ground in various Shades of Green. (Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.)]

Persian decoration is rich in flowers (Fig. 140), for which that people
entertained a liking amounting almost to a passion. The tulip meant
love. Of the other symbolical forms found on pottery, the lion and bull
and the cypress have already been explained. The sun was the Zoroastrian
emblem of divinity, and the royal arms consisted of the lion couchant,
with its head turned toward the rising sun.

[Illustration: Fig. 141.--Persian Plaque. Central Section, Blue; Side
Section, Green; Scroll-work, Brown. (Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The various styles of decoration may all be qualified by one
word--conventional. Although on the earlier pieces the human figure is
found, with the Mussulman sway it disappears, to make way for hybrid
monsters resembling the half-human beings of mythology--compounds of
women and birds, men with horns and tails, like the satyrs of Greece,
and numberless other supernatural monsters illustrative of the artists’
compromise with the Mohammedan behest forbidding the representation of
the human form or of living beings. Even the greatly loved flowers
suffer in both tint and form from the artists of Persia. Colors were
used in a precisely similar spirit. Nature was sought for suggestion,
not for imitation. The question of color was decided solely with an eye
to effect; and if a violet horse should harmonize with its surroundings
better than a black, gray, sorrel, or bay, the fact that in nature no
such color is found on horses was not held to be a legitimate objection
to its use. In Persia, therefore, we are presented with a peculiar phase
of art. Nature, being followed neither in form nor color, nor in the
suggestive manner of the Japanese, which finds the highest art in the
combination of resemblance and imagination, is relegated to the position
of a promptress, and not of a guide. In richness and harmonious blending
of arbitrary colors, the Persian artist realized his highest dream, and
never forgot that, no matter what natural object might enter into his
design, the ornamentation of pottery was surface decoration, and nothing
more.

Before proceeding to the usual divisions hitherto observed, there is one
point demanding special attention, viz., the Persian _reflet
métallique_, or metallic lustre. The use of metallic-lustre pigments
was, as has been already stated, known in the Balearic Islands, and gave
the _original_ majolica its distinctive appearance. Long before that
date the process was known to the Persians in connection with silicious
glaze. The metallic lustre has also been found on Arabian specimens. It
is in Persia, however, that we must, in all likelihood, look for its
origin. The date of its invention cannot be fixed with even an
approximation to precision. The probability is that it was never very
extensively used, and the specimens obtained are mostly fragmentary.
Many of these are from the ruins of Rhages, a city which stood about
seventy miles south of the Caspian Sea. Earthquake and conquest
successively laid this city in ruins, and each time that it was rebuilt
its limits became more contracted. It was finally destroyed during the
Mogul irruption under Hulaku Khan, in 1250, and it is from the ruins
beyond the city of that era that the above mentioned fragments have been
taken. In fixing the origin, therefore, of metallic lustre, the latest
date would be six hundred and twenty-seven years ago, the most remote
perhaps over two thousand. The metallic-lustre pigments were made use of
as late as the time of Shah Abbas, who reigned from 1555 to 1628, and
whom Jacquemart calls the “Louis XIV. of Iran.”


POTTERY.

     Composition.--Caution in Looking at Specimens.--Wall-Tiles and
     their Decoration.--Vases.

[Illustration: Fig. 142.--Shrine of Imam Hussein, at Kerbela. Showing
the Use of Tiles in Persian Architecture.]

Chemical experiments have shown that in one kind of Persian paste there
is a large preponderance of silex, that when fired for a certain time
the result is a faience, and that a continued exposure to the kiln
reduces it to a partially translucent body resembling porcelain. Some of
the tiles show silica ranging about ninety per cent., and the remaining
fraction consisting of alumina and iron, lime, magnesia, and potash. By
comparison with the porcelain standard adopted in the table (Book I.,
Chapter iii.), it will be seen that this paste differs in the greater
proportion of silica and in the presence of iron. It differs from
earthen-ware, on the other hand, by its containing magnesia and potash.
The faience of Persia must, therefore, be treated with extreme caution;
and the authorities must be consulted with care, since what one calls
pottery, another treats of as soft porcelain. Of that coming most nearly
to what we understand by the word “faience”--that is, a perfectly opaque
ware--some of the specimens are glazed, and others are covered with only
a thin lustre or varnish. Very fine examples are found in the wall-tiles
taken from the different mosques. The same style of ornament was
applied to these and to vases, and its general character has already
been designated. Arabesques and flowers--some imitations of the natural
and others altogether conventional--are profusely spread upon both, with
a boundless wealth of rich color. The forms assumed by the various
vessels differ very widely from each other. Cups, open dishes with rims
of varying breadth, and a number of water-vessels illustrate certain
manners of the Persians. The color and ornamentation are distinctive.
The favorite ground colors were the blues of copper and cobalt, and
these alternate with red, and yellow tinged with red. The ornamentation
is very often white. The Mosque of Sultaneah has already been described
(see page 39). In others the colors are reversed, _i. e._, white is used
for the ground and blue for the decoration. At times we see the Persian
love of the chase triumphing over the Mohammedan prohibition of the
employment of animal figures, by the introduction of hares or gazelles,
generally upon grounds of light shades of green and blue. Some of the
most remarkable plaques belong to the same period, and in both the
earlier and later examples the coloring is exceedingly rich and
effective. What the latter lose in simplicity they gain in brilliancy.
Some pieces, apparently of great age, have a close resemblance to the
céladon of China. The vases _a reflet métallique_ are either blue, or
white with yellow ornamentation. The art of applying the lustre seems to
have disappeared about the middle of the seventeenth century. The tiles
of this kind date mostly from the time of the Mogul Dynasty. The larger
plaques measure sometimes six feet by eight feet; the smaller tiles
without inscriptions are star and cross shaped fitted together in a
mosaic.


PORCELAIN.

     Had Persia a True Porcelain?--Classification, and the Difficulties
     Attending It.--Decoration.--Classes Formed by Prevailing Color.

Although the discussion was long maintained, whether or not Persia
produced a true kaolinic porcelain, there seems to be no real ground for
doubting that such was the case. That India produced porcelain we have
already seen, and it becomes a question whether the art was not
practised elsewhere in Central Asia. The evidence bearing upon the
point clearly shows that Persia possessed the materials for making a
pure kaolinic porcelain. The presence of Chinese works and styles does
not affect the question. These may either have been the work of Persian
artists imitating Chinese models, or of Chinese artists working in
Persian material. The Persians call porcelain _tchini_, a name clearly
indicating that in one of the above ways they were indebted to the
Chinese.

By reason of the qualities of the paste already noted, the
classification of Persian porcelain is a matter of some difficulty. The
analysis which could alone decide the class to which the specimens
belong is in a great measure wanting. It may be inferred that two
pieces, apparently distinct in composition, may be really identical, and
representative merely of the successive changes effected by firing upon
the silicious paste. The most ancient kind is not older than the
Mussulman incursion. When subjected to a great heat it melts like glass.

[Illustration: Fig. 143.--Persian Porcelain Wine Bottle. Decoration in
Blue. (Jacquemart Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 144.--Porcelain Narghili.]

What is called “soft porcelain” is not, properly speaking, a distinct
variety. It differs from the others in decoration, but not to any
perceptible extent in composition. The paste is very translucent, and
the glaze even. The external decoration is frequently blue or a tint of
mixed brown and yellow, upon which appear flowers and arabesques (Fig.
143). Cups and basins are the shapes most frequently occurring, and the
first decorative feature is that the outside and inside are seldom
alike. The latter may be white, with copper-lust re decoration, and the
outside may be in either of the two colors above mentioned. A style of
decoration very widely followed consists of a series of holes cut in the
paste round the rim of the basin or bowl, and filled in with the glaze.
This method was adopted at a very early period, and reappears in the
“grains of rice” work of China. A later specimen--probably not more than
two hundred years old--of Persian “soft” porcelain has its upper and
lower parts in blue and white, with lustred ornamentation.

Persian natural porcelain, about which writers have disputed, and called
by the Persians _tchini_, is closely related to the Chinese. An entire
class is characterized by its decoration of incised lines and blue
painting under the glaze. The paste is somewhat coarse, and lacks
cohesion. As to the antiquity of this quality, all that can be said is
that it was produced a long time prior to the fifteenth century. Red and
gold are seldom employed with blue, but rather characterize a distinct
class. Green was much more indiscriminately employed, as, for example,
with blue, brown, red, and gold. The céladons are to be distinguished
from the Chinese, not by the color--for they show the beautiful old
green of their Chinese counterparts--but by the design and form. All
that remains to be added is, that, like every other people to whom the
higher secrets of ceramic art were open, the Persians attached a very
great value to the best works in both porcelain and pottery. The former
is, in their literature, constantly associated with gold and other
precious materials.




BOOK III.--EUROPE.




CHAPTER I.

THE FOUNTAINS OF EUROPEAN ART.

     Routes by which Art Travelled.--Their Point of
     Convergence.--Cyprus: Its History.--The Successive Nations
     Governing It.--The Strata of Ancient Civilization found within its
     Shores.--The Discoveries of
     Cesnola.--Larnaca.--Dali.--Athieno.--Curium.--Progress of Cypriote
     Pottery.--Early Greek Art: Its Connection with Assyria and
     Egypt.--Phœnician and Assyrian Art.--General Deductions.--Asia
     Minor.--Oriental Art turning in various Streams to Greece.--What
     Greece Rejected, Persia Seized upon.--Persia’s Contributions to
     Ceramic Art.--History in Reference to its Art.--Effect of
     Conquest.--What Persia Taught the Arabs.--Spread of Persian Art by
     the Saracens.--Rhodes.--Damascus.--Progress of Saracenic Art.--The
     North of Africa.--Metallic Lustre and Stanniferous
     Enamel.--Hispano-Moresque.--Early Spain.--Persian Influence upon
     Europe.


We now approach a point in our history which stands within sight both of
the wonders of early Greece and of the beginnings in the Middle Ages of
the best ceramic art of Europe. From Persia, as a centre, art travelled
north and west by many devious routes ere it touched the European
shores. But behind the Persian is the older civilization of Babylonia
and Assyria, to whose glories it succeeded. We are thus once more
brought back to Egypt and Egyptian influences. After spreading to the
east they extended northward, and in Greece are met by others transmuted
by a passage through Assyria and Phœnicia, but springing from the
same prolific source on the banks of the Nile. Persia, after acquiring
from Egypt’s eastern pupils her earliest knowledge, adapted the lessons
thus derived to her own ideas, and spread it across the tracts already
followed by others who had learned directly from her teachers. From both
the south and east these lines of original and derivative art converged
toward one point, the eastern shores and islands of the Mediterranean
and Greece. To show how difficult it is to disentangle the web of
footprints, let us glance at Cyprus, as revealed to us by the
discoveries of General Luigi Palma di Cesnola (Fig. 145), and described
in his work upon “Its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples.” The record
may be read by all who visit the Metropolitan Museum of New York. We
choose Cyprus because it was virtually the meeting-place of the East
with the West. Assyrian, Egyptian, Phœnician, and Greek influences
contend for the mastery.

[Illustration: Fig. 145.--General Luigi Palma di Cesnola.]

[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Phœnician Vase, with Figure. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

There is no certainty as to the derivation of the first settlers. They
may have been either Phœnicians or Cilicians, and thus only another
branch of the great Semitic family to which the Phœnicians belonged.
Or colonists may have arrived from Cilicia and Phœnicia at about the
same time. There is less reason for believing that any settlers came
from Egypt, although the first historical conquest of the island was
effected by the Egyptians. This event took place about B.C. 1440, during
the reign of Thothmes III. How long it remained under Egyptian control
does not exactly appear, but it next passed into the hands of the
Tyrians at a date prior to B.C. 1000. It was next conquered by Sargon,
King of Assyria, and when, about B.C. 600, Apries, King of Egypt, took
Sidon, he included Cyprus in his conquest. Amasis, the successor and
murderer of Apries, completed the work of the latter. The Cypriotes then
turned for deliverance to Cambyses of Persia, and Cyprus became a
dependency of the great eastern power. Again the island was shaken by
revolt, and the greater part of its people joined the Ionians in an
unsuccessful attempt to throw off the Persian yoke. The Athenians and
Lacedæmonians, after taking a portion of Cyprus (B.C. 477), abandoned
their conquests. Then came the rebellion of Evagoras, King of Salamis,
whose father had been dispossessed by the Persians, the result of which
was that Evagoras recovered his own kingdom, but the island still
remained tributary to Persia. It then fell under the control of
Alexander of Macedon, and was held by his generals for a few years after
his death. Ptolemy Lagus, or Soter, again brought Cyprus under Egyptian
rule, and lastly came the arms of all-conquering Rome. We need go no
farther. We stand in Cyprus, upon a battle-field crossed by the armies
of every nation of antiquity with any claim to warlike renown, and find
in it at once the theme of ancient poets and the prize of ancient
warriors. So far we may travel in the track of war, but the history of
art is affected less by the conquest of battle than by permanent
occupancy and the more peaceful conquest of colonization. Thus we find
Phœnician art leaving a deeper impress upon Cyprus than any other,
and one to be detected even amidst the confusion of Semitic and Hellenic
remains. This art developed, on the one hand, into something bearing a
semblance of an independent Cypriote character, and, on the other, into
a form more distinctively Greek. Phœnicia was the country in which
the Assyrian and Egyptian elements of decorative art were combined, and
being brought on the other side into contact with Greece, the history of
Greek art is thus continued backward into a remote antiquity.

[Illustration: Fig. 147.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Mus.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 148.--Phœnician Vase, from Dali, with
Phœnician Inscription. (Cesnola Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

The early Phœnician settlers located themselves chiefly on the
southern and eastern sides of the island; the Greeks chose the north and
west. Both were evidently actuated by the same motive, viz., to give the
preference to the localities nearest the land from which they had come.
The Phœnicians founded Paphos, Amathus, and Citium; the Greeks
founded Salamis, Curium, Neo-Paphos, and several other towns. Tencer and
Agapenor, two of the Greek heroes from the Trojan war, settled in
Cyprus, and the island is thus introduced into Grecian legend. As time
passed, the Greek and Phœnician elements underwent a more or less
complete amalgamation. The Greek language became the prevailing tongue,
and the Phœnician religion became the common creed. Aphrodite, who
sprung from the foam of the sea, and was wafted to the shore of Cyprus,
was the Tyrian Astarte, the Assyrian Mylitta. Her worship extended over
the whole island, and was engaged in with all the licentious impurity of
the Oriental original. Greece rose as Phœnicia declined, and her
people spread beyond the limits of their ancestral settlements. One
civilization rose upon the ruins of another, and died in its turn; and
Cesnola found them piled one upon another in strata, to be opened up and
read like the stony leaves of the geologist’s book.

[Illustration: Fig. 149.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

That this is literally the case can be very easily shown. General di
Cesnola began his excavations at Larnaca, on the southern shore of the
island, or near the ancient Citium, or Kittim, a Phœnician city. Near
this city have been found a number of terra-cotta statuettes, which
General Cesnola ascribes to the fourth century before our era. He thinks
they were imported from Greece. They were accompanied by others, poorly
executed, and some figures suggestive of Phœnicia and Egypt. It was
here that the vase, Fig. 150, was discovered. Crossing the Santa Croce
range, he found, at Dali, on the plain of Messaria, the necropolis of
the Phœnician city Idalium. He began his excavations among the
Phœnician tombs, and exhumed a great quantity of pottery of several
shapes. The vases are of light-colored clay, and are variously decorated
with geometric patterns and concentric circles in brown color. One of
them (Fig. 148) has a Phœnician inscription, and all the others were
evidently Phœnician. Above the tier of tombs from which these were
taken, a second tier was discovered, of a different epoch, and
containing objects of a totally different character. Earthen-ware gave
place to glass in all the shapes found in Greek pottery, the amphora,
lekythos, krater, kylix, and others. Many were of a formation so
evidently late that the discoverer ascribes them to the Græco-Roman
period. Here then, was Greek and Phœnician work reposing in
juxtaposition. An explanation was found by returning to the Greek tomb
which had been first opened, and under it was discovered the
continuation of those of the Phœnicians. The Greek Idalium had grown
upon the ruins of a Phœnician predecessor, and hidden under the ashes
of the one Cesnola found the necropolis of the other. On prosecuting his
researches in the latter, the type of pottery again altered, and the
decoration of concentric rings reappeared. At Alambra, west of Dali, he
found a number of small clay images--horsemen, warriors, chariots, a
representation of a procession, and vases of two kinds. He made
excavations in five burying-grounds, all apparently belonging to the
Phœnician Idalium; and from a mound in the same district he obtained
a collection which, from the combination of Egyptian and Assyrian forms
and decoration, may be assumed to contain some of the most ancient
relics of Phœnician art. Two green-glazed bowls have Egyptian
paintings, and the vases occasionally take the form of animals and
birds.

[Illustration: Fig. 150.--Assyro-Phœnician Vase, from Larnaca.
(Cesnola Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

Striking eastward from Dali, the explorer reached Athieno, near the
ancient Golgoi, and there came upon a necropolis and an ancient temple
of Venus. The most remarkable fact concerning the statuary brought from
this locality is that the lines of nationality are so broad and well
defined. General Cesnola then determined to push his explorations
toward the East, and, after visiting Salamis, turned westward to Paphos,
Neo-Paphos, and then northward to Soli and other places on the northern
shore. Returning to the southern shore, a number of terra-cotta vases
and figures of the Phœnician type and Egyptian green-glazed vessels
were exhumed at Amathus. A statuette of Astarte and figures of Egyptian
deities were found almost together. Lastly, General Cesnola visited
Curium, a city said to have been founded by an Argive colony. There he
found pottery of the usual mixed types, including vases, terra-cotta
figures, and one large vase (Fig. 151), so strongly marked with Greek
influences that he ascribes it to the earlier period of Greek art. Both
General Cesnola and Mr. A. S. Murray think that it may have been taken
to Curium from Greece. Its four handles, its great size, and its
elaborate decoration make it unequalled among the vast number of
Cypriote relics in the Metropolitan Museum.

[Illustration: Fig. 151.--Greek Vase, from Curium. Height, 4 ft. 9 in.
(Cesnola Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

In constructing a theory of the progression of Cypriote pottery it is
necessary to examine closely the different styles of ornamentation. On
some we find Assyrian symbols and characteristic styles of decoration;
on others the figures are as evidently Egyptian. Thus the archaic vase
from Larnaca (Fig. 150) is just such a work as might be expected from
the Phœnician founders of Kittim while still directly under the
domination of Assyrian ideas. The pattern between the animals is
distinctively Assyrian. In a similar manner the vase (Fig. 146) is
decorated with an Egyptian figure, but in the subsidiary decoration--the
plaited pattern on the sides and the concentric circles arranged
vertically--there is nothing indicative of Egyptian influence. We see in
it the work of a potter who combined an Egyptian suggestion with a more
independent form of ornament. It has already been said that, of all the
nations of antiquity, the Phœnicians are most strongly marked by
influences emanating from Egypt, on the one hand, and from Assyria on
the other. To this people, therefore, we may attribute the two vases
last referred to.

[Illustration: Fig. 152.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

It is also necessary to bear in mind that, while certain symptoms of
independence on the part of Cypriote potters must be appreciated at
their full value, there are no evidences of the potter’s art ever having
developed among them to any great extent. It is possible that the
effeminate, voluptuous nature of the people prevented the attainment of
artistic superiority. It is also possible that their skill in working
metal may have distracted their attention from clay. In either event we
discover no well-defined gradation from the lower to the higher, such as
we find in Greece. Cyprus may have been still wrapped in slumber, while
Greece was striding forward in the full vigor of its young life. It may
have been following its ancient models, while Greece was turning from
the old to the new and original. It is difficult, therefore, to ascribe
with precision the Cypriote pottery to any given age. A rule by which to
determine such questions has been laid down in this way: vases painted
with linear designs are the most ancient; then follow those with animal
figures; lastly come those with human forms. Cypriote pottery makes the
application of such a rule extremely hazardous and difficult. How apply
it to the vase with vertical rings and human form and head (Fig. 146)?
The figure is Egyptian, and might, for that reason, carry us back to the
conquest by Thothmes III., were it not that it represents the latest
style of decoration according to the accepted rule, while the remainder
of the decoration belongs to the earliest.

[Illustration: Fig. 153.--Phœnician Pottery, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 154.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Mus.)]

The practice of ornamenting with concentric rings is an application to
pottery of a pattern borrowed from working in metal. Cyprus was famed
for its copper, and, from the legendary age downward, exported armor and
weapons of bronze. It is not singular, therefore, if on some of the
ruder relics of the potter we should find this ornament. In the curious
circle of vases (Fig. 153) we see arranged round the base the concentric
rings, which were in time transformed into the Greek spiral. The same
pattern is exemplified in the specimen from Curium (Fig. 154), from
which, and from several others in the Metropolitan Museum, it might
almost be inferred that the vessel had been shaped to suit the favorite
style of decoration. A cognate style, also having its origin in
metal-working, is that represented in the vase from Dali (Fig. 148),
sufficiently authenticated by its Phœnician inscription. It belongs
to a very large class, which appears to extend from the earliest times
down to the beginning of purely Greek art. It will be observed that the
squares run both horizontally and perpendicularly, an arrangement much
more noticeable in many other specimens. One of the earlier examples is
seen on the bird-shaped vase in the illustration Fig. 155. In what is
probably a much later vessel, a swan with circular body and triangular
wings makes its appearance. This is the rude attempt at decorating with
figures of an artist skilled only in geometrical designs. One point is
to be particularly noted before leaving these vases, viz., that in that
bearing the Phœnician inscription, the vertical lines or bands give
place to horizontal bands round the upper part of the body and neck. The
Greeks invariably make use of the horizontal band.

[Illustration: Fig. 155.--Phœnician Vases, found at Dali. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 156.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Mus.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 157.--Phœnician Vase, from Curium. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Mus.)]

The approach to Greek art is marked by the introduction of several new
features. In the vases from Curium (Figs. 149, 156, and 157), the lines
are horizontal, the shapes improve, and the spout, consisting of a woman
holding a pitcher, is indicative of a skill in moulding and an
originality in designing, having little in common with the ruder forms
from the same city. This is one of the ideas which seems never to have
occurred to the modern potter, whose most fantastically turned and
severely shaped spouts contrast most unfavorably with the simple yet apt
design of his old Phœnician predecessor. The Phœnician vase with
animal figures from Dali (Fig. 158), is the ancestor of a large class of
early Greek pottery similarly decorated. The shape and the encircling
horizontal bands recall early Greek work, and the animal forms point to
an Asiatic influence transmitted in part through Phœnicia, but
probably also through other channels, to Greece. The style is rare among
Cypriote vases. It is carried farther in the large vase from Curium
(Fig. 151), which is remarkable as a combination of the Cypriote
rectilinear method of decoration, the earlier form of the Greek fret,
the Asiatic style of animal decoration, and the culmination of the
Cypriote rows of concentric rings found in the bands of spirals. This is
one of the most remarkable vases in the Cesnola collection, and also one
of the most important links between the art of Greece and those of
Phœnicia and the East. Even admitting it to have been made in Greece,
and thence taken to Curium, it is in perfect harmony with the
Phœnician vase last referred to, on the one hand, and with that
bearing the Phœnician inscription on the other.

The Greek vase and cups from Dali (Fig. 159) show a new motive in the
decoration. The spirals give place on the vase to a running scroll,
painted with a free hand; and in the kylix on the left, the concentric
circles become semicircles, festooned round the lip after the fashion of
lambrequins. In the kylix on the right, the rectilinear designs and
enclosed squares become the fret. It will be seen hereafter, when we
come to speak of Greece, how the forms of the kylix improve.

[Illustration: Fig. 158.--Phœnician Vase, found at Dali. (Cesnola
Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

While we cannot assign an exact age to any of these works, we can see
how the beginnings of the art of Greece can be traced to a much more
remote antiquity than was previously apprehended. Mingling in the heroic
age with a people uniting in itself much of the civilization of Assyria
and Egypt, the Greeks were acquiring the knowledge which their own
artistic genius subsequently turned to such brilliant account. The
highway is complete from Greece to untold antiquity. We learn,
therefore, from the relics brought together by General Cesnola, that the
view taken of the devious course followed by ceramic art is correct.
Egypt gave instruction to all. In her is the spring of ancient art. The
Phœnicians studied under her Assyrian pupils, and the two branches,
from Phœnicia and Egypt, met in Greece, and there appeared in a new
form, more refined, and reflecting a higher ideality and a keener
sensitiveness to the subtlest lines of beauty. Di Cesnola has found in
Cyprus their point of contact, and has disclosed to our eyes the
teacher and scholar sleeping in a common grave.

[Illustration: Fig. 159.--Greek Vase and Cups, found at Dali. Cesnola
Coll., (N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

Should it be asked if in Cyprus alone we must look for the ceramic
remains of Phœnicia, the Land of Palms, the answer must be negative.
It is true that few relics have come down to us from the sites of her
domestic industries. But let us glance briefly at the history of that
wonderful country, wonderful alike in enterprise and in science. Ptolemy
Claudius, writing in the second century, says that Phœnicia extended
from Egypt on the south to the Eleutherus on the north, and eastward to
the confines of Syria; or, in other words, that to it belonged the
entire eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Like all other eastern
nations, it changed its boundaries as the successive waves of war swept
over it. First came the Persians, then the Greeks, and, lastly, the
Romans. When enjoying its independence, in an earlier age, it was the
disseminator of the knowledge which, to a great extent, it acquired in
Egypt. To Greece it gave its alphabet, the foundation of the literature
which has kindled the admiration of the scholars of all times. Its
navigators passed the Pillars of Hercules and reached the shores of
England. Phœnician colonies were founded all along the Mediterranean,
at Utica and Carthage on the south, and at Marseilles in Gaul. Here,
then, was a people gathering in from every side all that the world
could give of art and science, and spreading its knowledge with every
keel which, from the great ports of Tyre and Sidon, furrowed the
Mediterranean. As might be expected, therefore, the remains of its
ceramic art and the evidences of its influence are found in Cyprus,
Malta, Egypt, Carthage, Greece, Sicily, Rome, and Etruria.

The ceramic remains found on the Phœnician coast are nearly all
referable to her later conquerors. One specimen is singular and
suggestive. It was found at Tyre, and is a polished cruse, with round
body, long neck, wide lips, and a handle joining the neck and body. It
resembles the Egyptian too closely to leave any doubt of the origin of
its style and manufacture. After our previous experiences we are quite
prepared to meet a mythical Phœnician worker in clay; but his
presence does not disturb our inferences. It merely pushes back to a
prehistoric age the date when the first of Phœnicia’s debts to Egypt
was incurred. Other examples, fragments with Phœnician inscriptions,
give further hints of the immediate well-spring of Grecian art.
Phœnician vases are found in Sicily. Egypt and Carthage teach the
same lesson, and illustrate the wide-reaching enterprise of the Tyrian
founders of Carthage.

Turning northward from Phœnicia to Asia Minor, the evidences of
ceramic skill point to identically the same conclusion. Let us take the
older first. There, as in Cyprus, we meet with early traces of Hellenic
art. Across the Ægean sea, on the shores of Asia Minor, Greece again
touched the older arts of Assyria and Egypt. The coffins found in
Mesopotamia are after the Assyrian type. From Tarsus come terra-cotta
works ornamented with green, in a simple style, closely allied to the
Greek. At Rhodes has been found a vase or pitcher of turquoise blue,
ribbed perpendicularly, and crossed at intervals by horizontal bands.
Such specimens take us back again to Egypt. In short, the history of
Asia Minor, its existence successively under Scythians, Medes, and
Persians, while it was receiving the surplus population of Greece from
the west, would lead us to look for what we only found in part in
Cyprus, namely, native styles moulded by influences from east, west, and
south. These generalizations are offered as a substitute for a more
connected history, for the construction of which intelligibly the
materials are wanting. Enough has been said to show that through many
different channels the arts of Egypt and the East set, in a long and
steady stream, toward Europe; that there, meeting with the rising
Hellenic civilization, they were transmuted and purified, and that from
the Hellenizing process emerged the admirable art now called Greek.

Meanwhile it is to be noted that, so far, we have made allusion to only
one-half of the debt which Europe owes to the East. Greece rejected the
rich coloring and fantastic forms which reached her from the centre of
all that was most brilliant in ceramics--the land between the Tigris and
Euphrates. These were seized with avidity by Persia, the only survivor,
in our time, of the four great monarchies of the East. Bright colors and
gorgeous combinations were grateful to the eye revelling in the splendor
almost unconsciously associated with the word “Oriental.” To Persia,
therefore, we must look, not only as the great conservator of previous
skill, but as the medium of its development into a higher form. That
part of her inheritance from Assyria and Babylonia which concerns us
now, was the knowledge of processes, of the deft mingling of colors, the
production of tints, and the skilful application of enamels. We have
seen to what purpose this knowledge was cultivated, in so far as the
evidences found within her own borders can show. We have seen what may
here be especially recalled, enamels and metallic lustre applied to
pottery, with an almost bewildering brilliancy.

We now approach the question of Persia’s contributions to the art. Can,
for example, none of the remains exhumed by Cesnola be claimed for
Persia? It appears not, at least not with certainty, although certain
plaques convey a hint of Persian workmanship. Whatever she left in
Cyprus, if anything, is hardly to be distinguished from the older works
of Assyria and Phœnicia. Had Persia, then, no originality, and where
beyond her own limits must we look for its distinctive impress. Let us
return for a moment to Persian history. We have already seen that the
country was occasionally overrun by surrounding nations, but the fact is
noticeable that when it could not resist, it absorbed its assailants.
Its nationality was preserved even in conquest. A similar capacity for
assimilation and independence is seen in its art. There can be no doubt
of its having drawn from Assyria and Babylonia. Its most ancient
architecture is sufficient to settle that point. But apart from that,
and keeping in view the influence of Mohammedanism and the influx of
Chinese wares and possibly workmen in the sixteenth century, the art of
Persia is marked throughout its entire course by certain distinguishing
features which invasion could not obliterate. The artistic instinct was
strong in the people as a whole; and conquest retarded the progress of
art only to see it rise again in all its first vigor, to be spread far
and wide even by those who had for a time hindered its native growth. In
this way we can trace its advance to Asia Minor and Rhodes, through
Egypt, along the northern coast of Africa, and thence to different
points in Southern Europe.

[Illustration: Fig. 160.--Saracen Tile. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y.
Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 161.--Saracenic Tiles. Green and Dark-blue on White.
(Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The tracks we now follow are those of Eastern art in its second and more
modern progress toward the west. Persia was its real source. When the
Mohammedan Arabs overran Iran, they found art the handmaid to beauty and
luxury, to which they had been strangers. Essentially nomadic, the wild
fanatics from Arabia had given little attention to æsthetic culture.
They were captivated by what they found in Persia. If they modified it,
it was only to make it conformable to the behests of their religion. We
find, for example, a faience tile representing the sacred Temple of
Mecca, in two shades of blue, red, black, and pale-green, and with a
border of white and red. It is easy to imagine the caliphs of Bagdad
calling to their assistance the men whose works they had seen, to
complete the embellishment of their capital. The style called arabesque
is in all probability of Persian origin. In every collection of note are
examples of what is called Saracenic pottery. The Arabs were called
Saracens when they came to Europe, or met the arms of the Crusaders in
Palestine. Saracen pottery, therefore, is Persian modified by Arabian
taste or local style. And here, to save much trouble, and avoid the
confusion into which disputants over the wares of Damascus, Rhodes,
Cairo, and other localities might lead us, it may be as well, once for
all, to understand that at no place of which we have any knowledge were
the Saracens the first to introduce a rudimentary knowledge of pottery.
What they did was to bring with them certain distinctive styles; and
now, when all proofs of an earlier fabric are wanting, we may safely
take it for granted that it existed, and that the invaders and colonists
only superimposed a superior art. This should be borne in mind, because
it would be impossible to account for the abundant remains found on
certain sites by attributing them all to the Saracens. One of the first
things to which the Arabs turned their attention in each country to
which they carried their arms, was to raise mosques for the religions
observances attaching to their faith. The tomb of Mohammed, at Medina,
is covered with tiles so closely resembling those of Persia as to
suggest not only Persian inspiration, but Persian workmen. In Asia Minor
tiles belonging to the eleventh and twelfth centuries are abundant, of a
precisely similar character. History explains their presence there by
telling us that the Arabian or Saracenic conquerors sent for artists
from Persia to bring their skill to the embellishment of the new domain.
In this we have the key to much of the ceramic art of Asia Minor.

[Illustration: Fig. 162.--Faience Jug, from Rhodes.]

[Illustration: Fig. 163.--Faience Jug, from Rhodes.]

As to Rhodes and the origin of its faience (Fig. 162), we are tolerably
certain that in Persia was the source of the skill there developed.
History and tradition point to the same conclusion. Legend says that a
vessel bound for Venice, and having some Persian potters on board, was
wrecked on the island, and that there a manufactory was founded (Fig.
163). Possibly on this tradition the conjecture was based that a Persian
colony had settled there. In any case, Rhodes was occupied by Persians
in the seventh century, and then by the Greeks. When the crusading fever
was at its height, the knights of St. John held the island until
expelled by the Turks. It was probably these knights who captured a
vessel laden with Persian pottery and artists, and compelled the latter
to found the manufacture at Rhodes. At the Musée de Cluny are specimens
of their work, plainly Persian, but adapted to the changed condition and
limited appliances of the potters. The Rhodian differs little from the
Persian. The colors are less brilliant, and the ornamentation in relief
is like that found on vases and tiles in Asia Minor. The predominating
colors are white and blue for grounds and red for designs. Similarly as
to Damascus, it is beyond reasonable doubt that potteries existed there.
Their ruins are said to have been found; and it is probable that, so far
from importing the wares, Damascus supplied orders from without. These
facts lead to the conclusion that Persian art was carried by the
Saracens or their Christian opponents to the same countries that
Egyptian and Assyrian art had reached centuries before.

[Illustration: Fig. 164.--Maghreb Urn.]

Turning now to the south and west, we follow the line of Saracenic
conquest along the north coast of Africa until it reached the Atlantic
Ocean. Egypt first fell under Mussulman control, and the standard of
Islam was carried westward from the Nile. Thirteen hundred years after
Battus founded Cyrene, the Mussulman Keironan was built upon its ruins.
In Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco the Saracenic works multiply. One
traveller in Tunisia describes a mosque with the walls overlaid with
tiles of many patterns. Another, crossing Algeria, visits the mosque at
Telemeen, and finds _azulejos_ (from the Arabic for “varnished tile”)
equal to those of Granada, and tiling in blue, red, and yellow, again
compelling a comparison with the works of the Moors in Spain. The
brilliant domes and mosaic pavements of mosques and houses mark the
Saracenic progress. Besides these, many examples of urns and other
vessels of Saracenic fabrication have been found, colored in brown,
yellow, blue, and green, in styles not far removed from the Persian.
Viewed comprehensively, the pottery of Northern Africa (Fig. 164) would
show pieces of local fabrication, and Persian styles and processes
modified by removal from their eastern centre. What concerns us chiefly
is that the Saracenic predominates. It is reasonable to suppose that the
invaders, in order to decorate the edifices which quickly gave
indication of their presence, sent for tiles to the seats of the
industry in the East. Afterward, when the Mussulman power had been
firmly established, factories were built, and a new industry rose among
the conquered people. Imitations are mingled with works showing a
developing originality. The Mussulman and Persian traditions become
modified, and the symbolical meaning of the animals painted on the
dishes and basins appears to have become obscure to the artists
employing them as decoration.

A great deal of the African pottery can only be taken as a basis for
conjecture. Its place of manufacture is unknown. Its style is peculiar
and its coloring unique. It is not impossible that European art was
paying the debt it had incurred to Southern teachers. Ceramic art
travelled with the Saracens wherever they went. How far that was may be
estimated from the fact that they conquered within eighty years as much
territory as it had taken Rome four hundred years to bring into
subjection. They crossed into Spain, Sicily, and Italy, and there
planted settlements. A great deal has been said of the _reflet à
métallique_ and stanniferous enamel, and notably of the _discovery_ of
the latter in Italy. Both came from the East, and reached Europe through
the Saracens. The employment of tin in producing a white opaque enamel
was, as we have seen, known to the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and
Assyrians. It does not appear to have been so highly esteemed as the
silicious glaze by means of which the Persians worked their greatest
ceramic wonders, but it was not forgotten. Fragmentary evidences of its
use by the Saracens are found in the places which they passed, and it
is, at least, more reasonable to suppose that through them the process
reached Europe, than that it was rediscovered there. One is almost
wearied with the endless conjectures on these matters. We find a certain
art in the East. We trace the different channels of communication with
Europe. We find Greece touching Asia Minor, trade binding Phœnicia
with every port in the Mediterranean, Etruria bringing to her own ports
the manufactures of Eastern experts, colonies settling in all manner of
places and coming from many sources. It has been plainly demonstrated
that the lines of intercourse cross and recross in a hundred different
ways and directions. When, therefore, we have it proved to a
demonstration that analogous knowledge was transmitted by certain
routes, it is hardly worth one’s while to discuss the European discovery
of a process which we know did not originate there, however much it may
have been improved.

The art which we call Hispano-Moresque might, therefore, with equal
propriety, be called Persico-Spanish or Hispano-Saracenic. Spain was
twice overrun by Mohammedan conquerors. In the eighth century (711) the
Arabs subdued the Goths and founded the Caliphate of Cordova. It is both
singular and disappointing that no ceramic relic of this period has
been found. The Spanish, even under the sway of Rome, had attained to a
comparative excellence in the art, and the productions resulting from
the union of original traditions with Arabian influences would have
formed an interesting link in our history. The Arabians remained for
about five hundred years, when, in 1235 the Moors overturned the Arab
rule, and founded the kingdom of Granada. The Moors succumbed, in their
turn, to Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1492, and between these two dates,
1235 and 1492, was the golden era of the ceramic art of Spain.

Meantime it is to be observed, as showing the possible and actual extent
of Persian influence:

_Firstly._--That under the Moorish sway a colony of Persians existed in
Spain. This, according to Major R. Murdoch Smith, is attested by a
document recently brought to notice by a Spanish traveller in Persia,
assigning the town Rioja to the Persians as their place of residence.

_Secondly._--That mosaic work has been found in Persia, composed of star
and cross shaped tiles of different colors fitted together, and that
similar tiles are made in Spain at the present time.

_Thirdly._--That in Persia are found the prototypes of the Spanish style
of ornamenting vaults with hanging-work, like plaster stalactites.

_Fourthly._--That, according to Piot, “numerous Persian faience plaques
and pieces of vases, resembling those of our own time, are found
encrusted in the white marble of a church in Naples.”

_Fifthly._--That Mr. Drury C. Fortnum has found a specimen of Persian
ware in the church of St. Cecilia, at Pisa. The piece is clearly Persian
in style, black arabesques on a blue ground, similar to others found at
Rhages.

_Sixthly._--That the Saracens overran Sicily in the ninth century, and
that a Moorish colony landed there some centuries later.

The corollary deducible from these facts is clear, viz., that in Persian
art, as brought into Europe by the Moors, Arabs, or Saracens, and by the
Persians themselves, we must find the bridge upon which to cross from
the ancient arts of Assyria and Babylonia to those of Italy and Spain.




CHAPTER II.

GREECE.

     General Character of Greek Ceramics.--Form and Color.--Borrowed
     from Egypt and Phœnicia.--How Original.--UNBAKED CLAY: Bricks
     and Statues.--TERRA-COTTA: Where
     Used.--Tiles.--Models.--Vessels.--Pithos.--Amphora.--Pigments used
     on Terra-cotta.--Rhyton.--GLAZED WARES: Quality of
     Glaze.--Paste.--Enumeration and Description of Vessels.--Uses of
     Vases.--Chronological Arrangement.--Methods of Making
     Vessels.--Successive Styles of Ornamentation.--Figures.--Earliest
     Style.--Archaic Style.--Human Figures.--“Old Style.”--Approach to
     Best Art.--“Fine Style.”--“Florid Style.”--Decline.--Classification
     according to Subjects Represented on Vases.--Reliefs and Statuettes
     as Decoration.


[Illustration: Fig. 165.--Early Greek Aryballoi. Egypto-Phœnician
Style. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Museum.)]

Were we to be guided solely by continuity in point of time and the
succession of ideas, our next subject would be the art of Spain and
Italy. We turn, in preference, to that of Greece. It claims the
precedence due to priority of date. It holds also a position of what
might be called isolation. Its general character has been indicated in
the Introduction. The severity and simplicity of the taste of the Greek,
and his indifference to effects in color, while permitting him to
receive suggestions from Egypt and the East, led him to disregard those
adjuncts of art which they held in highest esteem. To him beauty of form
was everything, color little or nothing. The former he brought to such
perfection that no advance has been made beyond the point he reached.
Greek form embodies all that can be said of grace and proportion. We may
imitate, but we can hardly hope to excel, what Greece accomplished in
her early bloom. We may find prototypes in Egypt for some of her vessels
(Fig. 165), but still her art, the culmination of all that was best in
preceding forms, is pre-eminently her own. We say this without
disparagement to those who were her teachers. To Egypt, in particular,
Greece turned, at a remote age, for instruction, and learned from
Phœnicia and the other nations with which trade brought her into
contact. In this connection the group (Fig. 166) of vases from Athens
may be compared with the Phœnician from Cyprus. There are in the
decoration the same geometrical designs, the same vertical concentric
circles, the same animal figures which the Phœnicians drew from
Assyria. But after making every allowance for suggestions from abroad,
after conceding that Grecian art is the development of that which
preceded it, and that it occupies a well-defined place in progressive
history, we fail to find anywhere the equals of the best ceramic works
of Greece.

[Illustration: Fig. 166.--Primitive Vessels, from Athens and Argos.]

Taking them as a whole, they are divisible into unbaked; terra-cotta, or
burnt clay, without a glaze; and glazed. The Greeks employed unbaked
clay for bricks, statues, and several kinds of decoration. The former
were used for city walls and buildings. Terra-cotta was devoted to
similar purposes. It is not improbable that we may yet return, to a very
considerable extent, to the ancient employment of this material in
architecture. The Greeks made use of it for pillars, roofs, paving,
bricks, friezes, cornices, lamps, statues, flower-pots, and numberless
domestic and sepulchral vessels and ornaments. Bricks do not appear to
have been held in very high esteem in building, but the custom of
roofing with terra-cotta tiles was widely prevalent and of great
antiquity. These tiles were occasionally embellished with painted
flowers, and designs in blue, red, and yellow. The terra-cotta figures
vary in color from red to bright yellow, and are soft in texture and
easily marked. Terra-cotta models were used in casting, and in the same
material were made copies of statues, like those in plaster of Paris of
our own time; and some painters were even accustomed to make terra-cotta
models of the figures they afterward painted. Of the specimens which
have come down to us a very great number consists of small statuettes of
the gods.

[Illustration: Fig. 167.--Greek Vase, from Apulia. (Louvre.)]

The vessels of terra-cotta are either domestic or sepulchral. The
largest was the _pithos_, which, as we have seen, was large enough to
hold a man satisfied with such limited domestic conveniences as
Diogenes. There were also _amphoræ_, large vases, somewhat smaller than
the _pithoi_; _phialai_, or saucers, plates, pots, and jugs. Of these
the _amphora_ occurs most frequently. Its name is derived from
_amphis_--on both sides, and _pherein_--to carry, and it is so called
because it had two handles, one on each side, to be grasped by the
person carrying it. It is easily recognized (see Fig. 2) by its sharp
base--so made to be stuck in the ground--its oval body, its long neck,
and its generally heavy lip. The cover was conical, and sometimes the
base is surrounded by a ring of clay to keep it more easily in an
upright position. The height of the _amphora_ ranged from three feet to
over six feet, and it was used for holding wine, water, oil, and for
storing figs and other edibles.

[Illustration: Fig. 168.--Head of Minerva, with Figure of Nike. (Prime
Coll., N.Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

Various pigments were applied to terra-cotta, including white, red,
green, and blue, the use of which, in painting statues and architectural
decorations, formed a distinct branch of art. Colors are also found on
sepulchral vases, some of which are further ornamented with applied
bas-reliefs; that is, made separately, and fixed to the vase before
drying. This practice was carried to such an extent as to represent a
combination of the arts of potter, painter, and sculptor (Fig. 167).
Closely allied to the cinerary urns were the vases intended solely for
ornamental purposes. In one of extraordinary beauty, a large and finely
moulded head of Pallas Athene is seen surmounted by a full figure of
Victory. There are many of a similar character, representing female and
animal heads. The latter are found in the _rhyta_, or drinking cups. The
ornamental vases were often painted after being covered with a white
slip: evidently the case with the piece (Fig. 168) in Dr. Prime’s
collection.

Before treating of glazed vases we shall give the leading denominations
of all vases glazed and unglazed, and then the styles of decoration of
the former as nearly as may be in their chronological order. They are
said to be glazed, although the glaze is so slight that, as Mr. Fortnum
says, “it leaves a barely appreciable effect upon the eye, beyond that
which might be produced by a mechanical polish.” It is altogether a very
inferior kind of glaze, and is supposed to have been made from an alkali
without any admixture of lead. The paste resembles terra-cotta, and
varies in density, being in some cases scratched with ease, in others
with difficulty. It can always be marked with iron. These facts are
worth noting, were it only that that art may be thoroughly appreciated
which, out of the poorest and commonest materials, has wrought forms of
the most wonderful beauty.

[Illustration: Fig. 169.--Stamnos.]

[Illustration: Fig. 170.--Askos.]

The chief names with which we shall have to deal are the pithos,
pithakne, stamnos, cheroulion, bikos, hyrche, lagynos, askos, amphorens,
kados, hydria, kalpis, krossos, skyphos, or kothon, rhyton, lekythos,
alabastros, krater, holmos, kelebe, oxybaphon, psykter, dinos, chytrai,
tripous, oinochoe, prochoos, aryballos, epichysis, kotylos, kyathos,
skaphe, kantharos, karchesion, kylix, phiale, kanoun, pinax, and diskos.

The _pithos_, already described in part, was a large, open-mouthed cask
or jar of unglazed earthen-ware, which was used mainly for the
preservation of victuals and wines.

The _pithakne_ was a pithos of smaller size used for holding wine.

The _stamnos_ (Fig. 169) was an open-mouthed jar with two handles, and a
body inclined to be oval, but of great rotundity, curving inward to a
comparatively narrow base. It held liquids. The _cheroulia_ and _bikoi_
were modifications of the stamnos, the latter being used for holding
wine and solids.

[Illustration: Fig. 171.--Skyphos, or Kothon.]

The _hyrche_ is not very well known, either in regard to its shape or
purpose, but appears to have had a narrow neck, and to have been used in
conveying goods a long distance. Its narrow neck is a tolerably sure
indication that it was not intended to be stationary.

The _lagynos_ also appears to have had a very narrow neck, and to have
been of considerable size, varying according to circumstances.

[Illustration: Fig. 172.--Greek Rhyton.]

The _askos_ (Fig. 170), literally a wineskin, which it resembled in
shape, had an aperture and neck on one side, from which a handle passed
over a hollow on the body to the other side. Both the _askos_ and
_stamnos_ are frequently painted with red figures.

[Illustration: Fig. 173.--Krater, with Volute Handles.]

The _amphora_, already described in the form it commonly took, may be
called a general receptacle, although usually employed for holding
provisions and liquors. There were many different shapes, which varied
according to the district where made, and the special purpose for which
they were destined. The chief kinds are the Egyptian, Apulian,
Tyrrhenian, Panathenaic, Bacchic (Fig. 186), and Nolan, the last
mentioned being the most perfectly finished, and unexcelled in
gracefulness of shape. They were decorated with either red or black
paintings.

The _kados_ is the first of the vessels for drawing liquids, of which
class the _hydria_ (Fig. 188) is the best known. Its name implies its
purpose as a water-pitcher. It had two small side handles, and one
larger one, somewhat similar to that of the modern ewer. The _kalpis_
(Fig. 187) and krossos were modifications of the hydria.

The _kothon_ (Fig. 171) is supposed to have been a drinking-cup.

[Illustration: Fig. 174.--Krater.]

The _rhyton_ (Fig. 172) belongs to the later style of drinking-cups, and
its peculiarity is that it could not be set down except when empty. The
base is modelled after the head of a dog, goat, deer, or other animal,
and the neck or cup proper is either cylindrical or elongated and
sloped.

The _lekythos_ (Fig. 305) was an oil-jar of an elongated shape, neck in
proportion, cup-like orifice, and one handle. It is decorated in all the
styles of Grecian art, and is generally about one foot in height. It was
sometimes made of metal or marble.

[Illustration: Fig. 175.--Holmos.]

The _alabastros_ was a diminutive lekythos, used for toilet unguents,
with two small ears by which to suspend it.

[Illustration: Fig. 176.--Kelebe.]

The _krater_ (Figs. 173 and 174) was the vessel in which the Greeks
cooled and mixed their wine, of which it would hold about three gallons.
It is the later form of a class of vessels of which the _holmos_ (Fig.
175), _kelebe_ (Fig. 176), and _oxybaphon_ (Fig. 177) are the earlier
representatives.

[Illustration: Fig. 177.--Oxybaphon.]

The _psykter_, or wine-cooler, was a double-walled vessel of the amphora
type, rotund in shape.

The _dinos_ was another form of the wine vessel, open-mouthed, round in
body and base, and allied to the krater.

The _chytrai_ were warming-pots with two handles. The _tripous_, or
three-footed pot, was employed in a similar manner.

The _oinochoe_, in the shape most frequently occurring, resembled a jug
with a lip either round or pinched in at the sides, and with a handle
rising above the orifice. The oinochoe was used in serving the guests
from the krater.

[Illustration: Fig. 178.--Prochoos.]

The _prochoos_ (Figs. 178 and 179) was also a jug, either with or
without a handle, for either water or wine. The _olpe_ (Fig. 180)
belongs to the same class.

The _aryballos_ (Fig. 165) was round or bladder-shaped and short-necked,
and bore a close resemblance to one of the toilet vases of the
Egyptians.

The _arystichos_ was also used for serving from the krater, a usage
which gave rise to several other shapes. Of the cups designed for the
same purpose, the _kotylos_ may be mentioned, although its shape is
doubtful. The _kyathos_ (Fig. 181), or ladle, belongs to the same class.

[Illustration: Fig. 179.--Prochoos.]

The drinking-cups were of many shapes and assumed great elegance of
form. The several varieties cannot now be specified by description. The
_skyphos_ was the generic name applied also to a few special shapes now
unknown. The _kantharos_ (Fig. 182) was wide, somewhat shallow, with two
handles rising well above the lip, and either with or without a stem.

The _kylix_ (Fig. 183) was the cup most generally used, and varied in
shape. In the earliest specimens it has a long stem, two handles, and is
shallow and wide. The later forms are wider, and shorter in the stem,
which ultimately disappears entirely. The _phiale_ was the religious
counterpart of the kylix.

[Illustration: Fig. 180.--Olpe.]

The _kanoun_, _diskos_, and _pinax_ were for table use, the two latter
corresponding with our plates, with the exception that the diskos stood
upon a stem or foot.

Of the vessels named those deserving closest attention, as most
frequently presenting themselves, are the kylix, oinochoe, krater,
aryballos, kyathos, lekythos, rhyton, hydria, amphora, and pithos. The
kylix is to be specially commended for its beauty of shape, and its
decoration with red figures exemplifies some of the best art of Greece.

From the descriptions given of the various vessels, it will be seen
that many of them were devoted to household use. Vases were also made as
toys for children, as prizes to victorious athletes, for holding the
viands and liquids placed beside the dead, and more recently for the
ashes of the dead. Among the exceptional uses of pottery by the Greeks
may be mentioned the giving of receipts on potsherds, the recording on
fragments of pottery of votes for ostracizing (from _ostrakon_, a
potsherd) a citizen, and for deciding the side to be taken by the
entrants for the game called _ostrakinon_. This last was decided by
“tossing up” a piece of pottery, and assigning a side to the player
according to its falling with the red or black side uppermost. Vases
were also made in honor of great men and authors, whose names are
inscribed on them. All the vases now in museums, numbering, according to
different estimates, from twenty to fifty thousand, were taken from the
tombs of Greece, Southern Italy, and Etruria. It was the custom to place
beside the dead the vessels necessary for the religious rites, the
favorite vases and prizes of the deceased; and in this way they have
been preserved to illustrate in our age the branch of Greek art to which
they belong. No precise age can be ascribed to any one specimen.

[Illustration: Fig. 181.--Kyathos]

[Illustration: Fig. 182.--Kantharos.]

The first glazed vases date probably from the ninth century before
Christ, and from the beginning of the third century the art declined.
It had probably reached its highest point four hundred years before our
era.

[Illustration: Fig. 183.--Kylix. Black on Red. Female Faces and Feet
White. Naked Satyrs. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y. Metrop. Mus.)]

The earliest vases were made by hand, and even after glazing was
introduced that method was continued. It was also resorted to in making
the gigantic _pithoi_, which were too large to be turned on the wheel.
The finer vases were made on the wheel or moulded. After being moulded
they were dried and painted. There were two methods of painting. By the
first the figures were outlined and then filled in, leaving them black
on a red or pale ground. The vase was then glazed and fired. By the
second the figures were left untouched and of the color of the paste, by
painting the ground black. A color slightly different from that of the
body was employed for the finer lines of the figures. The vase was then
glazed and fired as before.

[Illustration: Fig. 184.--Early Greek Oinochoe, showing Phœnician
Influences. About B.C. 700-500. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y.
Metropolitan Museum.)]

We now come to the successive styles of ornamentation. The natural order
would give the first place to the uncolored vases, the second to those
painted all over in black, the next to the different styles of figures.
In addition to what has been said in the Introduction, and to go more
deeply into details, the following points may be noted in regard to the
last of the above stages--the ornamentation by means of figures. These
first took the form of simple belts of color drawn round the body of
the piece. A vase of a later but still very early period has the space
between the two zones passing round the widest part of the body filled
in with vertical designs, alternating with small rings, each containing
a cross (see Fig. 166). When animal and floral decoration was first
attempted, the artist’s work was rude and the forms were unnatural.
White upon black grounds indicate the earliest style. Another very
ancient style has the figures, which are all those of animals, painted
in dark lines upon the pale red paste (Fig. 184).

[Illustration: Fig. 185.--Greek Oinochoe. Painting, Black and Reddish
Brown. Height, 7½ in. (Appleton Coll., Boston Mus. of Fine Arts.)]

The vases of the next, or Archaic, group vary in color from a pale
yellow to a deep red, on which the figures are painted in a darker
color. One of its leading features is the profusion of flowers. The
presence of human forms, more or less skilfully drawn, may be taken as
the criterion by which to determine the later members of this group.

[Illustration: Fig. 186.--Bacchic Amphora. Black on Red Ground. Height,
15 in. (Appleton Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

In the next style (Fig. 186) human figures become more prominent in the
designs, and are perfectly black, with the exception of the flesh of
females, which is painted white or red. Many of the subjects are taken
from mythology and the heroic legends. This developed into the “old
style,” where the black appears greatly improved; and while the hands,
face, and exposed parts of the females are pure white, their eyes are
red. The drawing is still stiff and constrained, and where attempts at
perspective are made, they are eminently unskilful. White is also more
plentifully distributed, and is seen in the hair and beard of old men,
in horses, and in many accessories, for which red is also occasionally
employed. As the art developed, red figures were more frequently
introduced among those in black; and we also find the artist entirely
obscuring the natural color of the paste by means of a white slip, or
coat, upon which he painted the black figures.

As we approach the best art of Greece the colors are inverted. The
figures are drawn upon the paste of the red or yellow color of which
they appear, and the rest of the vase is painted black (Fig. 187).

[Illustration: Fig. 187.--Greek Kalpis. Red Figures on Black Ground.
(Appleton Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The “fine style,” the culmination of Greek art, was a development of
that last described. The black ground, red figures, and white ornaments
show the highest point to which previous styles gradually led upward.
Drawing and composition are here at their best. The early stiffness has
given place to a fuller grace, and there is a nobility in the figures
and faces to which the earlier artists never attained. The limbs lose
their unnatural distortion, the muscles are less rigid--there is, in one
word, more life in the drawing. The accessories also gain by the greater
freedom of treatment. The drapery hangs more gracefully, its
straight-lined stiffness giving place to a more natural arrangement.

In the later specimens of this style--so markedly different from the
earlier ones that they have been classed together as the florid
style--there is a more minute attention to finish, a greater elaboration
of dresses and other accessories, and a decided tendency toward finding
the ideal human form in that which is most graceful. Gold appears in the
ornamentation (Fig. 188), and arabesques encircle the necks. Polychrome
vases were made at the same time, some of them showing the utmost
excellence of figure-drawing, and draperies of blue, green, or purple.

When the art began to decline, taste and execution both deteriorated.
The figures lose their graceful proportions, and acquire a heavier
appearance. They are also more crowded, and the dresses become more
garish, until at last all refinement, both of conception and treatment,
was lost in coarseness and grotesque puerility. The amphora (Fig. 189)
illustrates the decadence.

[Illustration: Fig. 188.--Hydria. Black, with Gilt on Neck, and Red Rim
with Black Studs. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 189.--Greek Amphora, with Columnar Handles. Red on
Black. From Canosa. Height, 20 in. (Appleton Coll., Boston Museum of
Fine Arts.)]

The classification of vases by the subjects represented upon them is
unsatisfactory and confusing. Scenes are taken from mythology, heroic
legends, funeral ceremonies, from civil life, and from the gymnasium,
which permit neither of a chronological arrangement of the vases nor of
one based upon their position in the scale of art. A distinct group
might, without any loss of lucidity, be made of vases decorated with
subjects in relief, or with statuettes arranged upon the body and neck.
This was a union of sculpture and pottery occasionally embellished by
the painter’s art in the coloring of the drapery and subsidiary
ornaments. Color was also applied to sculptured reliefs. A vase now in
St. Petersburg is thus described: “It is a piece of very large size,
with three handles, and of the finest and most lustrous glaze. It is
ornamented at several heights with sculptured friezes in terra-cotta,
and gilded; but that which gives it its priceless value is a frieze of
figures from four to five inches high, sculptured in bas-relief, with
the heads, feet, and hands gilded, and the vestments painted in bright
colors--blue, red, and green--in the finest Greek style imaginable.
Several heads from which the gilding has become detached show the
modelling, which is as fine and as finished as that of the finest
ancient cameo.” Cups or vases with two heads, one on each side, such as
Hercules and Omphale, illustrate the same branch of art. Such features
as these, beautifully modelled relievos, ideal heads, figure scenes in
which drawing and composition are almost above criticism, not less than
its elegance of shape, have made the Greek vase a model for all time. We
can trace Assyrian ideas in the decoration of some of the earlier vases,
and Egyptian influences may also occasionally be detected. We can even
find foreign models for a few of the Greek forms; but the Hellenizing
process has obliterated every antecedent, and the art which Greece gave
the world is as purely Grecian as if in every particular it were
indigenous to the soil of that favored land.




CHAPTER III.

THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.

     SPAIN: Ancient Pottery.--Valencia the Most Ancient Centre.--The
     Roman Period.--Arabs.--Valencia under the Moors.--Its
     Decline.--Malaga the Most Ancient Moorish Settlement.--The Alhambra
     Vase.--Influence of Christianity.--Majorca.--Azulejos.--Modern
     Spain.--Porcelain.--Buen Retiro.--Moncloa.--Alcora.--PORTUGAL:
     Vista Allegre.--Rato.--Caldas.


[Illustration: Fig. 190.--Hispano-Moresque Vase. End of 13th Century.
(S. Kensington Mus.)]

A mere glance is all that is necessary to bestow upon the ancient
pottery of Spain before we resume the history of the Moorish
fabrications in that country. Valencia is the centre to which the
greatest antiquity must be accorded. Pliny alludes to Saguntum, now
called Murviedro, as having twelve hundred potteries, and Martial is not
stinted in his praises of their work. All the remains found there are of
the Roman period, and are classed under red Samian ware, and three other
groups, of which one was of a yellowish color and another of pale
terra-cotta. From that time we must make a great leap across the chasm
between the downfall of Roman civilization and the first Saracenic
occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century. Even then
there is little to guide research. Arabian azulejos have been met with,
and in 1239, four years after the Moorish kingdom of Granada had been
founded, a charter was granted by James I. of Aragon to the Saracen
potters of Xativa (San Felipe) relieving them from servitude on payment
yearly of one besant for each kiln. We have no means of identifying the
early works of these Saracenic workmen, and it is not until 1517 that
they are referred to in literature as producing well-worked and
well-gilded faiences, more highly esteemed than any other of Spanish
manufacture. Several writers of the sixteenth century praise the
Valencian pottery, but in the beginning of the seventeenth century it
began to decline. Christian designs (Fig. 191) take the place of
Moresque; and at the present day, according to Marryat, the
metallic-lustred wares of Manises, near Valencia, are made by an
innkeeper, who thus spends the time lying heavy on his hands by reason
of a lack of guests in his inn. In the olden time the pottery of Manises
was exchanged with Italy for that of Pisa, and was ordered by “the Pope,
cardinals and princes admiring that with simple earth such things can be
made.” Such is the difference between now and then.

[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Spanish Majolica. Dark-blue and Brown Painting
on White. (J. W. Paige Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

From the style of the decoration it would appear that most of the
Valencian remains are to be attributed to the Christian period, _i. e._,
after the thirteenth century. The general color is yellow with
mother-of-pearl lustre. St. Catherine and St. John were highly venerated
in Valencia, and this veneration appears in the frequency of their
representation, either actually, or by their emblems, or in invocations
and passages from the gospel of the fourth evangelist. The eagle--the
emblem of St. John--and the opening words of his gospel appear also,
however, on wares from Malaga and Majorca; and, further, the yellow
lustre was produced at Barcelona. It is, therefore, evidently unsafe to
ascribe, after an examination of general characteristics, individual
specimens to a specific source.

[Illustration: Fig. 192.--The Alhambra Vase.]

Of the Moresque pottery it is probable that Malaga was the most ancient
centre. Its golden pottery is spoken of as an article of export as far
back as 1350. There also we are brought into contact with the famous and
beautiful vases of the Alhambra (Fig. 192). The palace itself was built
by Mohammed-ben-Alhamar, the first Moorish king of Granada, in 1273,
with the intention, possibly of rivalling the richly decorated mosques
of the Mussulman Arabs. The Alhambra vase is the only survivor of three
of similar style found under the palace pavement. The others fell
victims to the Vandalism of memento or relic hunters. The one still in
existence is seven feet in circumference and four feet three inches in
height. It is supposed to belong to about the year 1320. It is made of
earthen-ware, and is decorated in three colors. The ground is white and
the decorations are a golden yellow lustre and blue. The vase is not
only a masterpiece of Moresque art, but a magnificent example of the
decorative genius of the Moors, which spent itself in devising quaint
combinations of lines and in a wealth of arabesque. There are many other
pieces which, from their metallic lustre and blue ornamentation, are
also credited to Malaga, and date from the middle of the fourteenth
century. It is unfortunate that this exquisite art soon deteriorated. As
we approach the Christian epoch we come upon the works of copyists
devoid of intelligence, in whose hands the decoration they strove to
follow loses its delicacy and meaning. The Valencian art with which we
are acquainted was thus rising as that of Malaga was gradually, sinking
out of sight. Faience was made at the latter place in the beginning of
the sixteenth century. For a time the Catholic conquerors under
Ferdinand tolerated the art. But intolerant zeal asserted itself,
Moorish customs were suppressed, and at length the Moorish settlers were
driven into exile.

[Illustration: Fig. 193.--Hispano-Moresque Plaque in Frame. Diameter, 16
in. Copper Color on White: Metallic Lustre. (Wales Coll., Boston Museum
of Fine Arts.)]

The third great centre of the ceramic art was at Ynca, in Majorca, the
largest of the Balearic group of islands. Majorca was conquered by James
I., in 1230, nine years before he took Valencia; and no Moresque
specimen now known can be ascribed to a period preceding that date. The
lustre of Majorca was very bright, and the ornamentation consisted
mainly of scrolls and flowers. The other islands of the group, Minorca
and Iviça, were also seats of the manufacture. We shall afterward see
how closely Majorca was connected by its commerce with Italy.

[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Early Hispano-Moresque. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]

We have reserved the azulejos, or tiles (Fig. 194), the best indicators
of the progress of Arabian art, for separate treatment. We find in the
tiles of the Alhambra, in the buildings of Seville and the Cuarto Real
of Granada (Fig. 195), the products of the same skill which embellished
the edifices of Persia, Arabia, and the Maghreb. They are made of
light-colored clay, covered with a stanniferous enamel, upon which are
laid intricate designs in blue or golden lustre. The brilliant and
dazzling beauty they lent to the interior of the Alhambra, from
pavement, walls, and roof, can now only be imagined. So much did the
Spaniards admire the azulejos, that they were employed, not only for the
embellishment of public and royal edifices, but for the houses of the
wealthy. Their manufacture is continued in Valencia down to the present
day.

From what has been said, the chronological sequence of the
Hispano-Moresque potteries may, in part, be inferred. The most ancient
is that resembling the Alhambra vase, decorated with blue and yellow
lustre. As we come later down, the lustre assumes more of a golden hue,
and becomes exceedingly brilliant, as we find it at Valencia, when the
less dazzling wares of Malaga were falling into disfavor. The ruddier
copper lustres are the farthest removed from the early wares. They excel
in brightness, and show less restraint and chasteness of taste, and mark
the decline from those works which have given celebrity to
Hispano-Moresque pottery.

[Illustration: Fig. 195--Moorish Tile, from the Cuarto Real.]

[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Early Hispano-Moresque. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]

The Spain of our day retains not even a semblance of its former
greatness. What is best in its modern art, such as the terra-cotta of
Barcelona, contains no tradition of ancient times. At the Centennial
Exhibition, it was, as compared with leading European countries, poorly
represented. It may be assumed that Seville, famous for its azulejos
from the sixteenth century, and Valencia, which has an unwritten
continuous ceramic history from the Roman epoch to the present day,
would not send their inferior works to America. The former city was
represented by a pyramid of wares showing great diversity of design and
decoration. A large vase, best described as after the Alhambra type, was
of a yellow lustre, and surrounded by narrow gilt bands. There were also
a few smaller pieces of iridescent blue, green, and gold. A pair of
vases with floral decoration on a red ground and black base hardly
suggested relationship with the works exemplifying the exquisite taste
of ancient Spain.

The Valencian tiling was, as a rule, coarse and inartistic. On a series
of wall-pieces were figures of some of the apostles, and a landscape,
fairly drawn, but weak in color. The artist manifested an unfortunate
predilection for a shading of brownish purple, which enhanced neither
his figures nor landscapes. The old style of mosaic tiling was
represented by some specimens composed of small star-shaped and
elongated hexagonal tiles. There was no sign of the preservation of even
a tradition of Hispano-Moresque art. We may turn to Spanish history for
an explanation of this decadence, and find in the latter an illustration
of its history. Its art was essentially foreign; and when it fell
entirely into the hands of the Spanish, on the expulsion of the Moors by
the bigotry of Philip II., its doom was sealed. We read the history of
the ceramic art during its best days in Spain as an additional chapter
to the Saracenic and Maghrebrian, and as that of a branch which, by the
accident of location, and not from its having any element really
Spanish, came to be known as Hispano-Moresque.

We nowhere find any literary evidence that the Persians who settled in
Spain exercised any practical influence upon its ceramics. Very likely
they did; and, further, it is not improbable that commerce may have
brought Spain into a closer connection with the East than is generally
suspected. The early Hispano-Moresque works are so clearly suggestive of
Eastern influence, that one is almost led at times to question their
right to the name conferred upon them. As if to give the half-shaped
doubt a more decided form, we remember also that as the art becomes more
purely Spanish it declines from its ancient beauty. We can only admire
and criticise the odd combinations of color and form; and while
indulging in conjectures as to the immediate fabrication of the pottery
under consideration, we must regard it as illustrative of the
development of an art of Oriental origin.

The manufacture of artificial porcelain in Spain was instituted, about
1760, by Charles III., who took with him a number of workmen and artists
from Naples. This accounts for the similarity between the Spanish and
Neapolitan productions. The works were situated in the gardens of the
Buen Retiro at Madrid, and were kept strictly secluded from visitors.
The ware was of fine quality, and was said by some writers who had seen
specimens at the palace, to rival that of Sèvres. La China, as the
Royal Manufactory was called, was blown up by Lord Hill during the
Peninsular War, in 1812. A second manufactory was established at
Moncloa, near Madrid, in 1827. Mention is also made of a factory of
natural porcelain at Alcora, in 1756, but the reference must be accepted
with hesitation.

Of the ceramics of Portugal very little is known; but that little is
sufficient to lead us to wish for more exact knowledge. In this matter,
Portugal has not yet, in fact, been appointed to any recognized place in
history. Her ceramic art has not been known to Europeans for more than
ten years, and to Americans for little more than one; and we have no
means of telling whence it was derived. Probably it came from Spain, as
we learn that the Portuguese use azulejos as extensively as the
Spaniards. We are further told that many of their imitations are
exceedingly clever. Of the truth of this we have had ample evidence.
None of the imitation Palissy ware exhibited at the Centennial was more
realistic and full of life than that of Portugal. Some majolica vases,
with coiled snake handles, were very creditable. The snake evidently
plays an important part in Portuguese ceramics, as we met with it
elsewhere, and notably as the handle of a fish-shaped dish. Very
remarkable were the unique and droll little figures of painted pottery,
sometimes grouped into a humorous scene, sometimes single, and
illustrative of the national costumes. The humor which the Portuguese
contrived to infuse into their art evidently lent the pottery section of
their department at the Centennial its greatest attraction; and combined
as it was with excellent modelling and colors, the nature of which we
can hardly specify, it excited our curiosity to learn what historical
background there may be to the art which now chooses such expression. A
natural porcelain factory at Vista Allegre, near Oporto, is mentioned,
and the faience fabrics of Rato and Caldas.




CHAPTER IV.

ITALY.

     Italian Art.--Whence Derived.--Greece and
     Persia.--Divisions.--Ancient Roman and Etruscan.--Etruria and
     Greece.--Questions Resulting from Discoveries at Vulci.--Early
     Connection between Etruria and Greece.--Etruscan Art an Offshoot of
     Greek.--Examples.--Best of Black Paste.--Why Etruscan Art
     Declined.--Rome.--Nothing Original.--Its Debt to Etruria and
     Greece.--Decline of its Art.--Unglazed Pottery and its
     Divisions.--Glazed Pottery.--Samian
     Ware.--Aretine.--Terra-cotta.--After Rome fell.--The
     Renaissance.--Saracenic Influences.--Crusades.--Conquest of
     Majorca.--Tin Enamel and Metallic Lustre.--Bacini at Pisa.--Lead
     Glaze.--Majolica Made at Pesaro.--Sgraffiati.--Luca della
     Robbia.--Sketch of his Life.--His Alleged Discovery.--What he
     really Accomplished.--Where he Acquired the Secret of Enamel.--His
     Works.--Bas-Reliefs.--Paintings on the Flat.--His
     Successors.--Recapitulation of Beginnings of Italian
     Majolica.--Chaffagiolo.--Siena.--Florence.--Pisa.--Pesaro.
     --Castel-Durante.--Urbino.--Gubbio and Maestro Giorgio.--Faenza.
     --Forli, Rimini, and Ravenna.--Venice.--Ferrara.--Deruta.--Naples.
     --Shape and Color.--Modern Italy.


The ceramic art of Italy, beginning with the Roman and Etruscan, and
coming down to the Renaissance in the fifteenth century, is the
successor of those of Greece and the East, on the one hand, and of the
Saracenic and Hispano-Moresque on the other. There have been two
questions under discussion in reference to the latter period, viz.,
Where did Italy acquire her knowledge of the use of stanniferous enamel?
and, Whence did she draw her skill in the application of metallic
lustre? We shall find, on examining the evidence, that the great works
of her artistic prime were the results of a derivative and not of an
original art. They are only original in so far as they indicate a point
in advance of Italy’s predecessors. We have said that Oriental art
culminated in Greece. Italy presents us with a later point of union
between two lines issuing from the East. We find subjects and forms
recalling at once the ideals of Greece and the rich mythological and
legendary sources from which were drawn the aids to her prolific
imagination. We also find that the Greek restraint in the use of colors
is thrown aside, and that Italy availed herself to the full of the
skilful processes and methods of embellishment brought to her shores
from Persia, and by the Saracens and Moors from their settlements in
Africa and Spain.

There are thus two great divisions of Italian pottery: the ancient Roman
and Etruscan, and that of the Renaissance. Between these two there is a
long period of darkness, extending from the last smouldering glow of the
art of Italy, after Constantine took the seat of the imperial power to
Byzantium, to the entrance of the Saracens into Europe.

In considering the ancient epoch, one pertinent fact may be borne in
mind, viz., that the best remains of the art of Greece have been found
beyond its own borders, and that its history might be written from those
discovered in Italy alone. Dividing Italy into three sections, we shall
have Magna Græcia, Campania, and Etruria. Of these the latter has the
greater antiquity, in so far as its ceramic remains are concerned. Greek
colonies settled all along the southern part of the peninsula and in
Sicily, and such relics as are found there may, in the mean time, be
dismissed as corresponding in style with those of the same dates
produced in Greece.

Although the same rule might be held in a less broad sense to apply to
Etruria, it is deserving of more lengthened consideration. When, in
1825, the great discoveries were made at Vulci, the learned world was
divided as to the places to which the vases should be credited. Some
maintained that they were made in Greece and imported; others, that they
were made in Etruria by Greek workmen; others, that they were really
Etruscan; others, that they were partly native and partly imported from
Greece; and still others, that many of them came from Magna Græcia and
Sicily. To reconcile these suppositions, without affecting the eastern
origin of Etruscan art, we are reminded that the Pelasgi--the name given
to the ancient inhabitants of Greece--founded Agyllos, on the coast of
Etruria. Bunsen places the first introduction of art into Etruria at
this remote period. We come next to the arrival of Demaratus in
Tarquinii, about the year B.C. 655. Demaratus was a wealthy Corinthian,
of the family of the Bacchiadæ. On the usurpation by Cypselus of the
government of Corinth, Demaratus fled, accompanied by all his family,
and, landing in the above named flourishing city, married an Etruscan
bride, and by her had a son, Lucumon, who afterward occupied the throne
of Rome under the name of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the
Romans and the first of the Tarquins. Demaratus was either accompanied
or followed by certain of the artists who had brought celebrity to
Corinth for its pottery, and thus the art of Greece, as it was at that
period, might have been introduced into Etruria. It must, however, be
admitted that the story of Demaratus is not as clear as might be wished,
the authorities differing as to his status in Corinth, and as to
Lucumon, who is considered by some as having been merely one of his
companions. The Tyrrheno-Pelasgians were driven from the sea-coast
probably in the sixth century before Christ. We would from these facts
be led to expect specimens of ceramic art, firstly, rude and indigenous;
secondly, showing signs of the same Oriental origin from which Greece
derived its first lessons; and thirdly, examples of pure Greek
fabrication mingled with Etruscan imitations. In regard to such a
collection as that found at Vulci, it may thus be assumed that there is
a modicum of truth in each of the suppositions above referred to. There
cannot, in any case, be any reason for calling in question the statement
that, in the main, Etruscan ceramic art was of Grecian birth. We are
speaking of the productions of 2300 years ago. Etruria was open to the
little world surrounding the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Its ships
brought enamelled bottles from Egypt, which its citizens set in gold and
placed in their tombs. It had maritime connections with Spain,
Phœnicia, and perhaps with England, and with the southern ports of
the Italian peninsula, and those of Sicily. It imported both potters and
their wares, and turned from its own ancient standards to a higher.
While the immigrant Greeks were making such wares as they had made at
home, the native Etruscan artists were imitating, clumsily and awkwardly
at times, but gradually improving and approaching their teachers more
nearly. Etruscan art, with the exception of the earlier specimens of
rude aboriginal skill, must, therefore, be studied as an offshoot of
that of Greece.

The oldest examples, more distinctly indigenous than any of the
succeeding styles, are of a brownish color and rude shape, and are
decorated with bands and knobs or studs in relief. One peculiar shape
bears a resemblance to a miniature rustic cottage, and belongs to the
sepulchral class. Others, which are painted, recall the art of Greece
in its first devotion to Phœnician or Egyptian models. They may,
therefore, be referred to the age when the Tyrrheno-Pelasgians still
held their settlements in Etruria, and are probably the work of these
settlers and of the aboriginal inhabitants who preceded them. When the
Etruscans overran the settlements of the Pelasgi, a red and black ware
was introduced, and soon afterward we are brought more directly into
contact with Grecian art by importations.

[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Ancient Etruscan Vase. Height, 21 in. (J.J.
Dixwell Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The best Etruscan works are of black paste (Fig. 197), toward which the
brown changed as it improved. The ornaments are incised flowers, and
bas-reliefs of animals and human faces, executed, designed, and arranged
in styles decidedly Oriental. On one found at Vulci are monsters like
the Egyptian sphinx, winged and woman-headed. It is probable that, of
the two styles of ornamentation, the incised is the more ancient, and
that the black ware, as a whole, belongs to between the seventh and
third centuries before Christ. The prevalence of Egyptian forms and
symbols in connection with this class, such as the scarabæus and ostrich
eggs painted with strange winged monsters, gives additional probability
to our estimate of their age, and shows how far Etruria availed herself
of the act of Psammetichus I. of Egypt, who, B.C. 654, threw open the
ports of that country to foreign traders. Contemporaneous with these are
large vases of red ware corresponding with the Greek _pithoi_. The
decoration displays a knowledge of the art of Egypt and the East,
mingled with examples of that of Greece. The yellow ware is allied to
the Doric; and specimens of a still paler color, ornamented with Grecian
subjects, modified and adapted to Etruscan ideas, mark the close of the
art. It at no time attained to any very great excellence, and declined
early. Both of these facts are easily explained. In the wonderful
collection of Signor Alesandro Castellani are many beautiful specimens
of Etruscan bronze, carved gems, and work in gold. These are ascribed to
the third, fourth, and fifth centuries before the Christian era; and it
is only natural to suppose that the delicate skill acquired in the
manipulation of such materials should have given rise to a distaste for
the humbler though more obedient clay. Many of the vases suggest the
transition from pottery to bronze in the evidence which their decoration
gives of having been imitated from metal.

When we turn to Rome, little investigation is required to satisfy us
that there is no such thing as an independent Roman ceramic art.
Whatever Rome possessed was acquired from without, not developed from
within. One could expect no artistic sense to manifest itself among the
horde of refugees, outcasts, and criminals who surrounded Romulus in his
little castle on the Palatine hill. His successor, Numa Pompilius, in
aiming a blow at idolatry, may have also retarded the growth of art. He
forbade the use of images, and for one hundred and sixty years after his
death no statue appeared in the temples of Rome. This brings us down to
the Etruscan monarch, Tarquinius Priscus, who placed in the Roman
capitol a terra-cotta statue of Jupiter, by an Etruscan artist. Whatever
the Romans required they obtained from Etruria, until they found a new
source of supply in Magna Græcia. That they made very slow progress in
the arts may be inferred from one incident which happened nearly five
hundred years after Numa had issued his order against idolatry. While
the second Punic war was raging, the Roman consul, Marcellus, besieged
Syracuse, a Corinthian city in Sicily, and, after taking it, sent its
paintings and statues to Rome, in order that his countrymen might learn
from the art of Greece, and acquire a taste for such works. Syracuse
fell B.C. 212, and eleven years afterward the war was brought to an end.
It was by thus acquainting themselves with the beauty of Grecian art
that the Romans began to display a desire for the artistic embellishment
of their homes and capital. When their arms were directed against
Greece, and Athens fell under their assaults, in the first century
before Christ, Greek artists flocked to Rome, and for a time made it the
workshop in which they labored and the school in which they taught. But
with the sun itself its rays of golden light must disappear, though for
a time they gild the earth and clouds with their departing glory. Greece
was enslaved. Her ancient spirit was crushed. She had taught the world
the lesson intrusted to her, and with political independence sank art
and literature, though not without leaving imperishable monuments
behind. As the tree withered, so did the branches; and the expatriated
Greeks in Rome and the long-subdued colonies of Magna Græcia, deriving
no longer any warmth from the centre from which they came, were quickly
lost to sight. There also, as in Etruria, richness took the place of
beauty. Gold, silver, and gems were more to the luxurious Romans of the
empire than ceramic art, and that which had embellished the palaces of
kings was left to the gods and the poor.

[Illustration: Fig. 198.--Roman Terra-cotta Lamps.]

The different kinds of unglazed Roman ware may be divided, according to
the color of their pastes, into yellowish white, red, gray, and black.
The yellow paste was the coarsest, and was used for large pieces, such
as the _dolia_ and _amphoræ_. The smaller pieces of this color are of a
better quality. Many of the household vessels were of red ware, such as
plates, bottles, and jars. Some of it, as, for example, the false
Samian, was dipped in a slip. The gray class comprises _amphoræ_, and
flat cooking-pans, and includes some specimens which have all the
characteristics of modern stone-ware. The black paste was largely
employed in making dishes and other table utensils, such as cups and
candle-sticks.

[Illustration: Fig. 199.--Roman Bowl of Samian Ware.]

The leading kinds of glazed pottery were the Aretine and red Samian
wares. The latter of these is the more celebrated (Fig. 199). Its
prototype is to be found in the red ware of the Greek islands. The paste
is close and fine, and the glaze is clear and very thin. The similarity
in texture of all the specimens points to the conclusion that they were
made in one place. The Samian ware has, like the legionary tiles, been
found wherever the arms of Rome were carried. Like the unglazed red
pottery, it was extensively used for table services, and may broadly be
said to have been the chief domestic ware of the Romans. The
ornamentation consists of mouldings in relief, incised rings, and
intaglio patterns.

The Aretine ware is also red, and is very like the Samian in many
respects, but of a lighter shade, and more finely decorated, chiefly in
relief. There are also two kinds of black Roman ware, one of dark paste,
the other of red paste colored black. The ornamentation of the first is
generally very simple, while that of the latter, in some cases,
resembles the mouldings on red ware. Like the Samian, it is found over
the greater part of Europe.

One of the most interesting branches of Roman ceramics--the various uses
of terra-cotta, we pass with a brief reference. The oldest statues are
terra-cotta, and of the same material are water spouts, window frames,
friezes, capitals, and pillars. Terra-cotta statues were made from the
early days, when Etruria was the centre from which Rome supplied itself,
down to the Empire, although in the interim the conquest of Magna Græcia
and Greece had rendered the beautiful Greek marbles and bronzes
accessible to the Romans. The architectural bas-reliefs were highly
esteemed by the Romans themselves, and show that the Greeks, both at
home and residing in Italy, applied themselves to this particular branch
of art with devotion and success. The subjects are generally Greek, and
are taken from both mythology and history. The gods of both greater and
lesser orders appear under many of the characters ascribed to them, and
the adventures of Ulysses and Achilles, the feats of Theseus, and the
labors of Hercules, are a never-failing treasury of effective subjects.

The result of all our inquiries may be summed up in this contradiction,
that Roman ceramic art deserving of the name is Greek, and that the
potters who were Roman have left little beyond household wares to attest
their skill.

With the fall of the Roman Empire the art, which had long been
declining, disappeared from view. Pottery must, no doubt, have been
produced. The household necessities of the people must have been
satisfied, even amidst internal disruption and barbarian invasions; but
there is no evidence that anything worthy of being called an art was
kept alive. The revival of the ceramic art of Italy must be dated from
the time of Luca della Robbia, in the fifteenth century. To account for
the forms it took, an endeavor must be made to join it on to the
different branches which preceded it elsewhere. The only danger to be
incurred is that of being confused by the multiplicity and yet
substantial unity of its sources. Without repeating what has been said
in the chapter devoted to the fountains of European art, let it be
remembered that, in the year 827, the Saracens conquered Sicily, and
that they introduced into that island a manufacture similar to that
found in Spain. They embellished the mosque of Palermo with tiles like
those of the Alhambra, and these tiles were afterward imitated in works
produced in Sicily itself. Afterward, in the fourteenth century, Moorish
works were established at Calata Girone, or Caltagirone, in Sicily, and
some pieces attributed to them are decorated with copper lustre upon
stanniferous enamel. To this period belong the Siculo-Moresque vases in
the Castellani collection, which date from the fourteenth century
downward (Fig. 201). It is observable that the metallic lustre does not
appear in the earlier pieces, which have an unmistakably Persian style
of decoration. One specimen will suffice, viz., an oval vase covered
with a silicious glaze, and decorated in blue and black, with gazelles
and inscriptions. Meanwhile Venice and other maritime cities on both
sides of the Italian peninsula were developing an extensive trade with
the East. The Crusaders had been converting the old battle-ground of the
Jews into the scene of another strife, in which Judaism was ignored.
Mohammed preached the gospel of the sword, and the Christians took up
the gauntlet thrown down by the Saracens. Is it not possible that by
these two courses--trade, and the movements of followers of the
Cross--some inklings of Persian art may have crept into Italy?

[Illustration: Fig. 200.--Siculo-Moresque Vase.]

The crusading spirit of the twelfth century was a most potent agency.
In 1113 the Pisans were roused to a sense of the wrongs suffered by
Christians from the piratical Saracens of Majorca. They set sail, and in
1115 the island was in their power; and their galleys returned home
freighted with the spoils of war. An extensive trade between the
Balearic Islands and Italy was maintained in the fourteenth century.
Looking at these facts, does it appear improbable that Moorish wares and
Moorish potters may have reached Italy from Majorca? Coming still later,
we find Moorish refugees from Spain flocking toward Italy in vast
numbers. Leaving the Saracens and Moors entirely out of the question,
the art of enamelling might have reached Italy from the Byzantine
Greeks.

[Illustration: Fig. 201.--Siculo-Moresque Vases. (Castellani Coll.)]

With all these facts before us, the bacini, or plates found incrusted in
the walls of the old churches of Pisa, need give us little trouble. Mr.
Fortnum found one Persian piece. Mr. Marryat thinks them of Moorish
origin. Mr. Fortnum is of the further opinion that many of the bacini,
both of Pisa and other Italian cities, are of native Italian
manufacture. Each specimen must be judged separately, and it may be
pointed out that with the highway of the sea open to the East and to the
Saracenic settlements in Africa and Spain, with Saracens already settled
in Sicily, and with the known early connection by commerce between Italy
and Spain, it is difficult to specify the route by which any special
ware or process _must_ have reached Italy. We shall afterward see that
in Germany tin enamel was known in the thirteenth century. If it should
be asked, How did it get there? the question would illustrate a good
deal of idle speculation indulged in regarding its introduction into
Italy. The same rule will apply to the metallic lustre.

[Illustration: Fig. 202.--Sgraffiato of the 15th Century.]

The Italians used lead glaze on their pottery from a very early period.
According to Passeri, mezza-majolica covered with marzacotto was made at
Pesaro as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century. Sgraffiato
ware was made in a similar manner, and derived its name from the incised
ornaments which were cut into the white engobe or slip (with which the
ware was covered), so as to show the original color below the slip. In
the example here given (Fig. 202) the incised decoration is combined
with figures and flowers in relief. But the brilliant importations from
Spain made a deep impression upon the public taste. The wares of Majorca
were those best and most generally known, and its name, as changed to
majolica, had been given to the entire class of lustred wares, although
the art of lustring was already known in Italy. It is well to
discriminate between the name and the article. It is quite possible that
the name of the best known type should come to be applied to the entire
class. Jacquemart finds the early wares of Pesaro very suggestive of
Persian influence. He concludes, also, that the art of applying the
metallic lustre may have been communicated by Persian potters, or by
others who had learned it from them, to the eastern potteries of Italy.
We may conclude that, as the Majorca ware surpassed that of the early
Italian potteries, the potters of Italy endeavored to derive what
benefit they could from calling their own productions by the same name.
Metallic lustres were used before stanniferous enamel was adopted. The
invention of the latter in Italy has been generally ascribed to Luca
della Robbia, but there is every reason for believing that this is
incorrect. It is impossible to suppose that the Saracen and Moorish
potters in Italy were unacquainted with it. It is much more likely that,
being satisfied with the results of the processes to which they were
accustomed, and the beauty of lead glaze, they did not care to use it.

[Illustration: Fig. 203.--Luca della Robbia.]

To tell what Robbia _did_ accomplish we must glance at his personal
history. Luca della Robbia (Fig. 203) was born at Florence in the year
1399 or 1400. At first he turned his attention to the business of a
goldsmith, but afterward aspired to sculpture. About 1438 his marble
bas-relief of “The Singing Boys” was placed in the Duomo of Florence,
and was so great a success that orders quickly multiplied. He had also
done some work in bronze, but neither chiselling nor casting was
sufficiently speedy. Statues must be copied from a clay model. The model
was his own; the copy was, in the general case, the work of an
assistant; and probably, even if he chiselled the marble himself, he
could not reproduce the effects so easily reached in the plastic clay.

[Illustration: Fig. 204.--Holy Family. Medallion by Luca della Robbia.
(Hôtel Cluny, Paris)]

[Illustration: Fig. 205.--Luca della Robbia. Infant Saviour and Virgin.
(Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

Luca was an enterprising artist, and it occurred to him that if he could
only dispense with the chiselling and casting, his art and profit would
both improve. But how could he make the clay as hard as bronze and as
white as marble? Remember that Luca was a sculptor, not a potter.
Whatever he did afterward, there can be no doubt that his attention was
first turned to statuary. He probably decided upon applying to the men
who were accustomed to working in clay, to coloring it and glazing it,
to help him in his difficulty. He inquired, and learned that by dipping
his statuary in tin enamel and firing it, his object would be
accomplished. These considerations give his supposed discovery a new
aspect. If we consider that for centuries stanniferous enamel had been
in use by Eastern potters, and that the Saracens were perfectly familiar
with it, the secret is divested of all mystery. Luca probably acquired
his knowledge in one or other of the Italian potteries. What, then, are
we to credit to him? He must be admitted to have improved the enamel
after a series of experiments, and to have succeeded in bringing it to
the degree of fineness and opacity demanded by his purpose (Fig. 204).
His first work was a bas-relief of the Resurrection, made about the year
1440, and still standing in the Cathedral of Florence. This piece is of
blue and white, the latter for the figures, the former for the ground.
He afterward introduced green and yellow, but these colors are very
sparingly used. His best works are in and around Florence. Of a Madonna
in the circle above a chapel door, Ruskin, in his “Mornings in
Florence,” says: “Never pass near the market without looking at it; and
glance from the vegetables underneath to Luca’s leaves and lilies, that
you may see how honestly he was trying to make his clay like the garden
stuff.” The same colors are introduced in a bas-relief in the Castellani
collection, in which the Madonna kneels before the Infant Saviour, and
angels look down from above. The figures are white, the ground blue, and
green is introduced in the grass. Of the same class is the preceding
example (Fig. 205) from Boston.

[Illustration: Fig. 206.--Medallion by Luca della Robbia. (South
Kensington Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 207.--Andrea della Robbia. Holy Family. (Boston Mus.
of Fine Arts.)]

While producing these works in enamelled earthen-ware, Robbia also
painted on the flat. Of this work there are twelve circular medallions
in the South Kensington Museum, and several specimens in Florence--a
tondo, some tiles, and a lunette. The medallions are enamelled, and the
paintings are allegorical representations of the months (Fig. 206).
Vasari says in regard to the tiles: “For the bishop of Fiesole, in the
church of San Brancazio, he also made a marble tomb, on which are the
recumbent effigy of the bishop and three other half-length figures
besides; and on the pilasters of that work he painted, on the flat,
certain festoons and clusters of fruit and foliage so skilfully and
naturally, that were they even painted in oil on panel, they could not
be more beautifully or forcibly rendered.”

[Illustration: Fig. 208.--Modern Imitation Robbia Ware. (Boston Museum
of Fine Arts.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 209.--S. Sebastian, by Giorgio. (South Kensington
Museum.)]

Luca died in 1481, leaving the full knowledge of the process he had
perfected to his nephew Andrea, who, however, was less successful than
his uncle. His art is less pure (Fig. 207). He becomes elaborate where
Luca was simple, especially in his heavy borders of fruit. Andrea was
born in 1457, and died in 1528, and left the transmissible part of his
art to his four sons, Giovanni, Luca, Ambrosio, and Girolamo. Of these,
Girolamo became a monk, and one specimen of his work is said to be at
Siena. Giovanni’s works are signed, and cannot, therefore, lead to any
confusion. Luca, junior, settled in Rome, and Girolamo went to France,
where he executed several works. Luca, the elder, had also two
assistants, Agostino and Ottaviano, the former of whom displayed great
talent, and worked in Perugia. The special art was carried to Spain by
Nicoloso Francesco, of Pisa, who made some bas-reliefs for a church in
Seville. Of the other successors of Luca we need only refer to Maestro
Giorgio Andreoli, of Gubbio, who is said to have produced some pieces
after the Della Robbia type (Fig. 209). The style finally passed away in
the earlier part of the sixteenth century. The demand for it appears to
have failed about that time. Stanniferous enamel continued to be used
here and there after Luca’s death, and after the lapse of some years
came gradually into general use. The oldest piece not of his style is
dated 1475. For the sake of lucidity it may also be here mentioned, that
the metallic lustre, for which the first pressure of public demand was
felt toward the close of the fourteenth century, passed into oblivion in
less than a hundred years, until revived in more modern times.

[Illustration: Fig. 210.--Chaffagiolo Pitcher. (South Kensington
Museum.)]

Besides that of perfecting a special process, to Luca della Robbia must
be assigned the credit of paving the way to the revival which culminated
in the products of Gubbio. The distinction between mezza-majolica and
majolica must not be forgotten, viz., that the former name was
originally applied to wares covered with a white slip, then painted,
lead-glazed, and lustred, and the latter to tin-enamelled ware similarly
lustred. The latter was thus the highest representative of the
combination of two processes, both of Oriental origin. The application
of metallic lustre was Persian. Stanniferous enamel was successively
Egyptian, Babylonian, and Saracenic--the Saracens undoubtedly acquiring
a knowledge of it in Persia, where the beautiful silicious glaze kept it
in subordination. The Moors in Spain brought it more freely into use in
decoration, and with Luca della Robbia, who perfected the process still
farther, raised it from the desuetude into which it had fallen in Italy,
where, however, it was already known to Saracenic settlers and their
pupils.

[Illustration: Fig. 211.--Siena Vase. (South Kensington Museum.)]

With this recapitulation of the beginnings of real Italian majolica, we
may now continue our history. The impetus Italian ceramic art received
from foreign contact, and from the knowledge acquired by trade, was kept
up by the wisdom and devotion to the cause of art manifested by several
of the ducal houses. From Pesaro, under the house of Sforza, from
Urbino, under that of Montefeltro, and from Florence and Chaffagiolo,
under the Medicis, and from other centres, the art spread over all
Italy. It is, therefore, by inquiries at these places that our
investigations must be continued. Leaving out of view the questions as
to the priority of Chaffagiolo to Faenza and Pesaro’s precedence in
metallic lustring, we may begin with Tuscany.

The leading Tuscan towns were Chaffagiolo, Florence, Siena, and Pisa.
The first of these produced the earliest Tuscan majolica. Its leading
features are a thick dark blue, made from cobalt; a bright orange and
yellow; a fine clear green, red, brown, and purple. Before the artists
of Chaffagiolo had awakened to the spirit of the Renaissance, they
issued some works enamelled on one side, with central designs of a
Gothic character, and borders of orange, white, and blue. In the
fifteenth century a marked improvement was made, but it was not until
the beginning of the sixteenth century that the best Chaffagiolo ware
was made. Their colors then become more brilliant, and are more daringly
handled. Some of these pieces are dated 1507 and 1509. Metallic lustres
were used about the same period. Later, the brilliancy of the enamels is
toned down, and the execution of the designs is more careful and
refined. Chaffagiolo continued to make majolica to the end of the
sixteenth century. The pieces frequently show heraldic designs (Fig.
210) and mottoes, the letters S. P. Q. F. (the senate and people of
Florence), and the letters P. S. sometimes with I. and sometimes
without.

The works made at Siena (Fig. 211) are in many cases undistinguishable
from those of Chaffagiolo. An artist named Benedetto produced at Siena
some very fine pieces.

The majolica of Florence, if such were ever made, is now unknown. Lazari
states that an artist was brought by the Grand Duke Francesco Maria to
decorate Florentine vases; but assuming the truth of the statement, his
works are now either destroyed or lost among those ascribed to other
places. We have already learned something of Pisa as fitting out a
Balearic crusade and exchanging pottery with Spain. Probably the wares
it exported came from other parts of Tuscany, although it had a majolica
manufactory of its own. The Pisan decoration closely resembles that of
Urbino.

[Illustration: Fig. 212--The Sforza Dish. Pesaro.]

In the Duchy of Urbino, Pesaro, Castel-Durante, Urbino, and Gubbio are
the leading centres, and absorb a large share of the interest
surrounding the pottery of Italy. When the Sforza family acquired the
lordship of Pesaro, they instituted pottery works there, and in 1486 and
1508 passed edicts against the importation of earthen-ware into Pesaro.
The first of these protective measures was granted by Giovanni Sforza
and Camilla, his father’s widow, and was commemorated by a dish called
the Sforza dish, a very wonderful specimen of majolica (Fig. 212). The
centre is occupied by portraits of the granters of the edict, shaded
with blue on an indigo ground, and having gold and ruby lustred hair,
dresses, and head-dresses. A scroll representing the edict forms a white
back-ground to the faces, and is finished with ruby lustre. The borders
are blue, with ruby and gold lustre. Under the house of Sforza the
manufacture of mezza-majolica improved, and in 1500 fine, or
tin-enamelled, majolica was introduced. Up to 1530 it steadily improved,
and in that year the wife of the reigning Duke of Urbino, who had
succeeded the Sforza lords of Pesaro, erected a palace near Pesaro. From
1540 to 1568, under Duke Guidobaldo II., the art continued to rise,
until it reached its highest point of perfection. The duke first
employed Battisto Franco, an eminent Venetian artist, and Raffaelle del
Borgo. Girolamo Lanfranco and Giacomo Lanfranco were also employed as
artists at Pesaro. After 1560 the art began to decline.

[Illustration: Fig. 213--Pesaro Vase. (John Taylor Johnston Coll., N. Y.
Metrop. Museum.)]

The earliest Pesarese works very closely resemble the Persian, and are
the best indications to be found of the presence of an art brought
directly from Iran to Italy. These are lustred and painted in green and
blue. At Pesaro we first meet with pieces showing the portraits and love
mottoes by which the lovers of the day celebrated the beauty of their
mistresses and gave lasting tokens of their passion. If we seek peculiar
features in this majolica, we shall find them in the strong execution
and finely blended tints of the early pieces, and in the yellow of the
_madreperla_ lustre combined with blue. As the art rose under the second
Guidobaldo, historical scenes after the great masters present
themselves, taken from both profane and sacred history--the brave
Horatius defending the bridge at Rome against the army of Lars Porsenna,
Samson, Brennus, Mutius Scævola, Judith, and other characters. In 1567
the Giacomo Lanfranco already mentioned applied real gold to majolica,
and several of his pieces thus decorated are still in existence.

Castel-Durante appears to have produced faience as early as 1361, but
none of its pottery can be recognized until we come down to 1508, after
which the specimens multiply. With the year 1580 the art passed its
meridian, and declined steadily for nearly two hundred years. The
characteristic decoration consists of scrolls with fantastic chimerical
terminations. The colors are at first a dull green upon blue, and about
1550 lustrous rich yellows appear, and led to the decline thirty years
later.

[Illustration: Fig. 214.--Castel-Durante Portrait Plaque. (South
Kensington Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 215.--Castel-Durante Dish. (Castellani Coll.)]

The city of Urbino was the great centre at once of majolica painting and
of the ducal patronage, which gave the entire duchy its pre-eminence.
From 1477, when Garducci was working in a comparatively humble way, down
to 1530, the history of Urbino hardly demands notice. Its highest glory
came with Francesco Xanto (Fig. 216), whose broad and generally true
drawing and masterly composition mark him as one of the great artists of
the Renaissance. His subjects are taken from the Latin classical and the
later Italian poets, and from Raffaelle. Living at the time when the
demand for metallic lustre was at its height, he applies it with a
boldness and effectiveness in harmony with his brilliant coloring. All
his works are signed. From him we turn to the equally illustrious
Fontana family--Guido, Camillo, and Orazio, the latter of whom is
specially deserving of study. He attained to a higher mechanical
excellence than any of his predecessors, his best works dating from
after 1540, when Xanto’s career was closing; and his paintings are in
consequence characterized by a softness of color and a fineness of glaze
which leave him without a peer. Few pieces by the Fontana family are
signed. Their most famous works are the vases for the Spezieria, ordered
by the Duke Guidobaldo II., and painted from designs by Raffaelle
Battista Franco, Michael Angelo, Giulio Romano, and others. Nicola da
Urbino and Francesco Durantino are among the other artists who
contributed to the fame of Urbino.

[Illustration: Fig. 216.--Urbino Plate, by Xanto. Scene, the Storming of
Goleta. (Marryat Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 217.--Urbino Vase. Figure of Justice with Sword.
(Castellani Coll.)]

The lustres of Gubbio (Fig. 219) are inseparably associated with the one
great name of Giorgio Andreoli, or, as he is usually called, Maestro
Giorgio. He was a native of Pavia, and was originally a sculptor; and
after he went to Gubbio, in 1498, executed some works in the Della
Robbia style (Fig. 209). A piece dated 1489, and signed “Don Giorgio,”
is ascribed to him while he was still at Pavia, but the first piece
characteristic of the master, signed and lustred, is dated 1519, and the
last 1541. We have said that Xanto of Urbino lustred his own pieces, but
the matter is not free from doubt. Maestro Giorgio certainly was master
of the art of lustring, and the brilliancy of his ruby reds, copper, and
mother-of-pearl is unrivalled. But the statement of many writers that
artists at other places sent their works to Gubbio to be lustred, and
allowed Giorgio to affix his name to them, is too repulsive to be
accepted without protest or reservation. One can hardly imagine a more
unworthy course than that ascribed to Giorgio, of laying aside his
proper artistic functions and becoming merely a decorator with lustres,
“indifferent,” as Marryat says, “by whose hands they were executed or
from what fabric they proceeded.” It is in this capacity of decorator
that the otherwise finished paintings of Xanto and others are said to
have been sent to him to be enriched with lustre. The earlier Gubbio
wares generally have a pale-blue ground, with grotesques and scrolls
terminating in animals’ heads, and mingled occasionally with cherubs’
heads. The grounds afterward became more brilliant, and the designs
include mottoes and busts in celebration either of the great men of the
time or of its fair ladies. It is to be noted that Giorgio lived before
the accession of Guidobaldo II., and consequently did not partake of the
benefits enjoyed by the Fontana family at Urbino.

[Illustration: Fig. 218.--Urbino Pilgrim’s Bottle. (South Kensington
Museum.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 219.--Lustred Gubbio Vase, of about A.D. 1500.
(South Kensington Museum.)]

From the Duchy of Urbino we may turn to Faenza. It has already been
referred to as supplying an etymology for the word faience. Ganzoni,
writing in 1485, speaks of the whiteness and polish of the Faenza
majolica, and Lazari praises its soft tints and good drawing, which
manifested themselves after the first quarter of the sixteenth century.
The earlier fabrics bear strong evidences of Oriental influences, and,
as seen in the Castellani collection, would carry us back to a very
early stage of the art. The glaze is either lead or litharge, and some
of the designs consist of geometrical combinations in manganese and
copper. Other primitive pieces are of a very pale blue or white,
changing at times to a blue border surrounding heads with beards
terminating in acanthus leaves and scrolls attached. A slight
examination of these pieces shows that the strength of the artists of
this period lay in the accessories, and that they were weak and
uncertain in their attempts at figure-drawing. The pieces ascribed to
Casa Pirota, of which Signor Castellani has some notable examples, are
those in which we discover the point of Lazari’s encomiums. These date
from 1525 downward, and show the excellence of drawing and brightness
of decoration which gave the Faentine majolica its celebrity. The
borders frequently consist of grotesques in shaded white on pale or dark
blue or gray grounds. Dishes with chiaroscuro arabesques on grounds of
blue, surrounding figures, busts, or heraldic designs, represent a
prevailing Faentine style. A plate belonging to Signor Castellani has a
blue ground in the centre, on which a coat-of-arms is laid in yellow,
and the broad border of pale gray finishes with a rim of green and
yellow. An exceptional piece is described as black with white reserved
arabesques. Forli, Rimini, and Ravenna may be dismissed briefly. Forli
produced pottery at least as early as 1396; but it was not until the
sixteenth century that it made any majolica which we can recognize, and
even then it might easily be confounded with the productions of
Chaffagiolo and Faenza. The Rimini majolica is chiefly remarkable for
its wonderful glaze.

[Illustration: Fig. 220.--Plateau by Giorgio. (South Kensington
Museum.)]

Venice had majolica factories at least as early as 1520, and probably
half a century before that date. The earlier wares are illustrated by
certain pieces of faience pavement. Of the sixteenth century the
earliest specimens are dated 1540 and 1543, and of this period the
designs are chiefly in blue and white, sometimes soft and undecided. The
ware is thin and hard, and the rims of plates are frequently decorated
with fruit and flowers in relief. Scrolls on a deep blue ground, and oak
leaves on pale blue, are also met with.

[Illustration: Fig. 221.--Faenza Fruit Dish.]

With Ferrara, Deruta, and Naples we may conclude our enumeration.
Ferrara was an offshoot of Faenza, whence we find Fra Melchiorre coming
in 1495, Biagio in 1501, Antonio in 1522, and Catto in 1528. The artist
Camillo who painted vases, the Dossi brothers who designed, “El Frate,”
Grosso, and Zaffarino are among those who gave Ferrara its reputation.
It is probably to the Dossis that the grotesques on a white ground are
to be attributed. Deruta takes us back to Robbia, whose pupil, Agostino
di Antonio di Duccio, went to Perugia in 1461, and thence certainly
influenced the Deruta school. With such teaching Deruta produced, early
in the sixteenth century, majolica of a very high order of merit, with
blue grounds and yellow lustred cherubs’ heads in relief, and
arabesques. Within such borders are white enamelled inner circles, with
scrolls mingled with birds and chimeras, surrounding a raised centre of
deep blue bearing a bust or head. Several pieces subsequent to 1544 are
signed “El Frate,” and are, as a whole, weak and unpleasing, although
some others are strong and beautiful. As a rule, the artists of Deruta
appear to have been the direct opposites of those of early Faenza, _i.
e._, they expend their resources upon their principal figures, and make
the details entirely secondary. The earliest Deruta vases are conical,
and decorated in lustre and white enamel with blue. Naples and Castelli
are both surrounded with more or less mystery, although evidence is not
wanting that the latter at least produced excellent majolica. With the
end of the sixteenth century appear some large vases of Naples, painted
in dark colors with religious subjects.

[Illustration: Fig. 222.--Deruta Dish. (South Kensington Museum.)]

The shapes which engaged so much of our attention in Greece, are in
Italy too manifold and varied for classification. We are in presence of
an entirely new order of things, when we find artists expending their
best efforts upon decoration with enamels, lustres, arabesques,
grotesques, and wonderful scrolls turning in their sweeping folds round
all manner of impossible monsters, of a plain, broad-bordered dish, with
no pretension to form. When the Italian artists concede something to
shape, they frequently become wilful, embellishing a vase reminding us
of Greece with serpent handles, or running off into elaborate inkstands
or quaint table wares. In the Italy of the Renaissance we are in the
presence of the triumph of decoration, and it is upon decoration that
we, in common with all inquirers, must concentrate attention, thankful
if at times we detect a harmony between the gracefulness of a vase and
the beauty of its brilliant colors.

Possibly it may be reserved for the United Italy of the nineteenth
century to turn back to the earlier pages in her ceramic history, and,
having filled herself with the spirit of the potters of Magna Græcia and
Apulia, to pass down to the brilliancy of the sixteenth century, and,
with both in full view, to execute something worthy of the later prime
of her unity. Endless repetitions of the famous fabrics of the
Renaissance have led her into spiritless imitation and boundless fraud.
Some of the pieces displayed at the Centennial Exhibition were by no
means destitute of merit. Faenza can still produce good drawing and
effective coloring, and Della Robbia ware is still manufactured with
tin-enamelled figures, which look considerably better than whitewashed
terra-cotta. But let us imagine the energy and skill devoted to
imitation with intent to deceive, and the painstaking labor of honest
men who make no attempt to rise above the rank of copyists, to be
together thrown into an endeavor to reach a new originality. Might not
Italy be raised from the rank of a country resting upon a brilliant past
into that of one working in the present to reach an equally brilliant
future?


PORCELAIN.

     Florence and Earliest Artificial Porcelain.--Theory of Japanese
     Teaching.--La Doccia.--Venice, and the Question of its First Making
     European Porcelain.--Le Nove.--Capo di Monte.

[Illustration: Fig. 223.--Medicean Porcelain (Castellani Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 224.--Design at Bottom of Bowl, Fig. 223.]

To Italy and to the family of the Medici, as we have seen, belongs the
honor of making the first artificial European porcelain of which any
specimens have come down to our time. The result of recent researches
has been to throw much light upon the interesting discovery made at
Florence. Dr. Foresi, of that city, was the first whose attention was
drawn to the matter. He collected several pieces of porcelain, evidently
of European manufacture; and his curiosity having been aroused as to
their origin, he found that the Grand Duke Francis I. had a private
factory in the Boboli gardens, that there experiments had been made with
a view to discovering the composition of porcelain, and that success had
been attained. The marks on the pieces are the letter F. and a dome, the
arms of the Medici, and on one, the arms, the letters F. M. M. E. D.
II.--the initials of Franciscus Medici Magnus Etruriæ Dux Secundus--the
letter F. and the dome. The latter of these were clearly the initial
letter of Florence or of Francis, and the dome of the city’s magnificent
cathedral. A fine specimen of the Florentine porcelain was brought to
America in the Castellani collection (Fig. 223). It is a fluted dish,
with the figure of St. Mark and the lion painted in blue on the bottom
(Fig. 224). Under the lion’s paw is a volume bearing the letters G. and
P., supposed to be the artist’s initials, and on the reverse are the
letter F. and the dome. In the same collection is a plate, also
decorated in the Japanese style, light blue and white, and having the
dome and letter on the under side. There are not thirty pieces of this
ware known. In connection with the fact that the decoration, as we
pointed out when speaking of this ware under Japan, is undoubtedly
Japanese, an interesting question has been raised by Mr. B. Phillips. He
expresses the belief that the presence of Japanese--composing the
embassy to the Pope--in Italy may have had a direct influence, not only
on the ornamentation but on the manufacture of the Medicean porcelain.
He then says: “That these Japanese nobles visited the Grand Duke in
Florence cannot be doubted. Now, as to the Medicean porcelain, we have
been careful not to use the word ‘discovery’ in connection with its
early manufacture in Florence. We are strongly of the opinion that the
method of selecting and preparing the material from which porcelain had
to be made was derived directly from the Japanese. If the decoration, as
we believe has been undoubtedly proved, was taken from the Japanese,
might not the method of making porcelain have been derived from the same
source?” That Italy may have full credit for the Grand Duke’s success,
it may be pointed out that there are two objections to the above theory.

It is nowhere stated that the Japanese were acquainted with any other
than natural kaolinic porcelain, and it is exceedingly improbable that
the members of an embassy had any knowledge of the combination of
materials in an artificial paste. The Medicean was not a pure kaolinic
porcelain, but “a composite paste having for basis quartz and a vitreous
frit, with a small quantity of the kaolin of Vicenza.” In the second
place, the embassy did not leave Japan until 1583, and only reached
Italy in 1585. “In 1581,” says Jacquemart, “the experiments of the Grand
Duke had produced their fruits, and he already sent presents of his
translucent pottery to the other sovereigns of Europe.” The porcelain
was, therefore, made before the Japanese arrived in Italy.

Were anything further needed to preserve for Italy the exclusive credit
of one of the greatest contributions to ceramic art, it may be found in
the styles of decoration of the Medicean porcelain. These are divisible
into two classes: the Oriental and the Italian. The latter resembles
that of faience, and consists chiefly of grotesques. Such are the pieces
upon which appear the arms of the Medicean family, for whose use they
were reserved. The specimens with Oriental decoration were gifts made to
spread abroad the renown of the Grand Duke’s laboratory. Such a purpose
could certainly not have been fulfilled with inferior works, and this
class, to which the Castellani porcelain belongs, may be taken as
representing the best Medicean paste. In this view the fabric was at its
highest before the Japanese left their own country, as we have seen that
pieces of this character were being sent over Europe in 1581.

The probability is that the Grand Duke, or Bernardo Buontalenti, who
really made the discovery, arrived at it by independent investigations
prompted by Oriental porcelain, and that the latter and the finer
specimens of majolica suggested the decoration.

About one hundred and fifty years later, or in 1735, the Marquis Carlo
Ginori established a manufactory at La Doccia, near Florence. The
enterprise of the founder was so great, manifesting itself in the
introduction of the chemist Wandelein as director, and the importation
of material from China, that in a few years the Doccia porcelain had
become famous. The earlier pieces bear a close resemblance to the
Chinese. The artists of Doccia excelled in modelling, and many of their
groups are beautifully executed. It is unfortunate that from an early
period of the existence of the workshop its artists should have engaged
in imitation. After following Chinese models they turned to Sèvres, and
then to Capo di Monte. More lately, Doccia has won an unenviable
notoriety by its spurious imitation of old majolica and the wares of
Luca della Robbia. Early in the last century Doccia became possessed of
some of the moulds of Capo di Monte, and as the Doccia mark does not
appear upon the pieces made from them, a wide opening was offered for
fraud. It is worth noting, however, that it is by its copies and
imitations that the Doccia manufactory reached its greatest financial
success. The success of the counterfeit has destroyed the genuine, and
the artistic is overshadowed by the commercial.

In Venetia, porcelain was made at Venice and Le Nove. The history of the
manufacture in Venice is somewhat obscure. Early in the sixteenth
century--and, therefore, before the Medicean ware was
produced--experiments, the success of which cannot now be measured, were
made by a Venetian artist. He seems, after making a few pieces, to have
relinquished the enterprise for lack of support and patronage. His story
is thus told: “There was an old potter in Venice about 1504-1519, whose
name is unknown, of whom, in fact, we know nothing except from a few
notes discovered by the Marquis Campori among the relics of the Duke
Alphonso I. of Ferrara, but whose name ought to be blazoned in gold as
the first European who made porcelain. In 1504 the Duke was in Venice,
and his book of expenses shows an item of two liri and a fraction, paid
for a piece of porcelain. Fifteen years afterward his ambassador in
Venice wrote him a letter, sending with it a plate and bowl of
porcelain, from the ‘master,’ from whom the Duke had ordered them. And
the ambassador goes on to say that the master declined to take more, as
his experiments cost him too much time and money; and, further, he
declines to accept an invitation of the Duke to remove to Ferrara and
make porcelain there, pleading that he is too old, and does not want to
leave Venice. Enthusiastic collectors imagine that a few specimens to
which they can assign no other origin are works of the old Venetian, but
there is no satisfactory evidence that any of his work remains.” In the
absence of any relics of this ancient Venetian to substantiate his claim
to the invention of a true porcelain, the honor will probably continue
to be ascribed to Florence. However this may be, the existence of
Venetian specimens with decoration suggestive of seventeenth century
styles, would indicate that the industry was at least kept alive, and
that there were several predecessors to the manufactory founded by
Francesco Vezzi early in the eighteenth century. Some very beautiful
works are attributed to the Casa Vezzi. In or about 1765 another
manufactory was established by Geminiano Cozzi, and from it were turned
out table-sets, groups, statuettes, and vases. The establishment at Le
Nove, founded in 1752 by Pasquale Antonibon, produced majolica,
terraglia--a mixed composition of pottery and porcelain--and artificial
porcelain. Of the latter (Fig. 225) some magnificent examples have been
preserved.

[Illustration: Fig. 225.--Nove Porcelain Vase.]

The most famous Italian porcelain is that of Capo di Monte. This
manufactory was founded in 1736 by Charles III., whom we have already
seen introducing the art into Madrid, after he left Naples to mount the
throne of Spain. The founder does not appear to have been indebted to
any extent whatever to the discoveries made at Meissen, but to have set
on foot a perfectly independent and national industry. The king
frequently worked in the factory, and under his guidance and the favor
of his consort, Queen Amelia of Saxony, its products rapidly improved
after the first essays, which closely followed the Japanese. The Capo di
Monte forms assume a distinctive character. Her artists turned to the
sea, as became citizens of the Queen of the Sea, and there found
inspiration. They took the shells of the Mediterranean for their models,
and by combining them with coral and sea-plants, and coloring all after
nature, produced some of their most beautiful works. A very handsome
ewer is thus composed, the body representing an ingenious combination of
shells set in a foot of coral, a branch of which climbs up the side,
and, arching to the lip, forms the handle. A basin is similarly
designed, and is dotted with smaller shells. Or again, a salt-cellar is
modelled after a boat steered by a youth. These examples will suffice to
show that not the least merit of the artists of Capo di Monte is their
originality. The table services present us with some of the finest
porcelain made in Europe. The paste is fine and transparent, and many of
the pieces are as thin and light as the egg-shell of China.

When Charles III. set out for Spain, he took a number of the artists
with him, and left to his successor in Naples the work of maintaining
the industry. In this Ferdinand was not successful, and Capo di Monte
rapidly sank, and disappeared altogether in 1821.

The porcelain made at all the places named was artificial. The only
Italian manufactory of natural porcelain was that of Vineuf, near Turin,
which began to work toward the end of last century. The body contains
magnesia. The workshop was founded by Dr. Gioanetti.

[Illustration: Fig. 226.--Old Sèvres Biscuit. Judgment of Paris. (August
Belmont Coll.)]




CHAPTER V.

FRANCE.

     Prospect on approaching France.--Present and Past.--The Ancient
     Celts.--Under the Romans.--Middle Ages.--Poitou, Beauvais, and
     Hesdin.--Italian Influence.--A National Art.--Bernard Palissy,
     Barbizet, Pull, and Avisseau.--Henri Deux
     Ware.--Rouen.--Nevers.--Moustiers.--Marseilles.--Strasburg.--Limoges.
     --Haviland’s New Process.--Examples.--Bourg-la-Reine.--Laurin.--Deck.
     --Colinot.--Creil.--Montereau.--Longwy.--Parville.--Gien.--Sarreguemines.
     --Niederviller.--Luneville.--Nancy.--St. Clement.--St. Amand.
     --Paris.--Sceaux.


Turning as we leave Italy we seem to look back across a wide, unbroken
plain, from the midst of which rises a mountain range, its summits
glowing with the rays of the setting sun behind us. It is thus we revert
across comparative barrenness to the Renaissance, beyond which, and
hidden, lie the earlier glories of Etruria and Græco-Italy. As we turn
to France the sun is in front of us, striking full upon a height still
cloud-capt and unrevealed, and bathing the intervening undulating
landscape in the fulness of its undimmed splendor. With France the
present sheds lustre, life, and light upon a long past beginning with
pre-Roman Gallia, and extending through Roman domination, the darkness
of the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance to the present time.

The early pottery of Gallia has been variously viewed, but there seems
no reason for withholding from the ancient Celtic potters the credit of
having adopted a high and pure standard of art before the Roman power
was established. It has even been questioned, in the light of a full
knowledge of the subject, if the Romans did not, by the introduction of
new models, retard the growth of native skill and destroy an art
superior to their own. Judging from the examples still remaining, it is
at least unquestionable that the Celts had, at a very early date,
arrived at ideas of simplicity and elegance of form far in advance of
those entertained by contemporary nations. These works, moreover, give
no indication of foreign influence, and probably represent the last
stage of native art, before it was disturbed by the entrance of the
invader. The ornamentation is chaste almost to severity, and although in
some instances it shows a community of style with the early German
pottery, it is generally independent and distinctive. We do not assign
an age to these pieces, but it appears probable that they were preceded
by a ruder pottery also referable to the ancient Celts. The earlier
remains, supposed to belong to the pre-Roman era, have been found in the
North, and are of a very primitive character, evidently made entirely by
hand, without the assistance of either mould or wheel. The paste is
dark-colored and coarse. There is also a class equally rude, in so far
as the composition is concerned, but giving in the shapes a suggestion
of Roman influence. Red Roman ware has been found in every part of Gaul,
and a furnace was discovered in Auvergne. At Bordeaux red, black, white,
and yellow Roman pottery has been exhumed, and several localities are
indicated at which potteries existed.

As we approach the Middle Ages, and begin to detect evidences in France
of a knowledge of processes with which we are already familiar, and to
question ourselves as to their special origin, it may be well to keep
the following facts in view: firstly, that Marseilles was founded by a
Phœnician colony; secondly, that pottery of the South of France,
after the Arabs had spread over the States of Barbary, so closely
resembled the Arabian as to suggest at once communication with the North
of Africa; thirdly, that France was open to the same influences of
trade, intercourse, and immigration which had so powerful an effect upon
Italy. Let us allude to one point, the probable transmission of
lead-glaze from Greece to Rome, and thus to the Gauls, for an
illustration of the untraceable route by which knowledge was spread, and
for an explanation of the phenomenon so often witnessed of a certain
product revealing itself in the most incomprehensible manner at a point
far removed from the accepted centre of works of its class.

In the twelfth century Oriental ideas in France begin to supersede those
of Gothic inspiration, and Christianity and chivalry together operate a
decided change in ceramic ornamentation. Processes gradually improved.
At Poitou, in the thirteenth century, green-glazed conical urns were
made, and Beauvais had already reached celebrity. More interesting is
the fact that, at Hesdin, Jehan de Voleur was, toward the close of the
fourteenth century, acquainted with stanniferous enamel. In France,
therefore, as in Italy, this secret was known long prior to the supposed
discovery by Luca della Robbia. It is, however, to Italy that France is
indebted for the access of spirit infused into its ceramic art in the
sixteenth century. Italy supplied models to the French potters, who had
been busying themselves with ornamentation of Gothic origin and
Christian devices and legends. And, further, Italian artists flocked to
France between the close of the fifteenth and the latter part of the
sixteenth century, and settled at Lyons, Amboise, Nantes, and elsewhere.
After a time the Italian taste they represented and their technical
skill were turned into a channel more thoroughly French, and to the
building up of an art purely national.

Among those who assisted in this great work no name is more eminent than
that of Bernard Palissy (Fig. 227). We have already characterized his
life as the great romance in the history of ceramics, and certainly it
reads more like a romance than sober fact. Let us look at it a little in
detail. His father was a humble artisan, and the honor of his birthplace
is ascribed to La Chapelle Biron, between the years 1506 and 1510. His
education was of the most limited kind, including merely reading and
writing; and at an early age he began professional life as a worker in
glass, a combination of the glazier and painter. His artistic instincts
were thus kindled; and besides acquainting himself with drawing,
painting, modelling, and geometry, he studied the Italian masters,
copied their works, and devoted part of his time to literature.
Thereafter, to add to his stock of knowledge and widen his experience,
he began to travel, and visited Germany, Flanders, and the several
provinces of his native country. As he travelled, he worked as surveyor
and glass-painter, and studied chemistry and natural history. It is with
some astonishment that we find this man, unknown to the world at large
except as a potter, investigating the subjects upon which the noble
science of geology was afterward built, and theorizing upon the
elasticity and power of steam.

[Illustration: Fig. 227.--Bernard Palissy. (From a Painting in the Hôtel
Cluny, Paris.)]

He finished his travels in 1539, settled at Saintes, married, and
devoted himself to his original profession and to land-measuring. A few
years later he saw the beautiful enamelled earthen cup--whether
Oriental, German, or white Ferrarese need not concern us--which turned
the entire course of his life. He wished to imitate the enamel without
knowing anything of its composition, and embarked upon the long series
of experiments which led him, through numberless trials, to eminence and
fame. He presents at this period one of the most curious figures
possibly in all history, that of a man apparently bent upon shutting out
all benefit that might have been derived from the experience of others,
literally “groping in the dark,” as he says of himself, and determined
to make up for lack of technical knowledge by assiduous experiment. He
ground, built furnaces and fired them, tried the potter’s oven of
Chapelle-des-pots--all to no purpose. Having accepted a surveying
mission he returned with treasury replenished and ardor unabated.

Surely, no man ever knocked with such pertinacity at the door of
knowledge. He met his first success by trying a glass-maker’s furnace.
One of the pieces came out “white and polished.” This was food to live
upon, and he began to build a furnace of his own, doing all the work
himself--three masons in one. At length it was finished, and the first
attempt ended in failure. He tried again, becoming poorer and poorer, so
that he could not buy wood for his furnace. In his strait, he took the
tree-props from his garden, his furniture, and house-flooring for fuel.
“My shirt had not been dry for more than a month; and also, to console
me, they laughed at me, and even those who ought to have helped me went
crying about the town that I was burning my floor, and by these means
made me lose my credit; and they thought me mad.” He was evidently in a
bad way when he dropped into wearing a wet shirt for a month, and
thinking that any one ought to have helped him. After a short rest, he
turned his attention to the preparation of a new furnace.

To carry out this new plan, he was compelled to mortgage his credit by
employing a potter to assist him. His assistant he kept in food by the
friendly offices of a tavern-keeper, who seems not to have shared in the
madness theory. After six months he felt himself obliged to pay off his
help, and did so--in clothes, part of his own scanty wardrobe. Still he
was not to be beaten. He finished his furnace single-handed, put in his
pieces, and started the fire; but still the gods were inexorable. The
pebbles in the mortar used in building the furnace cracked under the
heat and flew in splinters, sticking in the glaze of his pieces, and
spoiling them. Remorselessly, he broke them all, declining even to give
his importunate creditors a single specimen in part payment of his
debts. One can imagine the storm such conduct raised, and to make
matters worse, “I met with nothing in my house but reproaches, and
received maledictions instead of consolation.” The ashes spoiled his
next batch, and when he resorted to seggars the unequally distributed
heat marred the enamels. He was now, however, too near victory to be
altogether discouraged, and finally, after fifteen or sixteen years of
unheard-of struggle and misery, this indomitable genius produced the
long-sought enamel, and the secret of his well-known rustic pottery was
discovered.

[Illustration: Fig. 228.--Palissy Dish. (Rothschild Coll.)]

Fame and patronage came with success, but Palissy’s troubles were by no
means ended. Having embraced Protestantism, he fell under the edict of
1559, saw his workshop destroyed, and was only saved from death by the
intervention of the king. Under the protection of Queen Catherine de
Medici, he first went to Rochelle, but was afterward summoned to Paris,
and there, in a workshop erected in the garden of the Tuileries,
produced some of his best works. Saved by court influence from the
massacre of St. Bartholomew, he afterward, in 1588, fell into the hands
of the Leaguers, and in the following year, at the age of eighty, died
in the Bastille.

His first success was the production of the white enamel, which appears
to have engrossed his entire attention. His second attainment was a
jasper glaze, the examples of which show a mixture of brown, white, and
blue, and which he deemed only worthy of using as a means of temporary
subsistence. His third and most famous achievement was the _Rustiques
figulines_ (Fig. 228), with which his name is most intimately
associated. These are known by imitations almost everywhere, and consist
of variously shaped dishes and vases ornamented with shells, frogs,
lizards, snakes, fish of several varieties, and leaves (Fig. 229). He
was succeeded by certain members of his family, upon whose death his
specialty was lost. At the Centennial Exhibition several imitations were
shown in the French, Swedish, and Portuguese departments. Of these the
best were those of M. Barbizet (Fig. 230), of Paris, the son of an
artist who is said to have rediscovered Palissy’s method, some fifty
years ago, and who introduced his father’s discovery into commerce in
1850. Pull, of Paris, and Avisseau, of Tours, are also modern imitators
who have been very successful in approaching their model. Pull began to
produce his imitations in 1856, and has even deceived connoisseurs. One
of his pieces has been sold at as high a figure as £240. Mr. Walters, of
Baltimore, has an excellent example by the elder Avisseau. With the
exception of the works of Avisseau, Pull, and Barbizet, the imitations
of Palissy ware are neither skilful nor in any way attractive; as
independent works of art, accomplished on the suggestion supplied by
him, they are hardly deserving of serious consideration.

[Illustration: Fig. 229.--Pitcher by Palissy. (Rothschild Coll.)]

What is to be admired or condemned in Palissy as a man requires no
mention; the admirable in him as a potter has been already pointed out
(see Introduction, page 42). Passing now from his _rustiques figulines_,
we find him, after his settlement in Paris, carrying his peculiar style
into works of a totally different general character. In one piece a
figure representing Charity is surrounded by a rustic frame, and a
Magdalen kneels in another among shells and plants. In these, as in his
rustic pottery, the figures are admirably executed and the coloring
vigorous. His palette was limited to a few colors, of which yellow,
blue, and gray were the chief, although sometimes we find him
introducing violet, green, and brown. Some tiles are attributed to him,
but the statuettes formerly ascribed to him are now generally conceded
to be the works of other hands. His vases, basins, and dishes are
extremely varied, and are decorated with subjects taken from
contemporary life and from history. A very remarkable vase now in the
Louvre is blue, with yellow ornaments in relief, and not less
characteristic are his large oval cisterns, with masques, foliage,
fruit, and shells for ornaments. One of these (Fig. 231) is a perfect
marvel of soft and harmonious coloring. The heads are white; the drapery
white, with yellow fringe, and in its heavier folds blue; the fruit and
feathers white, gray, red, yellow, and blue; the ground gray in tone,
and composed of blue, maroon, and green. In two specimens of dishes the
ground is white, upon which reptiles lie in strong relief. None of his
pieces are signed.

[Illustration: Fig. 230.--Barbizet’s “Palissy Ware.” (Tiffany & Co.)]

One would imagine the idea to be prevalent that Palissy executed nothing
but _Rustiques figulines_, if we are to judge from the tendency of
imitators to produce pieces of that character, and from the prevailing
taste of collectors, who appear to demand lizards and fish as essential
to the correct imitation of the master. Having given as full a view of
his great works as may be necessary to appreciate their variety and
beauty, let us revert once more to the fact that Palissy was original in
two respects: firstly, in his methods; secondly, in his adoption of
natural objects as models. He deliberately shut out all influences which
might consciously or unconsciously have affected his aim; and as a
consequence, although tin enamel and reliefs were in vogue all over
France, he emerged from his obscurity, and lived through the period of
his eminence without being affected by either German or Italian ideas or
processes. He must be accepted as the exponent of an art emphatically
French. His imitators have used his moulds, and his pupils have followed
his styles; but even when possessing the secrets and skill, copyists
seldom catch the intelligence of their master, and thus we find that on
his death his art declined.

[Illustration: Fig. 231.--Palissy Cistern.]

While Palissy was still in early manhood, the famous and wonderful Henri
Deux ware, or Faience d’Oiron, had been made. There are only sixty-seven
pieces in existence; and the mystery which for a long time enveloped its
manufacture, its rarity, and its beauty, have both surrounded it with a
peculiar interest and rendered specimens almost fabulously valuable. At
a sale in 1865, no less a sum than $5500 was given for a biberon. This
ware was made about 1530, by a potter named François Cherpentier, and
Jehan Bernart, secretary and librarian, both in the service of Hélène de
Hangest, widow of Artus Gouffier, Sieur de Boisy. How this lady came to
acquire a taste for ceramics, it is not, in view of what heretics call
China-mania, hard to imagine. In any case, she built for Cherpentier and
Bernart a workshop and furnace near the château of Oiron, and there the
admirable Henri Deux ware was made. After the death of Hélène de
Hangest, in 1537, Bernart appears to have continued his labors under the
superintendence of her son. This faience, therefore, which has created
more curiosity--the place of its manufacture was not known until
1862--than any other, and been more lavishly praised, owes its existence
to the whim or enthusiasm of a woman.

[Illustration: Fig. 232.--Henri Deux Ewer.]

[Illustration: Fig. 233.--Biberon. Henri Deux Ware. (Malcolm Coll.)]

It is an entirely exceptional ware. The paste is a pipe-clay, pure,
fine, and white. Upon the first or inner layer, a second layer of a
still finer and whiter clay was laid, in which the design was engraved.
Colored pastes were then used for filling in the cavities, and the
surface was then made level. So closely did the work resemble niello in
metal that the name “Faience à Niellure” was given to the ware (Fig.
233). On the earlier works arabesques in zones, initials, and heraldic
designs were thus engraved, chiefly in black, brown, and red. The zones
are also frequently yellow, and the borders brown. A further
ornamentation consists of frogs, shells, lizards, and wreaths in relief.
After the death of Hélène de Hangest the decoration assumed an
architectural character, and soon afterward the colors lost their
beauty, the forms their elegance, and the art, as a whole, degenerated.
For a period of about twenty years the faience was made which puzzled
ceramists for over three centuries. Copies of this ware, by Minton of
England, are in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and in the collections
of Mr. Walters, of Baltimore, and Mr. W. L. Andrews, New York.

Having referred to the specialties of Saintes and Oiron, we now turn to
the other centres of French ceramics, grouping all its porcelain
together in a separate section. Beauvais, Poitou, and Hesdin have been
already alluded to incidentally. Of the remaining seats of the faience
manufactory in France, a few are selected for their importance as
producing styles more or less distinctive, such as Rouen, Nevers,
Moustiers, and Limoges.

[Illustration: Fig. 234.--Rouen Cup. Lambrequin Decoration.]

Rouen may be taken as representing independent Norman art. Marreot
Abaquesne was engaged there in enamelling from 1535, and two tile
pictures from the château of Ecouen, dated 1542, are still in existence,
representing, in blue, green, yellow, and white, Mutius Scævola and
Marcus Curtius. Abaquesne worked until 1557, and after that date the
manufacture of tiles was continued by others. In 1646 Nicolas Poirel,
Sieur de Grandval, obtained a privilege or patent for making faience,
and immediately transferred it to Edme Poterat, already established in
the business in Saint-Sever. To this potter is, in all probability, due
the most distinctive styles of decoration practised at Rouen, those
resembling lambrequins and lace (Fig. 234.) These are modifications of
the Oriental type. In 1673 another patent was granted to Louis Poterat,
a son of the former, for the making of “porcelain similar to that of
China, and of violet faience painted with white and blue and other
colors, in the manner of that of Holland.” After the expiry, about
1700, of Poirel’s patent, manufactories multiplied rapidly, and reached
an aggregate of eighteen, from which some estimate may be formed of the
number of artists and potters engaged at Rouen.

[Illustration: Fig. 235.--Rouen Faience. Decoration, à la corne.
(Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)]

As to the successive styles, there is no doubt that designers drew
largely from the works of the gold and silver smith. Flowers in wreaths
and bouquets surround landscapes painted on white. Then came the senior
Poterat’s adaptation of Oriental designs in the lace and cognate styles
already mentioned, at first in blue camaïeu, and afterward mingled with
red. Equally well known is the brilliant decoration _à la corne_ (Fig.
235), in which many-hued flowers issue from a cornucopia, and dazzling
insects fill in the interstices between the flowers. All these styles
have been imitated both throughout France and in other countries. No
faience of the eighteenth century was more rich and artistic than that
of Rouen. Many of the pieces are of large size and highly ornate in
character.

To Nevers it has been usual to accord the honor of being the earliest
producer of enamelled pottery in France, but without good reason. The
evidence appears to be rather in favor of Rouen. When Louis Gonzaga
became Duke of Nevers, he sent for a number of Italian artists, and from
that date, about 1565, the production of faience at Nevers took its
rise. In 1578 the brothers Conrade came from Albissola, near Genoa, and,
settling at Nevers, were patronized by the ducal family. Their works
date from 1602, and it was not until thirty years later that a second
manufactory was established. The influence of the Conrades upon the art
is very doubtful, notwithstanding the monopoly they appear to have
enjoyed. One thing may be accepted as certain, that there existed a
Nivernais style prior to that introduced by them. Louis Gonzaga, the
patron, as we have seen, of ceramic art, died in 1595; and as the
Conrades did not establish themselves until 1608, although they had been
working for a few years previously, we have a period of forty-three
years to account for, dating from the accession of Gonzaga, during
thirty of which that prince was alive. The Nivernais styles may,
therefore, be divided into the Franco-Urbino prior to the Conrade, the
Italo-Chinese which existed under them, the Italo-Nivernais, and the
Franco-Nivernais. The Franco-Urbino is marked by a predominance of blue
and yellow, by violet tracings, a yellowish flesh tint, a peculiar
copper-green, and a scarcity of red. A favorite form of vase handle is
the dragon, and the sea is represented in lines of wavy blue. The styles
of Persia, Japan, and China began to manifest themselves under the
Conrades, and continued down to near the middle of the eighteenth
century. We have, after the Persian, blue grounds with white and yellow
ornamentation, and white grounds with polychrome and blue decoration. At
the same time we find minglings of Italian and Oriental designs. After
1640, however, the traces of Italian influence become less distinct. The
Italian school is disappearing, foreign artists are giving place to
natives, and down to the end of the eighteenth century there are obvious
traces of the styles of Rouen and Moustiers. From that time Nevers
declined.

Moustiers has only been known for a few years, but facts have been
discovered which prove it to have held a highly important place in
ceramic art. Situated in the Lower Alps, its works were long attributed
to other places, although its geographical position near Marseilles and
Italy would naturally point to it as one of the most favored centres of
Provençal art. It is chiefly known by the productions of the Clerissy
family and of Joseph Olery. Pierre Clerissy’s works extended from 1686
to 1728, and to this period some of the finest specimens belong. The
pieces are generally large oval or round dishes, with hunting or
scriptural scenes as central decorations, and borders either of flowers
or masks and fabulous monsters and arabesques. The paintings are in
blue, upon a very pure white enamel. In the succeeding styles the centre
scenes after Tempesta were abandoned. One piece has in the centre a
small medallion representing Diana, the huntress, equipped for the chase
and accompanied by her dogs. Surrounding it are arabesques, grotesque
figures, heads, busts, and amorini, and for an outer border there is a
narrow edging of the lace-like pattern of Rouen. Olery (Fig. 236) seems
to have abandoned entirely the styles of Clerissy. He enriched his
palette with violet, green, brown, and yellow, and revelled in floral
decoration. Heavy wreaths of flowers surrounding a series of medallions,
with bouquets between, form a deep border for scenes from mythology and
the classics.

[Illustration: Fig. 236.--Moustiers Faience Dish. By Olery.]

Intercourse afterward obliterated the lines between distinctive styles.
Olery went to Spain, and probably acquired there his taste for
polychrome decoration (Fig. 237). Spanish artists accompanied him on his
return, and worked, no doubt, in the light of their national traditions;
and toward the end of the century it is impossible to recognize the
styles of either individual artists or schools. Clerissy’s workshop was
continued after his death by his partner, Joseph Fouque, whose family
retains it to the present day.

[Illustration: Fig. 237.--Moustiers Dish. Polychrome.]

Allied to Moustiers, as representing the art of Southern France, is
Marseilles, a city in every way favorably situated for the prosecution
of the faience industry. Of its earlier works, dating as far back as the
fifteenth century, nothing is known; but toward the end of the
seventeenth century a workshop was founded, in which was made an
authenticated faience. The distinguishing feature of the decoration is
the combination of violet from manganese with cobalt blue. The style
bears a general resemblance to that of Moustiers, and it is probable
that the works of the two factories are frequently confounded. About
1750 the Marseilles faience was exported in immense quantities; and from
that date, when the name of Honoré Savy appears in the list of potters,
polychrome decoration became more prevalent. Savy was, in 1777, on the
visit of the future Louis XVIII., authorized to call his workshop
“Manufacture de Monsieur, Frère du Roi,” and is said to have then
adopted the _fleur-de-lis_ as his mark. The mark alone cannot, however,
be accepted as indicating with absolute certainty a work of Savy. The
same potter is said to have invented a particular green; but it appears
to have been common to the other potters of Marseilles, as it is found
upon pieces by Joseph Gaspard Robert and Mme. Perrin. Robert ranks next
to Savy in faience, and was making porcelain at the time of the royal
visit.

In Strasburg we find the origin of a style of faience painting which,
although displaying unquestionable excellence of workmanship, was
carried to such an extent that the suitableness of the decoration to the
earthen-ware body was completely lost sight of. Reference is made to the
porcelain style, by which decoration more properly reserved for
porcelain was applied to faience. The Strasburg paste is of comparative
fineness, the glaze is excellent, and the colors brilliant. The first
factory was established by Charles François Hannong in 1709. In 1721
Hannong associated himself with a German potter from Anspach, named
Wackenfield, and in 1724 started a second workshop at Haguenau. The
latter ultimately fell to Balthasar Hannong, a son of Charles; and the
Strasburg establishment was carried on by another son, Paul Antoine. The
latter worked industriously, and brought the establishment up to a very
high position. On his death, in 1760, it was carried on by his son
Pierre Antoine, who transferred it to Joseph Adam, his brother, and in
1780 the production ceased. The best period was that between 1740 and
1760, when Paul Antoine was proprietor.

The places mentioned, Nevers, Rouen, Moustiers, Marseilles, and
Strasburg, are the centres from which emanated the leading old styles of
decoration. An exact classification is impossible, since, as Marseilles
faience often bears a striking resemblance to that of Moustiers, the
works of Strasburg, on the other hand, are closely related to those from
Marseilles. After them comes a centre, more interesting because very
recently arriving at eminence, from which has emanated a style different
from that of any of its predecessors.

Limoges is as yet scarcely known in the history of pottery, although
there is a probability, almost amounting to a certainty, that it will
hereafter be accepted as one of the leading representatives of the
ceramic art of France in our day. We find, in 1737, a decree granted in
favor of Sieur Massie, empowering him to establish a workshop of faience
at Limoges. The discovery of kaolin at St. Yrieix appears to have
directed the attention of potters from faience to porcelain. One piece
of the Massie period, dated 1741, is now in Limoges. A border,
resembling those of Moustiers, surrounds the figure of Justice
enthroned and holding the sword and scales. Religion, Truth, and Law
attend her, and Crime is crushed under her foot. Other equally
remarkable pieces may be in existence, but Limoges nowhere appears in
the records as producing any faience of importance or of a very high
order of art.

Within the past few years the aspect of affairs has changed, and the
Havilands of New York have made for Limoges--in conjunction with
Auteuil, near Paris, where much of the moulding and decorating is
executed--a place in the history of pottery as lofty as that which it
occupies in the history of enamelling. Notwithstanding all that has been
said of Saracenic and Italian decoration, we believe that it was
reserved for Haviland to show the real decorative capacity of faience,
and to demonstrate the possible harmony between decoration and its
excipient. For a long time Limoges was known solely as a seat of the
porcelain industry. It was in this way that Americans first became
familiar with its name. When the time came for Haviland to turn his
attention to faience the change above referred to set in. He did more
than merely institute a revival of an obscure industry. While Montagnon
of Nevers was following closely in the track of his predecessors, and
other manufacturers, both French and Italian, were busy with imitations
of dead styles, Haviland set a gigantic task before himself, and it is
to the credit of Americans that they have been among the readiest to
appreciate his works and to encourage his efforts. His faience is
remarkable by reason of its combining three very important
qualities--novelty of process, originality of decoration, and the
strength of drawing and color which are most perfectly in keeping with
the material on which they appear.

We have already pointed out the difficulties with which artists on clay
have contended. The action of the fire made the result, in so far as the
coloring is concerned, always more or less of a problem. Too much or too
little heat changed the entire aspect of the piece. Although, therefore,
we find in Italy and elsewhere great painters furnishing designs for the
decoration of pottery, we seldom find them actually engaged upon the
ware itself. Artists naturally prefer the medium which preserves their
individuality of touch and finish. This personality the fire destroyed.
All that was distinctive of the individual palette and brush vanished
under the heat. What the exact nature of the Havilands’ new process and
the composition of their palette may be we have not the means of
discovering. We know, however, that the painting is laid upon the clay
before it is fired, that the piece is then glazed, and is afterward
baked for between twenty and thirty hours. Body, glaze, and colors are
therefore subjected to the fire together. The glaze is alkaline, and is
similar in its general character to that used on _pate tendre_
porcelain. We need not inquire into the preparation of the colors. It is
claimed that the possession of the latter brings the result of any
operation within such bounds that it can be calculated with a reasonable
approach to certainty. Let it be fully understood what this implies. It
means that with palette practically unlimited, any artist can apply
himself to the decoration of earthen-ware, and find his work emerging
from the furnace stamped as clearly with the individuality of his design
and execution as if he had applied it to a painting upon a panel or
canvas.

Among the artists engaged upon the Haviland faience are M. and Mme.
Bracquemond, MM. Lindeneher, Noel, Chaplet, Damousse, Lafond, and
Delaplanche. With Messrs. Chaplet, Laurin, and Lafond, the new
enamelling process may be said to have accidentally originated at
Bourg-la-Reine in 1873, and M. Bracquemond was the first to appreciate
its value and to bring it under the notice of the Messrs. Haviland. The
latter at once saw its merit, and by farther experiment and the use of
the resources at their command, brought it to perfection. The works of
their artists have made America as familiar with their faience as it
formerly was with their porcelain. The process having been discovered,
the second step was the adoption of a style. Here we meet with a
peculiarity of the ware. We speak of schools of painting, and our
language implies a limitation, a peculiarity of _technique_. All artists
who follow nature closely must needs belong to the same school. Their
success in the reproduction of natural effects is a bond of union, which
brings them together across the boundaries of special methods of
treatment. Each of Havilands’ artists may have his specialty, but we
find no broad dividing lines. Their subjects are taken from nature or
from imagination, which is only a wider field based upon the natural.
The sympathy between them lies in the new sense of the capabilities of
their art. The brush is wielded with a stronger hand, and the designs
appear bolder, at times almost reckless. There is no striving after
what might be called “prettiness of style.” Where we have been
accustomed to restraint we find largeness and liberty. There are no
longer minute divisions of surfaces to be covered in detail with
graceful precision, but designs of full artistic completeness and strong
simplicity. Color is applied with a commensurate boldness, which carries
the conviction that here at last we find a decoration suited to its
basis of earthen-ware.

[Illustration: Fig. 238.--Memorial Vase. Haviland Faience. (Smithsonian
Institute.)]

A recent visitor to the workshop of Haviland & Co., near Paris, where
much of their faience is painted, thus describes what he saw: “While in
Paris, I studied the way in which the vases are painted, and was
surprised to find what an amount of care is expended upon them. They
demand more exact treatment than China or English faience. The artist
works as if the material were canvas. A bouquet of flowers, for
instance, is minutely painted, and the shades of the grounds are all
carefully studied. Nothing is left to chance. During the process of
firing everything fuses, and it is then that the appearance of boldness
is produced. If a vase were painted, as on a cursory examination it
appears to be, with a bold brush and careless hand, the result would be
a mere daub of no value. The peculiar talent of the artists consists in
producing an effect of boldness and carelessness with a great deal of
work and a close imitation of nature. Could all the work actually
bestowed upon one of these vases, and as it can be seen before firing,
be seen after firing, the faience of Limoges would resemble that of
England or any other pottery which is painted on the glaze. But the
process is different, and after the firing the detail of the work melts
away, leaving behind that fascinating harmony of colors which has never
before been produced on any pottery. Nothing has as yet been invented to
replace work and care; and when anything you may see presents something
pleasing, be certain that both have been lavished upon it. No writing or
music seems so easy to imitate as that which cannot be imitated; and it
is the part of a good author to conceal the method he employs.”

There are now in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington three pieces of
Haviland faience which may be taken as exemplifying much of what has
been said. These are the Memorial Vases (Fig. 238) and Bracquemond’s
tile-piece allegorizing Human Progress. Let us take the vases first.
They are the joint productions of MM. Bracquemond, designer, and
Delaplanche, sculptor, and are intended to commemorate the Centennial of
American Independence. The broad and easily understood conception is
intensely American, and was, in fact, due to American inspiration. They
fitly stand in the capital, not only as lasting memorials of the
hundredth anniversary of America’s entrance into the great commonwealth
of nations, but as a congratulatory compliment from the ceramic artists
of France.

Viewed in the light of history and of historical usage, they both
acquire a fresh interest, and are better understood. They are
exceptions, in the idea they represent, to the myriad ornamental vases
which load our cabinets and shelves. We have already seen that, from the
most ancient days of Egypt downward, vases were employed for the
conveyance of religious sentiments. The Chinese followed the same
course, and joined with it the custom of using pottery as a reward, or
for the purpose of conferring a mark of imperial distinction upon
officers deserving well of the state. Vases were also made the media
between friends for the conveyance of compliments or congratulations. We
might, in this connection, revert once more to the Greeks, who carried
the Oriental practice still farther. By that people vases were, as we
have seen, used as prizes, as wedding presents, as pledges of love or
friendship, the legends they bear enabling us at this distant day to
listen to the whisperings of passions which burned and died over two
thousand years ago. We also find such commemorative vases as that which
bears the legend, “The beautiful horse, twice conqueror at the Pythian
games.” On many others are inscribed the names of the great men of
antiquity, its kings and its poets. Some of these belong to times
posterior to those in which the persons they were intended to honor
lived, and may, therefore, be called commemorative in the same manner as
statues. Throughout the Middle Ages we find the same usage more widely
prevalent. When, therefore, the artists of France decided upon
commemorating the American Centennial, they had, as a precedent for
making a memorial distinctive of their art, the usage of the potters of
all countries back to the most remote times.

In regard to design and decoration, these vases will bear consideration
in detail. There is one very large class of Greek vases which represent
what we have called the union of pottery and sculpture. In one we have
the helmeted head of Pallas Athene surmounted by a figure of Nike, or
Victory. On others are Tritons bearing Nereïds, Medusa’s head, pennate
figures, and the winged steeds of Aurora. The artist had no thought of
utility to hamper him in designing accessories. It is said that M.
Bracquemond, while in the Louvre, was attracted by one of the Grecian
vases of this class found in Apulia (see Fig. 167). The style is full of
grandeur and pomp. The form of the vase would be heavy and clumsy were
its outline unrelieved by the decorating figures. On the neck stands a
divinity in graceful drapery. Lower down, on the sides, are two
statuettes of deities, and on either side of Minerva’s head surmounted
by Nike in front are two Tritons, with their horse-feet pawing the air.
This vase suggested to M. Bracquemond a design for the Memorial Vases in
Washington. All that he thus derived, however, was merely a suggestion.

The details of the design may be gathered from a description of the
vases themselves. One is intended to represent the year in which the
United States won independence; the other the hundredth anniversary of
that event. Between them is a whole century of history. The vase “1776”
rises from a base consisting of greenish, foamy waves, lashing angrily
against rocks surmounted by a circlet of cannon modelled after the
ordnance of Revolutionary times. In this we have the whole story of the
struggle for independence, and of the turmoil and confusion of the
strife. It is worth noting that this symbolical use of the wave
ornamentation is strictly classical. When the potters of Greece sought a
symbol of caprice and mutation, they could find none more expressive
than the foam-crested waves of the sea. From the cannon the body of the
vase swells gracefully outward, and attains its widest girth near the
top, where it curves rapidly inward to the upper rim. The orifice is
closed by a star-covered dome of blue, from either side of which spring
statuettes of Fame and Victory. On a pedestal on the rim in front stands
a bust of Washington, modelled by Houdon, after one formerly owned by
Lafayette, and now in the Louvre.

The ornamentation on the body is simple and expressive. Green fronds
cross each other above the cannon, and smaller branches and stars are
sprinkled over the whole surface. On the front is the American eagle
with outstretched wings, with the national colors on either side. Above
it, and immediately under the bust of Washington, in small gilt
letters, are the names of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence.

The base of the Centennial vase, “1876,” symbolizes peace and prosperity
by means of fruit, cereals, and the implements of husbandry. Above the
eagle, in place of the names of the signers of the Declaration, are
those of the Presidents, from Washington to Grant, and the surmounting
bust represents Columbia. In other respects the two vases are alike. The
story they tell is plain, and for every observer to read. Out of the
struggle of a hundred years ago have come liberty, peace, and
prosperity. The designer was exposed to dangers which he has coped with
successfully. He has achieved something grateful to American patriotism
without throwing originality aside. The American flag, the eagle,
Washington, and the Goddess of Liberty, compose a group which, but for
their artistic combination, might have been viewed with the indifference
begotten of familiarity. As they stand, it becomes hard to conceive how
otherwise, in equally intelligible language, a great historical event
could have been commemorated in the everlasting record supplied by clay.
They are records, and not mere ornaments. They mirror the first century
of America’s life as a nation. They tell all or nearly all that history
can tell of the passage from the struggle of 1776 to the prosperity of
1876.

The story of their formation is interesting, that of one applying to
both. The body was modelled by M. Renard, chief modeller at Sèvres. He
worked incessantly on the inside for thirty-four hours without resting
more than a few minutes at a time, in order that his work might be
finished before the clay lost any of its plasticity by the evaporation
of the moisture. When this operation was completed the body was allowed
to dry for fifteen days. A kiln was then built round it, its great
size--the vases are twelve feet high, and the largest ever made in
Europe--rendering removal impossible. It was fired for eight days at a
low temperature, and then for three days at a high degree of heat, and
the result of the stupendous work was in every way successful. The
furnace required eight days to cool. If anything more is needed to
enable us to estimate the immense labor involved in such a work, it may
be summed up in this, that these vases demanded thirteen months’ work of
some of the ablest artists and potters of France.

It is difficult to criticise them apart from the sentiment they embody,
and which invests them with a never-fading interest. It was, however, a
touch of genius to get away from immediate usage to a style of
ornamentation with which the artists of Magna Græcia and Apulia
embellished their vases. It is the style best suited to their enormous
size. The enamel is applied only to the ornamentation, the body, busts,
and statuettes being all left unglazed and showing the natural color of
the clay. Every detail is made expressive, while the strictest
simplicity is retained. The size of the work forbade minute
ornamentation of a symbolical character, and there is thus a harmony
between the entire work and the details. The colors are brilliant, and
the general effect, though sombre, is imposing and fine. They will be
viewed hereafter with increasing interest, as marking the revival of an
old complimentary usage under particularly gratifying conditions; and
the grandeur and beauty of the art they represent is not likely to be
forgotten in the contemplation of the sentiment they express.

We turn to the tile-piece in which, upon nearly a thousand tiles, M.
Bracquemond presents his allegory of Human Progress, with a mingled
feeling of dislike and attraction. It also stands in the Smithsonian
Institute. The repellent influence is first experienced, and arises,
probably, from an apparent absurdity of design and the peculiar
coloring. A figure of gigantic size occupies the centre, trampling fire
underfoot, and having a greenish bronze statuette in the right hand and
a vase in the other. On the left are the chimneys and smoke of a
factory, and on the opposite side is a railway train. A flash of
lightning strikes in from the right, and above the central figure is the
recumbent form of a woman partially enveloped in cloud. The picture, as
we have said, is allegorical, and represents the genius of man utilizing
the waters of the rebellious stream and storm, the fires of the volcano
and lightning, and making them subservient to progress. As it is more
closely studied, its true place in art is better understood, and we
ultimately accept the piece as an indication of the possibilities of M.
Bracquemond’s art. We feel that another stage has been passed on the way
toward the perfect union of the potter’s and painter’s skill, and toward
the picture “permanent as the Pyramids” of which Ruskin writes.

Many of the other tile-pieces, panels, and plaques (Fig. 239) from
Limoges and Auteuil are more absolutely excellent. On a circular plaque
appears a draped female head, in which the flesh tint, clear and ruddy,
is simply wonderful. The delicacy which it lacks is found on two panels,
perfect rural pictures, with single female figures. These pieces
illustrate the fineness of landscape effect and the nicety of touch to
which the artist in possession of Haviland’s palette can attain. The
trees stand out well against the sky, its blue slightly shaded with
cloudy gray; and if we turn from these to the figure-drawing, the
arrangement of the drapery, even the finish of the embroidery, we feel
that we are in presence of an art of the decorative and artistic
capacity of which we are only catching the first glimpses.

[Illustration: Fig. 239--Haviland Faience. (H. Havemeyer Coll.)]

If we pass now to the vases of this ware, we are struck by the
originality of their shapes, the freedom of their designs, and the
remarkable depth and beauty of their coloring. There is nowhere visible
any symptom of the nervous feeling after a doubtful result
characteristic of an artist without confidence in himself and his
process. Everything indicates strength, assurance, and power; and if
there is weakness anywhere, it is evidently the result of a boldness
which is over-hasty or too careless of finish and detail. We find no
precedent for the decoration. It is as far removed as possible from all
that is associated with China or Japan, from the majolica of Italy,
Spain, or Berlin, from the stone-ware of England, or the faience of
Sweden. The forms of the vases are of boundless variety, and suggest
originality by their very multiplicity. One would carry us back to the
pottery of ancient Gaul before it had felt the heavy hand of Rome.
Another recalls the Anglo-Saxon vases of England. A third would lead us,
in searching for a precedent, to the clumsy, rotund urns of ancient
Germany. These would all be equally fanciful, no doubt; and in that
suspicion one is confirmed by the exquisite forms of a small _pichet_, a
quaint card-receiver, and a vase rising to its slightly out-turned lip
as gracefully as the cup of a flower.

[Illustration: Fig. 240.--Haviland Faience. (G. W. Gibson Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 241.--Haviland Faience. (Whitelaw Reid Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 242.--Luna Vase. Haviland Faience. (Mrs. William H.
Dannat Coll.)]

We may take a few examples in order to illustrate the decoration. It
consists of painting on the surface, of carved figures in unglazed
relief, and of forms glazed and attached to the surface. Of the first
of these the choice is wide. On some appear hunting dogs full of life
and action and in many attitudes. On another is a Cupid with full-drawn
bow, rosy and chubby, and evidently bent upon dealing a fatal wound. On
a third is a nymph and satyr (Fig. 241). A fourth shows us a barn-yard
pair, a duck and drake, the latter preening himself in the sun, under
which his many-hued plumage glitters with a lustre almost iridescent.
On a fifth a gayly feathered open-throated songster appears to be
warbling his even-song upon a tiny spray. Flowers are painted with all
the splendor of nature, and cling round the forms with gracefully
sweeping stem. One in particular is made attractive simply by its color,
a mottled gray, into the depths of which we look as into the clouds
hanging over the couch of the sun in the early mornings of summer. Its
beauty is in its suggestiveness, which strikes us again in many of the
flower-wreathed vases where there are openings of green, into which one
can look as into a forest glade. The mind creates what the eye cannot
see, and the glade is peopled with beings whose forms are never caught.
This is, no doubt, an example of fancy helping out the artist, but the
artist is none the less fortunate and skilful who can thus induce the
fancy to take wing. He leaves her room to take flight, and the vase he
has decorated with a simple flower becomes a poem suggesting far more
than it tells.

Of the vases showing unglazed carvings in bas-relief there is a single
pair, sufficient for illustration. On one is represented Phœbus, the
golden-haired god of day, and on the other the triform goddess Luna.
Phœbus stands with bow drawn full to the shoulder, just as we picture
him in Homer. It will be remembered that when Lyrnessus was taken by the
Greeks and the spoils divided, Chryseis, the wife of the king of the
captured place, and daughter of Chryses, one of the priests of Apollo,
fell to the share of Agamemnon. Her father sought her restoration from
the “king of men,” and on his request being refused, asked aid from the
god he served. We here have Apollo in the attitude of returning an
answer to his suppliant priest.

    “Bent was his bow, the Grecian hearts to wound,
     Fierce, as he moved, his silver shafts resound;
     Breathing revenge, a sudden night he spread,
     And gloomy darkness rolled around his head.
     The fleet in view, he twang’d his deadly bow,
     And, hissing, fly the feather’d fates below.
     On mules and dogs the infection first began,
     And last, the vengeful arrows fixed in man.”

On the companion vase (Fig. 242) is the figure of the goddess of night,
Luna, Diana, or Hecate, in her character of Luna, with the crescent
under her feet, and throwing back a mantle from her graceful form. In
both vases the beauty of the conception is skilfully carried out in the
execution. The figures are admirably modelled, and, being of a light
paste and left unglazed, stand out in bold relief against the ground.
The daring of the latter innovation is amply justified by the result.

[Illustration: Fig. 243.--Faience Vase. (Mrs. Colonel T. Scott Coll.)]

Of the third class of vases with glazed ornaments applied to the body
there are many fine specimens. One of the most charming (Fig. 243) is
wreathed by flower sprays twined naturally and gracefully round the
body. The flower is in full bloom, and its large leaves are spread out
above it and below. For handles there are snakes turning in their
changeless coil round the flower stem. On another the handles consist of
butterflies beautifully moulded and colored, and placed as though they
might have been transformed into clay as they alighted on the vase.
Another, of small size and quaintly rotund form, has a mass of leaves
and flowers in relief clustering round the body. A pitcher with a soft
gray ground is lightly overrun with an ivy branch, which twines itself
round the neck and handle as naturally as the plant creeps up and winds
itself round the stem of a tree.

Can anything be more simple than the suggestions to which these
creations are due? Do we need to be reminded of the fable which explains
how Callimachus was inspired to produce the Corinthian capital? We are
told that he was walking in the country, and as he travelled he came to
the grave of a child, upon which, in a basket, some relative--its
mother, probably--had placed the customary offering of food. To keep off
the birds and small animals, a tile had been laid upon the basket. In
course of time an acanthus appeared; and as it grew, its stalk was
pressed back by the tile and turned round spirally under its edge.
Nothing more was needed. Callimachus found in the little basket on the
flower-grown grave a suggestion for the order of architecture which has
never been surpassed to this day. We have similarly, in the faience
vases of Haviland now under consideration, constant hints of inspiration
drawn from the simplest forms of nature. A branch falls upon a vase and
becomes its ornament. A butterfly hangs for a moment on fluttering wing
and drops from its flight, and it too becomes an ornament. The workman
leaves his unfinished work at night, and when he returns at day-break,
finds that a lizard or an asp has crept upon the still slimy vase to
bask itself in the first rays of the morning sun. It darts out of sight,
but it has left an idea which appears in the decoration; and on the spot
from which it glided when disturbed a snake displays its spiral
convolutions.

Where but in nature shall we see anything suggestive of such decoration?
We do not find it in Japan, for the symbolical and semi-imaginative,
semi-realistic style of the extreme East has nothing in common with this
naturalism. As little do we find it among the brilliant colors and
fantastic forms of Persia. If we come nearer home, to Italy, even to the
French centres we have already visited, there is nothing in their
classical scenes and floral wreaths and bouquets to prepare us to find
in Limoges their orderly successor. In a word, the style is original.
There is no crowding of tints for the sake of their rich beauty. A
single flower lying on a ground of one prevailing tone is sufficient
ornamentation for a vase; or a handful of flowers may be scattered upon
the surface in tumbled profusion, or woven into a wreath. Haviland has
entered upon a hitherto undiscovered path, and let us pray that he may
never be tempted to try the porcelain decoration which threatened to
ruin faience, nor to give us anything more meretricious than the beauty
of a garden flower or of the many other admirably conceived forms which
he has endowed with life.

[Illustration: Fig. 244.--Haviland Faience. (Miss Clara Louise Kellogg
Coll.)]

The best pieces have been chosen for commendation and to illustrate the
highest results to be expected from the new process. It is
unquestionable, however, that there are many pieces of this faience
which could be disposed of without seeking words for the expression of
enthusiastic praise. This gives those desiring specimens every
opportunity for the exercise of a judicious discrimination. In some
pieces the simultaneous melting of the color and glaze has resulted in a
haziness of outline and confusion of colors by no means characteristic
of the better examples. On others with figure decoration the drawing has
been completely destroyed, and the figure left in obscurity. These
inferior pieces are useful, however, for showing how careful must be the
work which produces the bold effects securing our admiration.

When Haviland took up the process discovered by MM. Chaplet, Laurin, and
Lafond, at Bourg-la-Reine, he secured the services of two of these
artists. The third, M. Laurin, carried out the process at the place of
its discovery. Many of this artist’s works come to us bearing his mark
and the name of the factory, Bourg-la-Reine, in full. Like that of
Haviland, his work is occasionally irregular; but, as a rule, it is
entitled to very high commendation. The flower decoration is extremely
beautiful, and when laid upon a soft ground, such as the gray, which
Laurin produces to perfection, is entitled to nearly all the praise
bestowed upon the corresponding works from Haviland’s factory. The
Bourg-la-Reine faience is chiefly painted on the flat, and the leading
decoration consists of flower and figure painting. We meet with many
well-selected subjects and much strong and realistic treatment. On one
vase appear an eagle and a serpent on an excellent ground of gray and
blue, the former of which is also employed with fine effect in a variety
of flower pieces.

[Illustration: Fig. 245.--Bourg-la-Reine Faience. (G. Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 246.--Bourg-la-Reine Plaque. (Tiffany & Co.)]

A very common mistake is made regarding this faience. It is often
confounded with that of Haviland, although the differences between the
two fabrics are obvious. In the first place, the marks can be consulted.
That of Limoges is stamped “H. & Co.”--or, Haviland & Co.--with or
without the place of manufacture. The artist’s mark also is generally
attached. The Bourg-la-Reine is marked either with the name “Laurin” or
“B.-la-R.,” or with both. In the second place, the alkaline glaze of the
Haviland faience gives the paintings, especially of flowers, a life-like
appearance peculiar to itself. It is a mistake to suppose that the
processes of decoration are identical in every particular. In one
respect only they are alike. In both, the colors are laid upon the
unbaked clay. In the mixing of the colors and in the glaze they are
distinct. Laurin’s decoration is harder in outline than the Limoges, and
never possesses the mingled softness and strength which constitute the
great charm of the latter.

[Illustration: Fig. 247.--Deck Faience. (Corcoran Art Gallery.)]

Of the early history of Bourg-la-Reine little of general interest is
known. It appears that Jullien and Jacques of Mennecy founded a workshop
there about the year 1773. Jullien died in 1774, and was succeeded by
his son, who resigned his share in the business to Jacques. When Jacques
died, in 1799, his son, C. S. Jacques, continued the fabrication. At a
later period fine white faience was made. It is upon Laurin alone that,
in this country, the reputation of the place depends.

[Illustration: Fig. 248.--Deck Bottle. (Gilman Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 249.--Deck Vase. (Gilman Collamore.)]

The name of Deck, of Paris, brings before us much that is beautiful in
the recent ceramics of France. For a long time, in fact, his name was
supposed to represent nearly all that was excellent in the color and
decoration of European pottery. Having enriched his palette with a
wealth of colors which made him the envy of his cotemporaries, he turned
his attention to reviving Oriental styles in hues rivalling those of the
East. He was first attracted to Persia, and with marvellous skill
applied his rich enamel colors to the reproduction of the faience of
that country. In other cases he is manifestly inspired by Japanese art.
His technical skill enables him to reach widely varied effects, and
since to this are added truthful drawing and a fine taste in the
assortment of tints, we can easily understand his eminence in the art.
Specimens of his best work are comparatively rare in this country. The
faience vase from the Corcoran Art Gallery (Fig. 247) is characteristic,
and is an excellent example of M. Deck’s coloring. The ground is a soft
yellow or buff, and the plumage of the pheasant is brilliant and rich.
The blue tints are especially fine, and the glaze, which is judged to be
alkaline, gives the coloring that peculiar softness which is found in
the greatest perfection on _pate tendre_. There is considerable doubt as
to the body used by Deck. It varies very much in different pieces,
approaching in some cases the hardness and compactness of porcelain. Of
this character is the bottle, Fig. 248. The ground color of this
specimen is a clear blue, and in it the white blossoms appear in thick
clusters. A vase and plaque, with a somewhat similar, but possibly even
a finer body, are shown at page 325 (Figs. 280 and 281). That given here
(Fig. 249), singular alike in form and color, has a ground of undecided
shades of brown and yellow. Deck’s violet is soft and rich, approaching
at times the velvety violet of China.

[Illustration: Fig. 250.--Colinot Faience. (Tiffany & Co.)]

The other names most familiar to Americans are those of Colinot,
Parville, Longwy, Creil, Sarreguemines, and Montereau. Their products
illustrate the taste for Oriental styles which sprung up a few years
ago, and to the gratification of which much of the ingenuity of French
makers has been devoted. Colinot, of Paris, has employed with great
skill colored enamels in the imitation of Japanese work. On one
cylindrical vase (Fig. 250) he has laid in strong relief, upon a
dark-buff ground, flowers and leaves exactly after the models supplied
by Satsuma and Kioto. On other specimens the decoration is outlined upon
a white ground, and filled in with enamel colors. The method is
productive of a clear hardness of outline, but the results are seldom
unpleasing and often very attractive. Colinot has succeeded in obtaining
several excellent colors. The vase (Fig. 251) is a rich purple, on which
the flowers are laid in white and green. The treatment is similar to
that of Deck, but the ground is less brilliant and clear. Colinot also
acquired considerable reputation by his faience with colored
stanniferous enamel. We give an example (Fig. 252) of his treatment of
large pieces. The ground is a pale blue, and the medallions are
admirably painted. The color is subdued throughout.

[Illustration: Fig. 251.--Colinot Vase. (Gilman Collamore.)]

The Creil workshop was established some time during the eighteenth
century, probably about 1780, by a number of English potters. Its
earliest works appear to have consisted chiefly of services of a
semi-porcelaneous paste. The Worcester method of transfer-printing and
then painting the design in colors was adopted, and successfully
handled. The founders transferred the establishment to Le Bœuf,
Milliet & Co. and De St. Criq & Co. Porcelain was made until 1860, after
which the production was restricted to English faience. The paste
cannot, however, be distinctly qualified, as it varies from the original
semi-porcelain to cream-colored ware. The latter has a wide reputation,
both for its quality and its decoration under the glaze.

[Illustration: Fig. 252.--Colinot Faience. (Tiffany & Co.)]

The Montereau establishment was, like that of Creil, founded by
Englishmen. Letters patent were granted on March 15th, 1775, to Clark,
Shaw & Co., to make English faience and queen’s-ware. The firm started
under very favorable auspices, receiving an annual allowance of 1200
francs for ten years, probably for the purpose of naturalizing the
industry. Its wares helped to overturn the manufacture of French
faience, and were imitated at several places, including Toulouse and
Sarreguemines. In 1790 there were two establishments at Montereau. As at
Creil, M. De St. Criq, in 1810, acquired the right of protection, and in
1829 assigned it to Lebœuf & Thebaut.

At Longwy the manufacture of faience was begun about forty years ago,
when M. Huart de Northcomb was proprietor of a workshop. Its name is now
found upon many excellent specimens of faience with colored stanniferous
enamel. In the bottle and tray (Fig. 253) a rich effect is produced by
the employment of two shades of blue in the scaly ground. The oval
medallions and other ornamentation are yellow, with leaves and flowers
in green and pink. It is one of the best examples we have seen from this
factory, which is one of the largest of its kind in France. The pitcher
(Fig. 254) has a ground of undecided very pale yellow, and the leaves,
flowers, and birds are variously colored. Our third specimen, an oval
plaque (Fig. 255), has, in its design and the brilliancy of its
coloring, a decidedly Oriental appearance. In the other examples the
ground is broken up by a crackle more or less open and irregular; but in
the plaque the white enamel is veined with fine and regular darkly
colored cracks, which bring the ground to a soft and pleasing gray. The
flowers are red and pink, and the foliage green, turning at times to
blue. The bird is brightly plumaged with blue and other colors. In this
as in the other pieces, the ground alone is crackled, and the decoration
has the appearance of being graved in the enamel and then filled in with
the requisite colors.

[Illustration: Fig. 253--Longwy Faience. (Gilman Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 254.--Longwy Faience. Crackle. (G. Collamore.)]

Parville, of Paris, makes enamelled faience of the same general
description; and the vase chosen to represent it (Fig. 256) deserves
attention both for the peculiarity of its form and for the illustration
it gives of a French modification of the Persian style of decorating.
The ground is a dull and sombre shade of dark-blue, upon which the
ornamentation is laid in light-blue, white, red, and two shades of
yellow.

[Illustration: Fig. 255.--Longwy Faience. Crackle. (Tiffany & Co.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 256.--Parville Faience. (Tiffany & Co.)]

Gien faience, like those of Creil and Montereau, belongs to the class of
ware with a colorless plumbiferous glaze, and its decoration is often
remarkable both in design and color. In the vase with which we represent
this faience (Fig. 257) the design is outlined on the biscuit, and the
colors are then applied. The earlier products of Gien are said to be
imitations of the styles of Marseilles. A more artistic faience,
resembling the Gien, is made by M. Elysse at Blois, in the old Italian
styles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The Sarreguemines factory was founded in 1770, by Paul Utzchneider, and
is now carried on under the firm of Utzchneider & Co. It turns out both
faience and porcelain. Figures and groups in porcelain biscuit and
artificial porcelain are made. The factory is also known by a fine white
stone-ware. In the fine faience of Sarreguemines, certain works may be
found which are, in many respects, the most extraordinary of the present
time. Imitations of jasper, marble, granite, and porphyry, are produced
of the most beautiful description, and other pieces resemble the
jasper-ware of Wedgwood, with white decoration on a blue ground. The
vase (Fig. 258) can hardly be described in words. Among the varied
contents of Mr. Collamore’s collection, it is perfectly unique. The
ground is a deep and brilliant black, upon which the decoration is laid
in white, gold, and blue, dotted with drops of jewel-like enamels. The
handles are blue and gold. The design can be distinctly followed in the
engraving, but even a colored plate could hardly do justice to the
enamels, or give an idea of the general effect.

[Illustration: Fig. 257.--Gien Faience. (Davis Collamore Coll.)]

Niederviller has made faience in the Strasburg style since at least the
beginning of the eighteenth century, and about 1760 was producing pieces
with delicate flower paintings. It was then under the patronage of Baron
de Beyerlé, and afterward of Count Custine, under whose proprietorship
the porcelain style was farther developed. A curious specimen is given
by Jacquemart, in which the ground of the plate is painted to imitate
wood, and in the centre is a reservation simulating a sheet of white
paper with a landscape in pink. In 1768 the Baron de Beyerlé was making
a good quality of porcelain from German material. Under Count Custine,
François Lanfrey was engaged as manager. Charles Sauvage, or Lemire,
made small figures and groups in biscuit, and Cyfflé also executed some
of his works at Niederviller.

[Illustration: Fig. 258--Sarreguemines Faience. (G. Collamore.)]

The name of this artist, Paul Louis Cyfflé, is, however, more intimately
associated with Luneville. The faience workshop of Luneville was founded
about 1729, by Jacques Chambrette. In 1778 it was acquired by Keller &
Guérin. The styles of Nevers and Strasburg were both successfully
followed. It was here that Cyfflé made his statuettes of fine “terre de
Lorraine.”

In the same district are the factories of Nancy and St. Clement. The
former produced faience in 1774, and a peculiar kind of biscuit which
takes its name from the place. The factory was founded by Nicolas
Lelong. Very little is known of the St. Clement works, though they are
said to have been in operation in 1750. In 1835 they were under the
directorship of M. Aubry. Both Luneville and St. Clement have been more
recently known by their stanniferous faience.

St. Amand holds an important position in the history of French art. It
is one of the places, including Lille, Dunkirk, Valenciennes, and the
other faience-producing towns of Flanders, which enabled France to
domesticate, in a measure, the manufacture of ware resembling that of
Delft. The paste of these faiences is identical with that used in the
great Dutch establishment, with which they very soon came into
competition. The history of St. Amand extends from 1740 down to the
Revolution. It was founded by Pierre Joseph Fauquez, was continued by
his son, Pierre François Joseph, until 1773, and by his grandson, Jean
Baptiste Joseph, until the Revolution. The earlier style of decoration
is based upon that of Rouen; the second is after that of Strasburg. One
of the distinguishing features of this faience is the use of white
enamel in relief upon the glaze, which is faintly tinged with blue.

Having already touched upon a few of the leading names of modern Paris,
there yet remains to be said something of its previous history. The
relics discovered within the city belong to every period, from the Roman
downward; and it may therefore be said that the metropolitan potters
have been as busy, comparatively speaking, in the past as they are
to-day. Faience was made from the beginning of the seventeenth century,
and Réverend was, in 1664, making imitations of Delft, “thin, with a
white enamel, with clear polychrome colors, often excessively pure.”
This is M. Jacquemart’s description. Notwithstanding the privilege
accorded to Réverend, many other workshops appear to have made faience
throughout the whole of the eighteenth century, and it is generally
impossible to tell them from the wares of Rouen and elsewhere, which
they imitated.

Artistic faience was made at Sceaux for about forty-five years previous
to 1795, by Chapelle and Glot successively. Gros-Caillou, St. Denis,
Vincennes, St. Cloud, and Sèvres were all more or less engaged in the
manufacture of faience. We find Pierre Antoine Hannong, from Strasburg,
at Vincennes in 1767, but he met with little success.

There are many other places at which faience was made, some, like
Nantes, Bordeaux, and Orleans, of importance, and others of which little
is known besides their names. A list of them would add nothing to our
real knowledge of French art, which has been chiefly influenced by the
styles of which we have most fully treated. To the accounts of them has
been added all that could be learned regarding Limoges, Creil,
Sarreguemines, and a few Parisian and other workshops especially
interesting to the collectors of the present day.


PORCELAIN.

     Efforts to Make Porcelain.--First Artificial Porcelain.--St.
     Cloud.--Lille.--Paris.--Chantilly,--Mennecy.--Vincennes.--Sèvres.--Natural,
     or Hard, Porcelain.--Discovery of Kaolin.--Various
     Factories.--Limoges.--Deck.--Regnault.--Solon.--Pate
     Changeante.--Pate-sur-Pate.

[Illustration: Fig. 259.--St. Cloud Porcelain Salt-cellar. (Jacquemart
Coll.)]

We have already seen that the discovery of artificial porcelain preceded
that of natural, or kaolinic, porcelain. In treating of the faience of
Rouen, we quoted, from the letters patent granted to Louis Poterat on
the 31st of October, 1673, a passage to show that he meditated the
production of porcelain similar to the Chinese. A privilege was also
granted to Claude Réverend, of Paris, in 1664, which bears that he
possessed the secret of making a “counterfeit porcelain, as fine and
finer than that which comes from the East Indies.” All that Réverend
achieved was a very fine faience; and Poterat, having met with success
as a maker of faience, probably renounced the prosecution of the search
for porcelain, although he may be said to have arrived at or very near
success. The first French artificial, or soft, porcelain known to
commerce was that made by the Chicanneau family at St. Cloud in 1695
(Fig. 259). It is first noticed by Martin Lister, a traveller, in 1698.
Henry Trou, having married the widow of Pierre Chicanneau, became head
of the manufactory of St. Cloud; and a family quarrel having taken
place, Marie Moreau, widow of one of the Chicanneaus, established
herself in Paris. The earliest marks of St. Cloud porcelain are the sun
and the letters S. C. and T., the former dating from 1702 to 1715, the
latter from 1715 to 1730. The sun was the device of Louis XIV., and the
letters afterward used were the initials of St. Cloud and Trou. The
paste was close and white, and the glaze uneven. The decoration soon
became varied in character, some pieces, with birds and flowers in
relief, resembling the Chinese, and others of French patterns in blue,
with arabesques or lace borders.

[Illustration: Fig. 260.--Vincennes Porcelain Cooler. (Duke de Martina
Coll.)]

The attempts of Poterat and Réverend, and the more perfect success of
Chicanneau, indicate the prevalence of the desire to solve the mystery
of Chinese porcelain. Experiments were being conducted almost
everywhere, and the success of the potters of St. Cloud gave a new zest
to the search. A manufactory was founded at Lille in 1711; at Paris, by
the offshoot of the St. Cloud family, in 1722; and at Chantilly in 1725,
where the porcelain of Corea was taken as a model. Ten years later
Barbin was established at Mennecy, and in 1739 the philosopher Réaumur,
led away by the universal search, arrived at a devitrified glass, which
went under the name of “Réaumur’s porcelain,” though in no sense
deserving such a name. With 1740 we reach the establishment of the royal
manufactory at Vincennes (Fig. 260).

Two brothers named Dubois, formerly of St. Cloud, offered to sell their
secret to the Intendant of Finance, and were given the necessary means
to carry on the production at Vincennes. These men did not fulfil their
promise, and were succeeded by one of their workmen, named Gravant. The
celebrated Madame de Pompadour used her influence with the king to
induce him to favor an enterprise the success of which would make France
independent of Saxony. The result was that the manufacture quickly rose
to eminence. Chemists, artists, and goldsmiths were engaged in designing
and decorating. Flowers were modelled and painted in a style so closely
resembling the natural that the king is said, upon one occasion, to have
mistaken the artificial for the real. In 1753, the position of manager
was given to Eloi Brichard. Louis XV. took a third of the capital upon
himself, and the name of “The Royal Porcelain Manufactory of France” was
conferred upon the establishment. The workshops at Vincennes became too
small, and in 1756 a removal was made to a new building erected
specially for the purpose at Sèvres.

[Illustration: Fig. 261.--Old Sèvres Pate Tendre. (August Belmont
Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 262.--Old Jewelled Sèvres Pate Tendre. Cup diameter,
2½ in.; Saucer circumference, 18 in. (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 263.--Jewelled Sèvres. (H. C. Gibson Coll.)]

The imitations which had annoyed Adam, the director who preceded
Brichard, continued under the administration of the latter. The king
then took the entire establishment into his own hands, and appointed M.
Boileau director. Such was an eighteenth century toy of royalty. The
king, accompanied by the Pompadour, paid regular visits to Sèvres, which
was well worthy of being a royal possession. Everything that art could
suggest in the form of gardens and groves had been done to embellish it.
Even a private chase was provided for the artists, where, in hunting the
boar and stag, they relieved the labors of the studio. Never, possibly,
were artists so favored by patronage and place, and the productions of
Sèvres were worthy of the sunshine in which it basked. Its flowers and
vases admit of no classification. Figures were also made in biscuit (see
Fig. 226). Chemists vied with each other in the invention of colors, and
the _bleu de roi_, Hellot’s turquoise blue (1752), the Pompadour pink
(1757), violet, greens, yellow, and iron-red followed each other in
rapid succession, and were employed with dazzling effect. Special
mention need only be made of the jewelled porcelain (Figs. 262 and 263)
on a _bleu de roi_ ground. The successive directors after Boileau were:
Parent, 1773-1779; Regnier, 1779-1793; Commissioners, with Chanou and
afterward Salmon, Ettlinger, and Meyer, jointly as inspectors, down to
1800; Brongniart, 1800-1847; and then MM. Ebelman, Regnault, and Robert
in succession. The specimen here given (Fig. 264) is one of a pair
dated 1772 and 1781 respectively, which formerly belonged to Louis XVI.
On his request they were sold by Governor Morris, in order to raise
money, and were bought by Dr. Hosack, of New York. The scene in the
medallion represents Louis XVI. in his cabinet, and the nurse bringing
in the newly born Dauphin.

[Illustration: Fig. 264.--Sèvres Pate Tendre (1772-1781). _Bleu de Roi_
Ground. (Mrs. C. B. Hosack Coll.)]

Meantime the paste was still artificial, and the researches for a
natural, or hard, porcelain were not relaxed. In 1769 the discovery of
kaolin and petuntse at St. Yrieix, near Limoges, led to the introduction
of hard paste into Sèvres. In 1804 M. Brongniart decided to abandon the
manufacture of artificial porcelain, and soon afterward regretted having
taken such a step. In 1847 M. Ebelman, Brongniart’s pupil and successor,
decided to revive the _pate tendre_, and for four years made use of a
body which had been prepared by Brongniart forty-five years previously.
The clay, instead of being thrown away, as Brongniart thought, had been
stored throughout the long period of its neglect, and both saved the new
director any trouble in experimenting, and supplied a standard for the
future. The production of soft paste has been continued, but the
quantity is inconsiderable. Mr. Walters, of Baltimore, has in his
collection a valuable _pate tendre_ vase dated 1860.

To give in detail the events which led to the introduction of natural
porcelain into the royal factory, we must turn back to the year 1721,
when Wackenfeld was attempting to utilize at Strasburg the knowledge he
had brought from Germany. Hannong was engaged in the same enterprise;
and his son, Paul Antoine, after endeavoring in vain to carry on the
production in competition with the artificial porcelain of the royal
factory, and engaging in fruitless negotiations with Director Boileau,
at last retired to Frankenthal. His son afterward took the Strasburg
works in hand, but failed. All this porcelain was made from imported
material. That of Paul Antoine resembles in decoration the works of
Meissen, and his son followed both the Saxon and Sèvres styles.

[Illustration: Fig. 265.--Charlotte Corday Vase; Sèvres Porcelain,
Mounted. Red and Gold. (White House.)]

In 1758 an event happened of the first importance to the making of a
true French natural porcelain. This was the discovery by the Count de
Brancas Lauraguais of an inferior quality of kaolin near Alençon. The
specimens of the ware in which it was used show a coarse body, and
decoration after the Chinese and Japanese types. Shortly afterward
Gérault, or to give his name in full, Charles Claude Gérault Daranbert,
the proprietor of a faience establishment at Orleans, engaged in the
manufacture of porcelain. A privilege had been granted to the Orleans
workshop, in 1755, to make a white faience, and the making of porcelain
appears to have begun about 1764, on the acquisition by Gérault of a
kaolin mine at St. Yrieix-la-Perche. In 1765 Guettard, chemist in the
establishment of the Duke of Orleans at Bagnolet, came upon the kaolin
deposit at Alençon originally discovered by the Count Lauraguais. Within
a few years, also, Robert was making porcelain at Marseilles.

[Illustration: Fig. 266.--Old Sèvres, Mounted in Metal. Dark-blue
Ground. Height, 9½ in. (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

The next events of importance are Madame Darnet’s discovery of kaolin at
St. Yrieix, and Macquer’s experiments with it at Sèvres. As at
Strasburg, the mistake was made at Sèvres of mixing the kaolin and
petuntse in the wrong proportions, and the result of the excess of
felspar was a very translucent glassy body. The first pieces and those
of artificial paste were so nearly alike that, to distinguish the
former, they were marked with the well known double L and crown. They
may also be known by the color being laid upon the glaze. In the soft
paste the colors appear to be sunk in the glaze. When Brongniart, in
1804, stopped the production of _pate tendre_, the works of the royal
factory began to assume the forms and to be decorated in the styles with
which the world has been familiar for the last seventy years. “The
largest pieces,” says Jacquemart, “were undertaken, and sculpture and
painting united to enrich gigantic vases. Plaques of forty-six by
thirty-six inches were given to distinguished artists, who reproduced in
unalterable colors the frescoes of Raffaelle, the masterpieces of
Vandyke, Titian, and of the modern school.” Of modern Sèvres we give one
example (Fig. 268), to which some interest attaches as belonging to a
service presented by the French Government to Miss M. F. Curtis,
distributor of funds sent from Boston for the relief of sufferers by the
war with Germany in 1870-1871.

[Illustration: Fig. 267.--Franklin Vase. Sèvres. Blue and Gold.
Inscription on Vase, “Vue de la Maison de Franklin à Passy.” (White
House.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 268.--Sèvres Porcelain Tea-Set. (Curtis Coll.,
Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

To give an idea of the value of the Sèvres porcelain, it may be
mentioned that Napoleon, following an example set by Louis XV., sent to
the King of Etruria a vase worth about sixty thousand dollars. Tea-sets
worth $1000, vases at $1500 and $5000, are mentioned as being in the
royal collection in England.

[Illustration: Fig. 269.--Washington’s “Cincinnati” Sèvres.]

[Illustration: Fig. 270.--Mrs. Washington’s Sèvres Tea-Service.]

There are several specimens of Sèvres porcelain, formerly preserved at
Arlington House, and now in the Patent Office at Washington, to which a
historical interest attaches. There are, firstly, some pieces of the
“Cincinnati China” (Fig. 269) presented to George Washington by the
French officers who fought in the continental army. They are white, with
deep-blue bands of leaves and scroll-work, and have on the bottoms or
sides the figure of Fame holding in her left hand the Order of the
Cincinnati. There are, secondly, several remnants of the set presented
at the same time, and by the same gentlemen, to Mrs. Washington (Fig.
270). The rim of each piece is surrounded by a chain of thirteen links,
in each of which is the name of one of the original States. In the
centre of each plate and saucer, and on the side of each of the other
pieces, is the monogram of Martha Washington, surrounded by a green
wreath of laurel and olive leaves. A golden aureole surrounds the
wreath, beneath which is a ribbon scroll with the motto, _Decus et
tutamen ab illo_. The colors are at once delicate and brilliant, and the
painting admirable.

[Illustration: Fig. 271.--Limoges Porcelain. Cup and Saucer. Painted by
Pallandre. (S. S. Conant Coll.)]

Manufactories rapidly sprung up in other French towns--at Niederviller,
where German kaolin was used; at several places in Paris; at Bordeaux,
Clignancourt, Lille, Valenciennes, Vincennes, Limoges, and elsewhere.
Fauquez made porcelain at Valenciennes in 1785, and the works were taken
by Lamoninary in 1787. Hannong was employed at Vincennes in 1786, and
marked his pieces with two pipes crossed, with or without the letter H.
The industry was afterward protected by the Duke of Chartres, when the
monogram L. P. was adopted as the mark.

[Illustration: Fig. 272.--Limoges Porcelain Plate. Painted by
Pallandre.]

The porcelain of Limoges is probably better known in this country than
any other, through the enterprise of the makers, whose works in faience
have already arrested our attention. The proximity of Limoges to St.
Yrieix would alone lead us to view it as an important centre. After the
discovery of kaolin, the brothers Grellet, Massié, and Fourniera
established a porcelain workshop in 1773. The mark C. D. occurs on many
remarkable works. In 1784 the manufactory was absorbed by Sèvres,
Gabriel Grellet acting as director. The paste was then very pure and
white, but deteriorated; and Alluaud succeeded Grellet in 1788. Another
change was made in 1793, and the works were again carried on as a
private enterprise in the hands of MM. Joubert and Cancate. In 1794 the
convent at Limoges was converted into a manufactory, and another rose in
1798, in the hands of the elder Alluaud, who was succeeded by his son.
Though highly commendable in purity of glaze and compactness and
whiteness of paste, his porcelain was inferior in decoration. The next
we hear of Limoges is through David Haviland, of New York, who went from
this country to Limoges upward of forty years ago. His firm worked
steadily in the manufacture of porcelain, chiefly of a domestic
character, before they conjoined it with that of faience.

[Illustration: Fig. 273.--Limoges Porcelain. (Mrs. Colonel T. Scott
Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 274.--Limoges Porcelain. (Gen. A. J. Meyers Coll.)]

At the present time Haviland & Co. make a domestic ware of exceptional
purity and of great beauty of design. One set is modelled after and
decorated with the water-lily, and others are of equal simplicity and
beauty. The rule in these and in more strictly ornamental pieces is, to
follow a chaste and refined style, marked by a limited use of color. The
rule we laid down for the decoration of porcelain--that it should never
be loaded with colors less beautiful than its own glaze--is here more
closely followed than anywhere else occurring to us. Here, for example,
is a set of plates painted with different scenes, such as a snow-storm,
morning, night, before a shower, during a shower, and other similar
subjects. The details are not wrought in with obtrusive precision.
Something is left to imagination, and the effect of every view is
perfect. They are painted by M. Bracquemond.

[Illustration: Fig. 275.--Limoges Porcelain. (Whitelaw Reid Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 276.--Limoges Pate Tendre. (H. J. Jewitt Coll.)]

We nowhere find a better successor to the “egg-shell” of China than in
the delicate, pure, and fragile specimens of thin porcelain from
Limoges. This is an exceptional fabric, but there is elsewhere to be
seen enough to substantiate the excellence of French porcelain for
domestic use, in point of both beauty and strength. We have seen certain
small coffee-cups so finely wrought, exquisitely modelled, and chastely
colored, that when not in use they might serve as ornaments. The point
to which painting on porcelain has been brought is further illustrated
by a series of dessert plates ornamented with different kinds of
fruit--grapes, peaches, and other varieties. The supreme delicacy with
which the requisite tints are here applied is admirable. On others are
different kinds of seaweed and other marine objects, in which the artist
has caught the natural hues with wonderful precision. The porcelain
vases are, as a rule, small in size. No attempt, so far as we are aware,
has been made to follow the gigantic works of Sèvres, Meissen, and
Berlin, and we do not regret the fact. The works with which we are
presented show great skill in the colors obtained, and the shapes are
simple and sometimes severe. The domestic porcelain of Limoges deserves
careful study for the sake of the refined taste which it invariably
reflects.

[Illustration: Fig. 277.--Dinner-set in Limoges Pate Tendre.]

The most highly artistic pieces are in _pate tendre_, or artificial
paste. Considering the difficulty of manipulating the body and its
liability to sink in the furnace, many of the old Sèvres pieces must be
regarded as marvels of workmanship. We look with a similar interest upon
the examples coming to us from Limoges. It has the honor of having
produced the only complete dinner-set ever made of this ware (Fig. 277).
Its beauty is parallel with its value, which we hardly dare estimate.
Beautifully modelled and plumaged birds form the dish handles, and a
simple accessory decoration on the body reveals to perfection the
peculiar appearance presented by _pate tendre_ of having the colors sunk
in the soft and creamy glaze.

Haviland & Co. have attained an exceptional success in colors. A
complete toilet-set of _pate tendre_ is turquoise blue of great richness
and transparent depth. The modelling corresponds with an achievement in
color which has been the despair of ceramic artists for centuries. Deck
is the only French maker who, before the Havilands, approached the old
turquoise of China. The art has long been lost in the East. Deck’s
pieces, however, are apt to craze or crack in irregular breaks, and this
was thought to be unavoidable until Haviland made crackle closely
resembling in color the rare old Chinese. Of the same material are two
recumbent Psyches (Fig. 278), one in blue, the other in pink. In no more
poetic form do we remember to have met the winged nymph who turned
against Cupid the darts with which he was wont to afflict humanity. A
set of three graceful vases (Fig. 279) with reticulated necks, and each
supported on a tripod of goats’ feet, is painted in blue, gold, and
pink. The forms are graceful and the coloring refined. The paintings of
Poitevin and Du Liege on these and other pieces are characterized by the
most exquisite delicacy. M. Pallandre, the Parisian flower-painter, has
also lent to the porcelain of Haviland & Co. the beauty conferred by his
dexterous brush.

[Illustration: Fig. 278.--Psyche, in Blue Pate Tendre.]

[Illustration: Fig. 279.--Pate-tendre Vase.]

[Illustration: Fig. 280.--Deck Vase. (G. Collamore.)]

An excellent domestic ware, also made at Limoges, is largely imported by
the manufacturers, Charles Field Haviland & Co., of New York. The
greater portion of it is undecorated; but lately the makers have been
turning their attention to decoration, and artistic work of considerable
merit now comes from their establishment.

[Illustration: Fig. 281.--Deck Plaque. (G. Collamore.)]

Before leaving France, the names of Deck, Solon, and Regnault may be
allowed to stay our progress. The Messrs. Deck, of Paris, have, as we
have seen, made a special study of color, and were the first, or among
the first, to revive Oriental decoration. Their Persian ware, or
imitation of the old art of Persia, is characterized by much of the
beauty of the original. Their blue, as we have seen, is especially
commendable, and enabled them to compete with the enterprising imitators
of England, the Mintons, who have for several years been in possession
of a blue very little inferior to the turquoise. It is to be regretted
that Deck was not represented at the Centennial Exhibition, where, by
the richness of his palette, he would have had an opportunity of
extending his reputation in America.

M. Regnault, who succeeded M. Ebelman in the directorate of Sèvres, was
the inventor, while at the Sèvres manufactory, of _pate changeante_. The
ware appears, during the day, like gray céladon, and at night, under
artificial light, changes to a beautiful pink, whence its name.

[Illustration: Fig. 282.--Minton Porcelain. Pate-sur-pate, by Solon.
(Wales Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]

The name of M. Solon recalls at once the peculiar style of decoration
called “_Pate-sur-pate_,” or paste upon paste. The process has been long
known in China, and was first attempted in Europe by M. Ebelman at
Sèvres about thirty years ago. The experiments were successful, and some
very fine works were issued. The process was taken to England from
Sèvres by M. Solon, who was engaged a few years ago by the Messrs.
Minton (Fig. 282). In Mr. A. B. Daniells’s collection at the Centennial
Exhibition, some examples of _pate-sur-pate_ by M. Solon attracted
general attention. There were two pairs of vases of a pure Greek shape,
with a body of a rich bronze or chocolate color. On this, in white
relief, were figures symbolizing Fire and Water, and a group of the
Graces accompanied by Cupid in a race. The forms were exquisitely drawn,
and were half revealed by the semi-transparent drapery. More usual
grounds are a dark green and a grayish tint, either of which has a soft
effect. A second specimen is given at Fig. 352.

This method of treatment consists in applying to the surface to be
decorated white liquid porcelain as a pigment. The application is
repeated until the necessary relief is obtained, when the figures are
finished by carving or scraping. Repeated firings are necessary before
glazing, and the decoration, which is opaque while wet, becomes more or
less transparent, according to the thickness of the pigment. The process
is one of the nicest and most difficult in the entire range of ceramic
art, as a mistake once made cannot be remedied, and the glaze has a
tendency to destroy the fine outlines of the figures.




CHAPTER VI.

GERMANY AND CENTRAL EUROPE.

     Early Pottery.--Lake Dwellers.--Early German.--Peculiar
     Shapes.--How Peasants Account for Relics.--Roman Epoch.--Tin
     Enamel.--Leipsic.--Breslau.--Nuremberg.--The
     Hirschvogels.--Villengen.--Höchst.--Marburg.--Bavaria.--Switzerland.
     --Belgium.--Delft.


The early pottery of Germany and Central Europe dates from the Stone Age
down to the Roman incursion, when the types change, and the evidences of
more perfect mechanical appliances become apparent. The Lake Dwellers,
who built their huts on piles in the lakes of Switzerland, have
commemorated themselves by hand-wrought vessels, to the embellishment of
which a decoration of the rudest kind was brought. Remains have been
found throughout Germany, of which some are hand-made, while others are
evidently thrown upon the wheel. These are both pre-Roman and
contemporaneous with the Roman occupation. The paste varies from a
friable clay to a hard, ringing stone-ware. Vases of a great variety of
shape have been found along with cups, plates, saucers, and jars. Some
of the vases are divided, like boxes, into compartments. The ornaments
are paintings, mouldings, and incised lines. The painting consists of
parallel lines of red, yellow, and black. Some of the smaller pieces
were apparently used as toys. Others, of a sepulchral character, are
thought to resemble the huts of the lacustrine dwellers. One found at
Achersleben has a tall, conical cover, like a high-thatched roof, and
the orifice in front is covered with a plate having a ring in the
centre, through which a pin being passed fastened it on the outside. The
orifice was in this way closed after the ashes of the dead had been
introduced (Fig. 283). These and similar remains have been found in
various parts of Germany, and have given rise to many superstitious
stories among the peasantry. By some they are said to be the natural
produce of the soil. Others ascribe them to the all-powerful fairies.
Others consider them possessed of wonderful preservative properties. As
to the art they represent, we are convinced here, as we are in a
parallel manner, though more forcibly amidst the remains belonging to
ancient Gaul, that the Romans were not the first to inspire the Teutonic
population with a desire for the expression of artistic ideas. We find
both an awakening sensitiveness to the graces of form, and a growing
appreciation of the possible beauty of surface decoration.

[Illustration: Fig. 283.--Ancient German Hut-shaped Vases.]

With the Romans we find pottery both made on the spots where they
settled and imported from the seats of the ceramic industry in Italy.
These display the usual Roman characteristics, and need not be here
considered. Crossing the Dark Ages, we find, in the thirteenth century,
Germany in possession of processes for the presence of which--so far
removed from their accepted centres and from the regular routes by which
they travelled--it might be hard to account if it were absolutely
necessary to travel by the regular route. We have seen this already in
the case of early France. We see it again in Germany. Possibly the
Romans may have taught their barbarian subjects something about glazing.
Possibly some wanderer to Palestine and the East or to the Saracenic
settlements in the South of Europe, or some stranger from these “foreign
parts,” may have initiated the German potters in the higher secrets of
the art.

In any event, Germany was making enamelled faience at least two
centuries before Luca della Robbia had perfected his process in Italy. A
potter of Schelestadt, in Alsace, is said by the Germans to have
discovered tin enamel. Even his name is now forgotten, although his
death is said to have occurred in 1283. At Leipsic is a glazed frieze,
dated 1207, and at Breslau, in 1230, architectural reliefs of great
excellence were produced. Two hundred years later, in 1441, Veit
Hirschvogel was using stanniferous enamel. At Strehla, in 1565, the
potters were so well skilled in the working of terra-cotta, that they
had made a pulpit of that material. One is almost led by these facts to
question if Germany did not lead both Italy and France, and to regret
that the history of German ceramics has not been more fully opened up to
us. One danger let us guard against, for the sake of securing the
intelligent understanding of Germany, incompatible with either
partiality or prejudice. We need not confound conservative tastes with a
“very slow march of ideas.” One rather loves to find an artist so
impressed with what is good in his own art, that he is in no haste to
leave it in order to catch the first whiff of foreign inspiration. Ideas
evidently circulated at a tolerably high rate of speed in a country
where the enamelled friezes and monumental bas-reliefs of Leipsic and
Breslau existed in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

To Leipsic, therefore, Germany is indebted for its first enamelled ware.
The friezes above mentioned consisted of tiles with _alto-relievo_ heads
of Christ and the Apostles. The enamel is dark green. What occurs to us
at once is that no art ever _began_ with such works, and that in them we
have the successful results of long experiment.

Breslau is made famous by a large work of the same century, representing
Henry IV. of Silesia, who died in 1290. The monarch lies stretched upon
a tomb surrounded by twenty-one bas-reliefs.

The Hirschvogels of Nuremberg have thrown a lustre upon their birthplace
by their faience decorated with enamelled reliefs. The founder of the
family, Veit Hirschvogel, was born in 1441, and died in 1525; and one of
his sons, Augustine, has left some very artistic works in the prevailing
style of ornamentation, with medallions and decorations in relief. One
vase has green dragon handles (Fig. 284); and the fact that this style
existed in Nuremberg at the time when Palissy was travelling in Germany,
has led to the supposition that he may have acquired the rudiments of
his art under Hirschvogel. The same city was deservedly celebrated for
its tiles ornamented with bas-reliefs, generally of the deep green
distinctive of the greater proportion of German pottery. The style was
at a later period carried to a greater extent, as we find upon different
vessels several animal forms in high relief, and even the vessels
themselves modelled after the animals of the country.

At Villingen, in the Black Forest, Hans Kraut, who died in 1590, carried
the same branch of art to great perfection, his tiles and bas-reliefs
marking him as a successful and talented disciple of the school of
Nuremberg.

[Illustration: Fig. 284.--German Enamelled “Surprise” Vase. By
Hirschvogel.]

Höchst and Marburg were both important seats of the industry, and at the
former we find a vase having its neck ornamented with white reliefs,
like the cameos of Wedgwood. During the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries the industry was established in many places throughout
Germany, and styles of western and southern origin make their
appearance. The faience of Anspach, Bavaria, follows the style of Rouen,
and at Nuremberg, in the eighteenth century, the early Faentine style is
making itself felt. The Bavarian towns of Göggingen and Baireuth both
produced pieces of great beauty and refinement. On some from the former
appear bouquets, birds, and arabesques, and one from the latter is
ornamented--with what delicacy of effect may be imagined--with a figure
and medallion surrounded by blue arabesques laid upon the white enamel.
Before the middle of the eighteenth century Nuremberg had instituted its
modern style, blue arabesque borders on a bluish glaze surrounding
centre-pieces of fruit, etc.


SWITZERLAND.

In Switzerland we know Zürich, Schaffhausen, Winterthur, and one or two
other places. Of these, Winterthur is probably the more ancient, pieces
occurring dated 1678 and 1689. The styles are akin to the
Italian--deep-bordered dishes with regularly arranged groups of fruit or
flowers, or blue arabesques running round the margin. Escutcheons or
fortified castles form the centre decoration. Precision and stiff,
scrupulous care characterize the drawing.


BELGIUM.

Belgium, in at least two of the seats of its ceramic wares, has been
closely allied with France. From Antwerp, the great centre of Belgian
art, issued majolica of Italian styles in blue and yellow, violet and
green, and another quality after the Oriental porcelain patterns. Toward
the middle of the seventeenth century, if not earlier, Antwerp was in
close relations with France. Tournay was of French origin in so far as
its faience is concerned, and it was not until its workshop passed into
the hands of Peterynck, of Lille, that it rose to eminence. The pieces
attributed to it show a compound of Rouennais, Flemish, and Chinese
decoration. Brussels had carried the art in 1761 to such a height, that
its faience was said to be preferable to that of Delft and Rouen, with
which it is possible it may sometimes be confounded by collectors. At
Tervueren, near the capital, some pieces still in existence were made
which are decorated with wreaths and bouquets and armorial bearings
executed in colors of moderate purity.


HOLLAND.

[Illustration: Fig. 285.--Delft Blue-and-white. Eighteenth Century.
Chinese Style. Height, 17½ in. (Mrs. John V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

For our present purpose, all Holland may be said to be comprised in the
single town of Delft. Its works date from 1310, and may be divided into
two eras, that preceding the making of “porcelain,” and that during and
after the fabrication miscalled by that name. The Delft faience is thin
and hard, and was decorated with landscapes and scenes by the best
painters of the time. It was made into tiles, large plaques, baskets,
vases, statuettes, and many other forms. Toward the end of the sixteenth
and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, when the Dutch were laying
the foundation of their trade with Japan, the fine quality of faience,
which has never been equalled by any other country, began to be
produced. We find this imitation of Oriental porcelain officially
recognized in 1614, and for a hundred and fifty years it was currently
referred to as porcelain. In reality it was a fine faience, modelled and
decorated after the peculiar forms and patterns with which their trade
with Japan had made the Dutch almost exclusively familiar. The paste,
which consisted chiefly of the clay of Bruyelle, near Tournay, was
skilfully mixed with sand and carefully manipulated. The sand made it
hard, and gave it a capacity for being wrought into thin pieces suitable
for table services. The bluish enamel was perfectly smooth and even; and
the decoration, chiefly in blue and iron-red, after the Oriental
designs, imparted to it much of the appearance of Japanese porcelain.

[Illustration: Fig. 286.--Delft Blue-and-white. Eighteenth Century.
Size, 21 in. by 18 in. (Mrs. John V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

It is not to be wondered at that, as the processes were perfected, the
reputation of Delft increased, and its commerce grew in proportion, and
that no symptoms of decay manifest themselves until toward the end of
the seventeenth century. The genius of both potters and painters ran
riot among curious forms and decorations. One author mentions dinner
services with dish covers resembling in form and color the birds to be
served in them; a spice cupboard resembling a Chinese Mandarin, and
other curiosities. Another strange form was that of a violin, one of
which is painted in blue camaïeu, with figures engaged in a dance, and
musicians.


STONE-WARE.

     Countess Jacqueline.--Teylingen.--Graybeards.--Fine
     Stone-ware.--Grès de Flandre.--Creussen.

This ware, distinguished, as we have seen, by its vitrified fracture,
although long known in the East, does not appear in Europe until between
the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. When it was first made in France
has not been ascertained with sufficient exactness, and to Germany the
credit of instituting the fabrication has generally been accorded. We
find it throughout the provinces on the Rhine at a very early period,
and it probably passed down the Rhine to Holland and thence to England.

The name of the beautiful and unfortunate Jacqueline of Bavaria,
Countess of Hainault and Holland, is connected with the making of
stone-ware by a very curious tradition. Jacqueline was the daughter of
William IV., Count of Hainault and Holland, at whose request she married
John, Duke of Brabant. This was the beginning of her troubles. A jealous
and disappointed suitor, John of Bavaria, Bishop of Liege, marched
against Holland, and having compelled the countess to nominate him as
her successor, bribed her husband to transfer to him the management of
her estates for a term of years. The countess, having good reason to be
disgusted with men in general, and with her husband and quondam suitor
in particular, fled to England after appealing in vain to Rome for a
divorce. In England her beauty captivated the Duke of Gloucester, who
espoused her cause as a preliminary to espousing herself. The duke
marched against her husband of Brabant, who, assisted by his cousin of
Burgundy, defeated the invader. Gloucester deserted Jacqueline, fled to
England, and took a less involved bride. The countess in the mean time
was imprisoned; but she escaped, and on the death, in 1425, of the
prelate of Liege, resumed her rightful position. Then she was relieved
by death of her husband, and was again involved in war by the Duke of
Burgundy, whom she was forced to declare her heir. A second marriage
into which she entered so enraged Philip--who, by-the-way, is known in
history as, _par excellence_, “The Good”--that he arrested her husband,
and would have executed him, had not Jacqueline handed over her coveted
property to “The Good,” and in 1433 retired to the privacy of the Castle
of Teylingen. Three years afterward she died, at the age of thirty-six.

[Illustration: Fig. 287.--Graybeard. Brown German Stone-ware.]

[Illustration: Fig. 288.--German Graybeard, found in England.]

From what we can make out, the countess was twice an occupant of
Teylingen, once in 1424, on escaping from imprisonment at Ghent, and the
second time, as above mentioned, in 1433. On both these occasions she
appears to have occupied herself with the superintendence of the
stone-ware works, and even with fashioning the vessels with her own
dainty hands. After they were made, we are told--although it is
altogether incredible--that the flagons were thrown into the Rhine,
either as mementos of her imprisonment, or “that they might in
after-ages be deemed works of antiquity.” Providing for posterity in
that peculiar manner does not commend itself to one’s reason, as in any
way in keeping with the career of the Countess Jacqueline. There was a
custom in Paris for patriotic citizens to assemble in the gardens
adjoining the Seine, and there to relieve themselves by toasting and
singing and flinging the empty flasks into the river. These have been
found, with the legend “_Vive le Roi!_” inscribed on them, after the
fashion of the Moyenage potters. The Germans had a similar manner of
keeping the toast from future impurity by throwing away the vessels in
which it was drunk. Probably in this way the “Vrouw Jacoba’s Kannetjes”
found their way into the Rhine and the moat of Teylingen. It is easy to
imagine the potters toasting their lovely co-worker and superintendent,
and, in the excess of their admiration and loyalty, tossing away the
flagons, that they might never be drained to a less worthy toast. The
story is attractive enough, and it is almost a pity that the pots which
have been found are not of a high artistic rank. None of them is
ornamented.

[Illustration: Fig. 289.--Fine German Stone-ware.]

[Illustration: Fig. 290.--Fine German Stone-ware.]

To the “common stone-ware” belong the pots called Graybeards (Fig. 287),
from the bearded heads moulded on the necks. Many of these, though well
formed, are rudely ornamented, and are of a very coarse composition
(Fig. 288). The finer ware, which was made after the beginning of the
sixteenth century, is divisible into two classes, the older belonging
exclusively to the sixteenth century, and of a gray white or pale
yellow, the other of a bluish and gray tint, made down to the present
time. This is the ware commonly called _Grès de Flandre_, although, so
far as we know, Flanders never produced any, and the ware so designated
is a purely German fabrication. The canettes, or tall cups, of a nearly
cylindrical shape, sloping slightly inward toward the top, and belonging
to the first class of yellowish white stone-ware, are of very elegant
form, and are beautifully ornamented with reliefs, made from moulds of
wood and admirably executed. The subjects are sometimes scriptural,
sometimes heraldic.

To the second class of blue and gray stone-ware with salt glaze belong
some of the best specimens of the art (Figs. 289 and 290). They date
from 1500 to 1620, after which came the decline. The Bavarian town of
Creussen made a peculiar stone-ware ornamented with colored reliefs. Of
this we have samples in the “Apostle” mugs, so called from the reliefs
surrounding them, and in a series of jugs with hunting scenes. These
belong to the seventeenth century.

The Böttcher stone-ware will be noticed under porcelain, to the
invention of which in Germany it was the first step.


PORCELAIN.

     Böttcher.--His First Productions.--Meissen
     Porcelain.--Decoration.--Best Days of Meissen.--Its
     Decline.--Vienna.--Höchst.--Fürstenburg.--Höxter.--Frankenthal.
     --Nymphenburg.--Berlin.--Holland.--Weesp.--Loosdrecht.--The
     Hague.--Switzerland.--Zürich.--Nyon.

It will always be the distinguishing honor of Germany that the Saxon
Böttger, or Böttcher, was the discoverer, for Europe, of a true kaolinic
natural porcelain. The circumstances have already been detailed (see p.
52). While Böttcher was prosecuting his experiments in 1708, he had the
furnace filled with trial pieces, which were fired for several days
before a piece was withdrawn. A teapot was at length taken out and
thrown into cold water. It was not porcelain, however, but a red
stone-ware, very hard, and with a metallic ring when struck. It was
called “red porcelain,” probably to suit the wishes of the experimenter
and of his royal patron. A teapot of this ware has been sold in England
for sixteen pounds sterling. A very good example of it is now in the
possession of Mr. Davis Collamore, of New York (Fig. 291), who was
fortunate enough to pick it up in one of his European tours in quest of
rare “bits.” It is undecorated, and shows admirably the rusty red color
of Böttcher’s experimental stone-ware. Others of his early essays are
almost black in color and are painted in relief. Several pieces are in
the Metropolitan Museum.

[Illustration: Fig. 291.--Böttcher Stone-ware. (D. Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 292.--Meissen Porcelain. Blue Festoon, Pink Rosette.
1709-1726. (F. Robinson Coll.)]

Whenever the kaolin of Aue was discovered, Böttcher, on his first
attempt, succeeded in making natural porcelain. Though Meissen, where a
workshop was erected without delay after the discovery, was kept like a
prison or fortress, and every precaution observed to insure secrecy,
although every man connected with the works was under oath to keep
silence in regard to anything he might see or discover, the precautions
were all in vain. The knowledge oozed out, and in a very few years
Meissen had several rivals. White ware was made down to 1718. The Nankin
blue was the first colored ware imitated, and after 1718 other colors
were introduced. Böttcher died in 1719, and was succeeded in the
directorate by Horoldt (Fig. 293), who carried out several great
improvements, and mingled the previous exclusively Oriental designs with
some of a more purely European character. Heavy gilt borders surrounded
figures, flowers, or the royal arms. In 1731, while the king himself was
director, Kandler, a sculptor, introduced, as an ornamentation for
vases, flower wreaths in relief, and afterward attempted figures with
great success. From 1725 to 1745 Lindenir, or Linderer, was painting the
beautiful insects and birds which were his specialty. Then came, also
during Kandler’s time, the exquisite paintings by European artists which
brought the Chinese style effectually to a close. The brightest days of
Meissen’s history were those from 1731 to 1756, before Frederick the
Great robbed it, for the enrichment of Berlin, of men, moulds, models,
and clay. Peace came too late to restore Meissen to its pre-eminence, as
it now had rivals both at home and abroad in France and England.

[Illustration: Fig. 293.--Dresden Porcelain.]

[Illustration: Fig. 294.--Old Dresden Porcelain. (L. Double Coll.)]

The successive directors after Horoldt were the king, Augustus II., from
1731 to 1733; Count Brühl from 1733; the count’s widow from 1763; the
king, Augustus III., from 1778; Count Marcolini from 1796 to 1814;
Bengrath Oppal from 1814 to 1833. The factory was, for the second time,
plundered in 1759, and although it subsequently attained to a high
position, it never reached its former prosperity. A marked change in
style is noticeable during the last quarter of the eighteenth century.
The forms and ornaments both assume more of a classical character. This
style, borrowed most likely from France, was adopted by Marcolini, and
entirely superseded its predecessors. The manufacture was now in its
decline. Meissen had lost its prestige, and gradually sank in
importance. From about fifty years ago the decoration became coarse and
the works no longer paid expenses, and at the present time Dresden ware
is a decidedly inferior fabrication. According to Jacquemart, the
manufactory is busy counterfeiting its own old productions and its old
marks. In comparing Dresden with its former self, its present position
relative to other factories must not be lost sight of. It still gives
to commerce many works which are valuable either for their historical
associations or for their intrinsic merit. The candelabrum here given
(Fig. 297) represents a style of work once very much in vogue at
Dresden. It was Kandler who, while superintending the modelling
department under Augustus II., between 1731 and 1733, introduced the
beautifully fashioned flowers in relief, of which some idea may be
formed from our specimen. Another, and a very curious work, is still
reproduced, and specimens can occasionally be picked up in this country.
Reference is made to the figures “Count Brühl’s Tailor” and “his Wife.”
The originals of these pieces were made by Kandler in 1760, under the
count’s directorate. With all his profligacy, Count Brühl was a good
deal of a wit, and having been repeatedly requested by his tailor to
accord him permission to look through the manufactory, at length
consented. The tailor presented himself at the works in due time, and
was there, to give him an appetite for farther exploration, presented
with the two figures referred to. In one he saw himself astride of a
he-goat, brandishing his professional shears and carrying the other
appurtenances of his business on his back, while the goat carries his
“goose” in its mouth. The other figure was that of his wife, with a baby
in her arms, sitting upon a she-goat. The discomfited tailor saw no more
of the porcelain manufactory. The many elegant forms and styles of
Dresden are too numerous to be detailed. They embrace vases,
candlesticks, snuff-boxes, butterflies, flowers, clock-cases, and
animal figures. The miniature paintings on some of the smaller pieces
are exquisitely finished and wonderfully tinted.

[Illustration: Fig. 295.--Early Meissen. (A. Belmont Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 296.--Dresden Cup and Saucer. Marcolini Period,
1796. (J. C. Runkle Coll.)]

The annals of the last century contain many curious stories of runaway
workmen selling their secrets, and of the steps taken to keep down
opposition and to acquire a knowledge of the manufacture by any means
that offered. A runaway from Meissen led to the establishment at Vienna
of a factory in 1720. After twenty years it rose to considerable
eminence, although in both paste and glaze it is inferior to Dresden.
Its raised gold decorations have brought it in modern times a certain
celebrity. It came to an end during the directorate of Alexander Lowe,
who was appointed in 1856. Some excellent specimens are in the
collections of Mr. Walters, of Baltimore, and Mr. Gibson, of
Philadelphia. From Vienna the secret spread to Höchst, whither it was
conveyed by a workman named Ringler. Ringler was in the habit of
carrying with him written notes regarding the manufacture. His
fellow-workmen at Höchst made him drunk, copied his notes, and offered
the secret thus obtained for sale at other centres. One of these
runaways founded the workshop of Fürstenburg. A few of the Fürstenburg
workmen attempted to establish a manufactory at Neuhaus, but, on
discovery, were sent out of Brunswick. Another Fürstenburger, a flower
painter, tried to start the industry at Höxter, whither he had fled, but
failed, and was followed in the endeavor by one of the defrauders of
poor Ringler. This man’s name was Becker, and he succeeded in Höxter,
after fruitlessly hawking his secret through Belgium, Holland, and
France. He was bought up by the offer of a pension, and his competition
was thus brought to an end. When Ringler awoke to a full realization of
the consequences of his folly at Höchst, he went to Frankenthal,
Bavaria, where the factory founded by Hannong, of Strasburg, made
porcelain in 1755. This existed down to 1800. In the mean time, however,
Ringler had left, as we find him first at Neudeck-Nymphenburg, in
Bavaria, and then, in 1758, founding a factory at Ludwigsburg,
Würtemberg, which was worked until 1821. The porcelain made here was of
excellent quality, and the figure pieces were admirably modelled. After
this we hear no more of Ringler. In this way the industry spread over
the whole of Central Europe--to Anspach, Baireuth, Baden, to
Hesse-Cassel, Darmstadt, and Thuringia, each new workshop becoming the
centre for a number of offshoots.

[Illustration: Fig. 297.--Recent Dresden Porcelain Candelabrum. (D.
Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 298.--Berlin Porcelain. (D. Collamore.)]

Berlin obtained a knowledge of porcelain by the purchase of one of the
copies of the indiscreet Ringler’s notes, and the industry was founded
in 1750. Let us bear in mind how Frederick carried off workmen, artists,
tools, and material from Meissen, and it is not difficult to understand
the rise of Berlin. The works were taken by the Crown in 1763, and were
very soon yielding a handsome income. Berlin has been compared with
Dresden in its best days, and its works are certainly of a high order.
The Berlin rose-color is peculiar to the royal factory. At the
Centennial Exhibition the Königlich Preussische Porzellan-manufactur of
Berlin was almost the sole representative of the porcelain industry of
Germany. The majority of the pieces were of an ornamental character,
large vases and plaques. A mere list of them will show in what the
workmen are now busying themselves. There were a Victoria vase with a
picture of Aurora, after Guido Reni; Germania vase with pictures of
Germania cultivating the arts and sciences, and Prussia the shield and
protectress of the empire, after Von Heyden; Crater vase with “Triumphal
Procession of King Wine,” after Schrödter; Crater vase with picture of
Helios, after Schinkel; vases in Neogrec style with paintings after
Bendemann; Victoria vase with “Music,” after Klöber; Urbino vases,
amphora vases, and several sets in the Persian, Chinese, and Japanese
styles. All these pieces were of large size, the largest about six feet
in height. Besides these there were candelabra, pictures on china
enamel, table services, busts, and some beautiful specimens in biscuit.
The collection probably represented very fairly the extent of the art
practised at Berlin, and the best work of the Germany of to-day. In
every case there were to be found great richness and admirable handling
of colors, but it requires time to become accustomed to the German
styles of drawing. Many of the figures painted on the surface, even
those showing the utmost delicacy of tint, were hardly entitled to be
described as graceful. Others were absolutely clumsy.

[Illustration: Fig. 299.--Berlin Porcelain Vase. (A. Belmont Coll.)]

The vase from Mr. August Belmont’s collection (Fig. 299) is in both form
and color a good example of the art workmanship of Berlin. The ground
color is a soft and beautiful shade of green; and the handles, base,
neck, and frame of the medallion are in gold. The portrait in the latter
is that of the Queen of Prussia, the mother of William, the present
Emperor of Germany, and is said to be a very correct likeness.


HOLLAND.

The first natural porcelain factory in Holland was founded in 1764, at
Weesp, near the capital. It was closed in 1771. In the following year
the business was recommenced at Loosdrecht, near Utrecht, and was
carried on there, and after 1782 at Amstel, with moderate success until
the beginning of the present century. Several other establishments,
notably one in 1778 at the Hague, rose, and in a few years fell. The
entire history of porcelain in the country may be comprised in
twenty-five years, from 1760 to 1785.

In Belgium there was, in 1791, a factory of natural paste at Brussels.


SWITZERLAND.

Switzerland owed its first workshop at Zürich to one of Ringler’s
workmen from Höchst. It was carried on for five years, until 1768, and
the productions are after the German style. Imitations of the French
style of Sèvres came for a time from Nyon, where a Frenchman established
a workshop.




CHAPTER VII.

RUSSIA, DENMARK, AND SCANDINAVIA.

     Scandinavian Pottery allied to Teutonic.--Hand-shaped
     Vessels.--Primitive Kiln.--The Eighteenth Century.--St. Petersburg:
     Its Porcelain.--Moscow.--Rorstrand.--Marieberg.--Modern Swedish
     Faience.--Denmark.--Kiel.--Copenhagen.--Imitations of
     Greek.--Copenhagen Porcelain.


The prehistoric pottery of the Scandinavians is, in its general
character, allied to the Teutonic. It is curious to find Brongniart
describing methods of shaping vessels by hand and burning them in a
hole, with hay for fuel, as being still practised in Scandinavia, which
it is quite probable have been transmitted from generation to generation
for untold centuries. A dark-gray, calcareous, coarse paste and
herring-bone decoration are met with in the vessels of the Stone Age.
Others apparently of the same age were thrown on the wheel. The
hut-shaped urn also occurs, and rare specimens are surmounted by a
cover.

[Illustration: Fig. 300.--Russian Faience. (D. Collamore.)]

From these ancient times we may descend at once to the eighteenth
century. In 1700 Peter the Great established some Delft potters at St.
Petersburg, and a private workshop is mentioned as existing at Revel,
but little is known of either. Peter the Great was also desirous of
founding the porcelain industry within his dominions, but does not
appear to have made any farther progress than bringing together a
collection of Chinese porcelain with Russian decoration. In 1756
Elizabeth established a workshop near the capital, and some years later
it was enlarged by Catherine II. About sixty years ago a number of
Sèvres artists were imported, and from that time down to the present a
very superior natural porcelain has been made. In 1756 an establishment,
also for making natural porcelain, was founded near Moscow. The royal
works made no contribution to the Centennial Exhibition, but some
porcelain was exhibited of fine translucent paste and most extravagant
price. Single cups and saucers, of fine body, but not characterized
either by remarkable elegance of shape or beauty of decoration, were
offered for $20. Some small plaques of majolica were also exhibited, of
careful workmanship and tasteful ornamentation. The St. Petersburg
porcelain made at the royal works is so high in price that it is said to
be bought only for the Court. The Russian faience (Fig. 300) of the
present time is decorated in styles altogether peculiar. It illustrates
the ardent desire manifested for some years past throughout Russia to
rear a distinctively Muscovite school of art. Natural porcelain has been
made at Korzec, in Poland, since 1723.

[Illustration: Fig. 301.--Swedish Faience Stove. (Wm. Astor Coll.)]

The first Swedish faience factory was established at Rorstrand in 1727,
and is still running; and in 1750 a second enterprise was set on foot at
Marieberg, also in the neighborhood of Stockholm. The earlier Rorstrand
wares resemble those of Delft. The decorations are in some cases
delicate and well designed. More lately Sweden has produced a great
variety of very beautiful faience. At the Centennial Exhibition we had
an opportunity of making acquaintance with the Stockholm potters through
works not less surprising than artistic. The imitations of Palissy’s
_Rustiques figulines_ may be passed over. The most interesting pieces
were of what was called “black northern faience,” the paste of which is
a skilfully manipulated fine dark-brown clay. Many of the tea-sets and
vases might easily have been mistaken for porcelain. A peculiar and very
effective ornamentation consisted of blue, gilt, red, and white floral
designs, the white enamel having a charming pearly appearance, and the
blue studs resembling turquoises. One of the best specimens of this
faience was a fireplace (Fig. 301) elaborately decorated with pale-blue
and green, of delicate shades mingled with gilt. In both design and
color this work was of itself sufficient to establish the character of
Swedish ceramic art. It was accompanied by a pair of gigantic candelabra
(Fig. 302) of a similar style. A quaintly formed vase was surrounded by
medallions illustrative of the life of the old Vikings, from the time
when the boy played with his father’s sword to that when the war-worn
hero was laid in his grave. The design was excellent in conception and
execution.

[Illustration: Fig. 302.--Swedish Faience Candelabrum. (Wm. Astor
Coll.)]

It is not improbable that the Swedish works may be involved in some such
confusion as that which surrounded the early wares of Delft. Thus we
find, in 1729, Rorstrand invested with the monopoly of making porcelain
of delft, _i. e._, faience. In 1735 the privilege included _fayence
fine et pate dure_, and in 1759 Dr. Ehrenrich was privileged to make
porcelain and faience at Marieberg. Some of the Marieberg wares are in
excellent taste, showing exquisitely modelled flowers and fruit in
relief. It is singular that when, in 1780, the stock at Marieberg was
sold off, some of it was disposed of in London under the name of delft.
The works at Rorstrand closed in 1788. A kind of faience having a
resemblance to the Swedish is manufactured near Christiania, in Norway
(Fig. 303). It is made into table services, and the decoration partakes
largely of the classical character so widely prevalent in the North.

[Illustration: Fig. 303.--Norwegian Faience, Schwarzenhorn. (W. B.
Dickerman Coll.)]

Denmark was first known by the productions of Kiel, of which the thin
paste is carefully prepared, and the paintings are highly commendable.
The Greek imitations by Madame Ipsen, of Copenhagen, have been an
agreeable surprise to Americans. Greek vases are imitated at this
establishment with equal fidelity and beauty. The world appears never to
tire of these forms, and the amateurs of America are to-day busily
engaged in attempting to follow the potters of Denmark, England, Brazil,
and we know not of what other countries. The widow Ipsen’s works are
certainly well executed; and standing among them at the Centennial
Exhibition, it was hard to realize that one was under the flag of
Denmark. There were many there which we might have addressed, with
Keats:

    “What leaf-fringed legend haunts about your shape
     Of deities or mortals, or of both,
     In Tempe or the vales of Arcady?
     What men or gods are these?”

Both form and ornamentation were as purely Greek as those of any pottery
unearthed by the antiquary. The biga, quadriga, scenes from the Iliad
and mythology, appear just as they do on the works of the master potters
of antiquity.

[Illustration: Fig. 304.--Ipsen Terra-cotta. (Ovington Bros. Coll.)]

What has been said of the Ipsen factory might be applied with equal
truth to the terra-cotta works of Wendrich & Sons, also of Copenhagen.
Greek vessels of every description, and illustrating both ancient Greek
and modern Danish styles of decoration, bear their name, and can be
fully studied in such a collection as that of Mr. T. Schmidt, at the
Danish Consulate, New York. The Danish imitators, in rivalling each
other, have left most, if not all, of their competitors far behind, and
the fact leads us to consider at greater length the circumstances which
led a people apparently so distantly removed from the Greeks in genius,
to follow them in this particular branch of art.

First among these was the weighty influence everywhere felt of the
greatest of Danish artists, the sculptor Thorvaldsen. In him we have an
instance of a single man turning, in a measure, the current of thought
of an entire people. The titles of his works show the subjects which
touch his artistic sympathy. Instead of the Scandinavian Odin, Thor,
Baldur, Sigurd, Freia, Brunhild, or Gudrun, we have Apollo, Mercury,
Venus, Hebe, Ganymede, and the heroes of the Iliad. Thorvaldsen was
fascinated by the classic art of Greece, and it obliterated from his
memory the mythology and legends of the North. While he gave us Hebe, it
was reserved for his pupil and successor, Bissen, to give us the more
truly national Valkyrie.

[Illustration: Fig. 305.--Ipsen Terra-cotta Lekythos. (Ovington Bros.
Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 306.--Danish Terra-cotta. (Ovington Bros. Coll.)]

A second reason may have been the possession of a fine pale-buff clay
admirably adapted for imitating the antiques of Greece. “In texture,”
says Boutell, “it is so fine that it is capable of producing bas-relief
medallions not larger than cameo gems, in which the figures have the
sharpness of the gems themselves, with a surface of exquisite and
silk-like softness.” On the one hand was the material, on the other the
Thorvaldsen museum presenting “the noblest models for using it with the
happiest effect.” The way to antiquity having thus been opened up, the
Danish potters widened the range of their art, and found in Etruria and
Egypt abundant models for imitation. Our classification must be of the
most general character. Forms are reproduced with the most perfect
fidelity, and the natural color of the buff clay changes through tints
of warm brown and red to black, according to the original. The
ornamentation is exceedingly varied. On some of the vases are subjects,
taken from the pottery of Greece, painted in red upon a black ground, or
in black upon buff, as we find them in Greece. These comprise the first
class, and are in the strictest sense reproductions of the antique. In
others, while the accessory decoration is Greek, the subjects are taken
from the sculptures or bas-reliefs of Thorvaldsen or Flaxman. The
“Triumph of Neptune” of the latter, and the many works of the former,
being purely classical in conception and feeling, are in perfect
harmony with the motive animating the artists of Denmark. There is a
third class, in which the leading designs are essentially modern, and no
strict rule is followed in accessory decoration. Thus, an amphora after
the Greek, in form and accessories, has a central design taken from
Thorvaldsen’s bas-relief “Autumn.” Egyptian amphoræ and other
black-glazed vases are painted with naturally tinted bouquets of
flowers, and thus in form and ground-color alone suggest the antique. At
times the several styles are mingled. The colors most extensively used
are red of several shades, gold, blue, white, buff, and black.

[Illustration: Fig. 307--Wendrich Terra-cotta. (T. Schmidt Coll.)]

Leaving the southern antique, the Danish potters have also reproduced
the prehistoric vessels of their native land in several simple and
elegant forms. The originals were found in the tombs of the ancient
Danes, and supply their descendants with an opportunity of perpetuating
an art essentially Norse. The national side of Danish art is also seen
in many of the terra-cotta statuettes and medallions. We pass over the
copies of Thorvaldsen’s classical sculptures in order to reach the
comical figures, full of humor, character, and feeling, of the elfish
Nisser of the old Norsemen. The statuettes of these elves, and many
quaint little figures of peasants, fishermen, and the like, are very
attractive, both intrinsically and as reflections of Danish old-time
superstition and Danish life. One of the Nisser appears upon the top of
a flower-stand, and we meet with them again in the paintings upon
porcelain.

A warm, satisfying quietude and an elevation of tone pervade these works
in terra-cotta, which, added to their artistic merits, commend them to
the student of household decoration, and insure a welcome from all who
can appreciate their mingled softness and chaste dignity.

Taking Danish porcelain as a whole, it is both of good quality and
tastefully decorated. The paste is pure, fine in texture, and carefully
worked. In thin pieces, which approach very nearly the egg-shell of the
East, the body is extremely translucent, and the glaze is smooth, hard,
and even. This quality comes in fluted services, decorated under the
glaze with delicate patterns, generally floral, in blue camaïeu. In
thicker pieces greater strength is gained without any sacrifice of
quality. Styles of decoration more peculiarly European occur in great
variety, and illustrate the Danish artist’s capacity for handling the
richer colors of the porcelain painter’s palette. Flowers, birds,
insects, and landscapes are seen in medallions edged with gold; and
cupids or Nisser, as grotesque as those in terra-cotta, are represented
in every conceivable attitude. The flower pieces are drawn with feeling,
and the coloring follows that of nature as closely as the medium will
allow. In the figure pieces the attitudes are, as a rule, expressive,
and suggestive of life and motion. Many of Thorvaldsen’s works, and some
of those of Bissen and Jerichau, have been reproduced in biscuit
statuettes and bas-relief medallions. While lacking the warmth of
terra-cotta, the porcelain biscuit is sharp in outline and soft in
color.

[Illustration: Fig. 308.--Copenhagen Porcelain. White, Shaded with Blue.
(Mrs. John V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

Porcelain was made at Copenhagen (Fig. 308) in 1760, where a Frenchman
named Fournier established a workshop. In 1772 another establishment was
founded, or that of Fournier was revived, by the Minister of Justice,
Muller, assisted by a fugitive from Fürstenburg, named Von Lang. In 1775
it was taken into the hands of the Government, and is now called the
Royal Porcelain Works. Many ornamental pieces and works in biscuit are
issued of different decrees of merit.




CHAPTER VIII.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

     Continuity of History.--Early British Urns.--Scottish
     Relics.--Irish Urns.--Roman Conquest.--Caistor Ware.--Anglo-Roman
     Ware.--Saxon Period.--After the Norman Conquest.--Tiles.--Dutch
     Potteries in England.--English
     Delft.--Stone-ware.--Sandwich.--Staffordshire Potteries.--Early
     Products.--The Tofts.--Salt Glaze.--Broadwell and the Elers
     Family.--Use of Calcined Flint.--Wedgwood.--His Life.--Jasper
     Ware.--Queen’s Ware.--The Portland Vase.--Basaltes.--Wedgwood’s
     Removal to Etruria.--His Death.--Minton & Co.--Their Imitations of
     the Oriental.--Pate Changeante.--Pate-sur-Pate.--Cloisonné Enamel
     on Porcelain.--Other Reproductions.--Their Majolica.--Their
     Artists.--Minton, Hollins & Co.--Lambeth.--Doulton
     Ware.--Terra-cotta and Stone-ware.--George Tinworth.--Fulham.
     --Bristol.--Leeds.--Liverpool.--Lowestoft.--Yarmouth.--Nottingham.
     --Shropshire.--Yorkshire.


The ceramic history of the British Isles is invested with a peculiar
interest by reason of its nearly perfect continuity from the early
Celtic works to the Romano-British wares, the early Saxon, the Norman
mediæval imitations of Saracenic tiling, the lead-glazed wares of the
sixteenth century, the stone-ware of the same period, the pottery of
Staffordshire and Wedgwood, the first appearance of English porcelain,
and so on, downward, to the works of Minton, Doulton, and others at the
present time. In no other country do we find material for an equally
lucid illustration of the regular advance of the art from the primitive
and rude to the elaborate, beautiful, and skilful. England supplies us
with a wonderful and in every way admirable picture of the efficacy of
persistent skilled endeavor in contending with technical difficulty.

From the old tumuli, or barrows, have been exhumed urns in which were
held the cinerary remains of the dead (Fig. 309). The differences
existing among them are such, in regard to both composition, shape, and
ornament, that they evidently belong to different periods and to
different branches or tribes of the early British population. They have
been found all over England, from the Channel Islands to
Northumberland. They are sun-dried and hand-made, and have wide
orifices, often expanding gradually from a comparatively narrow base to
the lip. They are pale in color, either yellow or gray, and the
ornamentation consists of zigzags, frets, and studs.

In Scotland the general character of the remains is the same as that of
the English. The appearance of a number of them suggests, however, the
use of the wheel. They have been exhumed in every part of Scotland, from
the Tweed to the Orkney Islands.

[Illustration: Fig. 309.--Group of Ancient British Vases.]

The Irish urns are somewhat in advance of those found in England and
Scotland. The red paste shows that considerable care was bestowed upon
its preparation, and the entire body is very often covered with
ornaments of lines and zigzags. As in the case of the English and
Scotch, we are indebted for the preservation of these relics of the
Irish Celts to a usage which our researches have shown to be almost
universal, that of employing urns in connection with the interment of
the dead. Cremation was not resorted to in every instance. The Celts put
the ashes in the urns, or covered them by inverting the urns over the
spot where the ashes were laid, or placed their sepulchral vases round
the unburnt remains.

[Illustration: Fig. 310.--Celtic Urn.]

[Illustration: Fig. 311.--Celtic Pottery, found in Staffordshire.]

In the first century before Christ the tide of Roman conquest passed the
white cliffs of Albion, and a new element was introduced into its
ceramics. There, as elsewhere, the Romans made and imported the ware, of
which examples have been brought to light all over the old Roman Empire,
from England to Jerusalem. The extent to which the manufacture was
carried in England may be estimated from one fact stated by Dr. Birch,
that the Roman potteries have been traced for twenty miles along the
gravel banks of the Nen, in Northamptonshire. Caistor, in the same
county, is an exceptionally interesting locality, as both early Celtic
wares and the remains of a Roman kiln have been found there. Under the
Romans it must have been an important seat of the manufacture, as its
productions have been unearthed at several places on the Continent--in
France and the Low Countries. The Caistor ware is very often ornamented
with unusual skill and taste by means of reliefs. The Roman Samian ware
is found in many sections of England, whither it was probably imported.
Some of the specimens belonging to the latter part of the Roman period,
and to be classed as Anglo-Roman, are of a thin black paste, carefully
wrought and totally devoid of ornament. After the arrival of the Saxons
the pottery was more closely allied to the Teutonic found in Germany
(Fig. 314).

[Illustration: Fig. 312.--Romano-British Ware.]

[Illustration: Fig. 313.--Romano-British Upchurch Ware.]

[Illustration: Fig. 314.--Saxon Vase.]

The urns are black, hand-made, and stamped with a variety of decorative
designs. The shapes are heavy, and the appliances for firing were
apparently of a rude kind. Of the Anglo-Saxon period few relics have
been discovered, and little is in consequence known. One fragment of the
eleventh century, or possibly earlier, is described by Mr. Marryat as
“of a yellow color, coarsely made and unglazed.” It seems probable that
the disturbances attendant upon the Norman invasion in 1066 distracted
the popular attention from the plastic art, as the next evidences of its
pursuit belong chiefly to the thirteenth century. These are the tiles
employed in paving the ecclesiastical edifices of the day. In the
greater number the patterns are inlaid, or filled in with white paste,
and the whole then glazed yellow. To this class belong the thirteenth
century tiles from Chertsey Abbey, in Surrey, and those of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries from Malmesbury Abbey and Malvern.
Those from Chertsey are peculiarly elaborate. One has a scene
representing a king and a female harper, surrounded by a circular
border, the whole forming the inside of a square richly ornamented in
the corners and on the sides. The Malvern tiles are also very
elaborately decorated with designs of an apparently heraldic character.
Another style of tile decoration, followed from the thirteenth to the
eighteenth century, consisted of mouldings in relief. The glaze is green
or brown.

[Illustration: Fig. 315.--Anglo-Norman Vases.]

In others the patterns are incised, but not filled in. A very good
example of this style is to be seen in Crauden’s chapel at Ely. The
fourth style of decoration was upon the _pate-sur-pate_ principle--a
white paste being employed as a pigment upon the body of the tile, after
which the piece was glazed. The introduction of tiling for pavements and
walls was evidently in a great measure due to English intercourse with
Spain and the East. Toward the close of the eleventh century, while
England had not yet recovered from the first shock of the Norman
invasion, Peter the Hermit was carrying from land to land the
anti-Saracenic Gospel of the Sword, which led to the First Crusade.
Fifty years later, in 1147, the Second Crusade was organized, while
England was still groaning under the oppression of her rulers. In the
first quarter of the twelfth century the Saxon chronicler says: “God
sees the wretched people most unjustly oppressed: first they are
despoiled of their possessions, then butchered.” Under Stephen, “Men
said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep.” Clearly this was no
time either for joining in crusades or cultivating art. When, in 1189,
the Third Crusade was arranged, Richard the Lion-hearted was one of the
three sovereigns who joined in the ineffectual enterprise. With his
followers may have been brought back the incentives to art cultivation
which make their effects apparent in the next century. The government
was, in the mean time, taking the form which it assumed before the end
of the thirteenth century, and which it has retained ever since.
Political and art history here run exactly parallel. Given disorder and
despairing apathy, and art is unknown. But let order take the place of
chaos, and constitutional rule that of despotism, and the discarded arts
again blossom into flower. Eastern influences manifested themselves in
England almost contemporaneously with the revival of the ceramic art. On
one specimen from Ely, a scriptural subject--Eve offering the apple to
Adam, while a human-headed serpent coils itself round the tree--is
surrounded by several designs of clearly Saracenic or Moorish
inspiration.

[Illustration: Fig. 316.--Old Tile from Salisbury. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 317.--Old Tile from Milton Abbey. (Boston Household
Art Rooms.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 318.--Old Tile from Chester. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]

For at least four centuries tiles formed the staple production of the
potters of England. The annals indicate a popular indifference to the
domestic use of earthen-ware, which contrasts strongly with more
southern preferences. In the reign of Edward I. a chance cargo from
Spain, containing some plates and other household table-wares, reached
England, but failed to affect the national use of wooden trenchers,
leathern jugs, and metal. Lead-glazed pottery was, however, made as
early as the fourteenth century, though not to a great extent. The
specimens which have been preserved are generally coarse in texture, and
are covered with green or yellow glaze. A ewer of the thirteenth or
fourteenth century is rudely designed to represent a mounted knight.
Other examples of the same period are jugs, of which some are
inartistically formed, while others are not devoid of a certain
gracefulness of shape. Costrels, or costrils (elongated bottles which
answered the purpose of the modern flask), occur of a red paste with red
and white glaze. A candlestick with white studs for ornaments has been
found of the same red color.

As we pass to the later works of English potters, we become conscious of
the difficulty of following our usual plan of dividing them into
pottery, stone-ware with vitrified fracture, and porcelain. The
treatment of the name of Wedgwood alone would make such an arrangement
undesirable, as tending to break the continuity of our narrative.
Stone-ware and earthen-ware will therefore be considered together.

The making of both enamelled pottery and stone-ware appears to have been
an imported industry. Dutch potters are said to have settled at both
Lambeth and Fulham in the seventeenth century, and to have there
originated the manufacture of what was called “Delft,” after the name of
the seat of the industry in Holland. White wine-pots of this ware date
from about the middle of the seventeenth century. Plates, oval and round
dishes, mugs and cups, of the same ware appear in various collections,
some with figures in relief, others with paintings in brown, blue,
yellow, and green, and others with medallions or mottoes. They generally
date from between 1650 and 1690. Delft was also made in Liverpool and in
Staffordshire.

The first mention of stone-ware occurs in 1581, in the petition of a
certain William Simpson, for “full power and onlie licence to provyde,
transport, and bring into this realm, drinking stone pottes” made at
Cologne and transported into England by a dealer living in
Aix-la-Chapelle. As a reason why his prayer should be granted, Simpson
stated that he would, “as much as in him lieth, drawe the making of such
like pottes into some decayed town within this realm, whereby many
hundred poore men may be sett a work.” Whether he found some decayed
town suitable for the carrying out of his philanthropic intent does not
appear; but in 1588 a Delft potter was carrying on his business at
Sandwich. Lambeth, Fulham, and the Staffordshire potteries appear among
the later producers of stone-ware.

[Illustration: Fig. 319.--Posset-pot. Staffordshire. Fifteenth century.
(Bateman Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 320.--Staffordshire Tyg, or Drinking-cup.]

The leading English centres are the Staffordshire Potteries, including
Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, the Fentons, and other towns comprising
Stoke-upon-Trent, Lambeth, Fulham, Liverpool, Leeds, Lowestoft, Bristol,
Yarmouth, and Nottingham. Of these the place of honor must be accorded
to Staffordshire. It has been associated with the ceramic art ever since
the Roman invasion; and the name of a family in the district
(Tellwright) is adduced as a proof that under the Saxons the advantages
of the locality for the making of pottery were fully recognized. The
name is a corruption of tile-wright, or potter. Many interesting facts
relating to English pottery in general, and to that of Staffordshire in
particular, are brought together by Mr. Marryat, whose able work
deserves the study of all desirous of following the gradual development
of the art in England. Early specimens of Staffordshire ware are the
butter-pots of the period, and the tall vessels (Fig. 320) called
“Tygs.” About 1650, Thomas and Ralph Toft and Thomas Sans were making
round dishes with some pretensions to an ornamental character. The year
1680 was made memorable by the discovery of salt glaze. The story goes
that a servant of Mr. Joseph Yates, occupant of Stanley Farm, near
Palmer’s Pottery, Bagnall, was boiling salt in water preparatory to
using it in curing pork. An earthen pot was used as a pan, and the
servant having left it for a time, the water boiled over, and would also
appear to have all boiled away, since the pan became red hot. When it
cooled it was found to be covered with what was afterward known as salt
glaze. The hint was quickly taken by the potters in the neighborhood,
and the process soon became common. The Burslem makers adopted it in
1690, and called the salt-glazed ware “Crouch-ware.” Five years earlier,
Mr. Thomas Miles was making stone-ware at Shelton, and the district
production from about that time increased very rapidly.

[Illustration: Fig. 321.--Teapot. Elers Ware.]

[Illustration: Fig. 322.--Medallion of Wedgwood, by Flaxman. On Monument
in Stoke Parish Church.]

At Bradwell, in 1690, the Elers brothers, from Nuremberg, who had
crossed with the Prince of Orange, set up one of the first
establishments worked upon a regular mercantile basis. It had been for
some time the object of both native and Dutch potters to imitate the red
ware of China, and the Elers were the first to reach approximate
success. Having discovered a bed of red clay, they set about working it
in conjunction with gray stone-ware, with which they produced very fine
reliefs (Fig. 321). Notwithstanding the strictest watchfulness, and the
employment of semi-idiotic workmen, their secret was stolen by one
Astbury, who for several years feigned idiocy in order to be allowed to
work in their place, and in that way secure possession of their methods.
The competition then became so great in their neighborhood that in
twenty years they closed their establishment. Their reliefs were
remarkably sharp in outline, and the paste was of fine quality.

[Illustration: Fig. 323.--Cameo Medallion, by Flaxman. Mrs. Siddons as
Lady Macbeth.]

It is curious to find that to another accident the Staffordshire potters
were indebted for the discovery of the value of calcined flint mixed in
the paste. A son of the above named Astbury was riding through Dunstable
in 1720, when he noticed symptoms of disorder in his horse’s eyes. The
hostler at the inn where he stopped undertook to cure the animal by
burning some flint and blowing the powder thus produced into the horse’s
eyes. Astbury saw the dust, and it at once occurred to him that it might
be useful in his business. From calcined flint, sand, and pipe-clay
colored by means of oxides, were made the wares called “Agate” and
“Tortoise-shell.” Then followed the adoption of plaster of Paris moulds
and a more general resort to mouldings in bas-relief.

We now approach the era made illustrious by the name of Mr. Josiah
Wedgwood (Fig. 322), the greatest of English potters, of whom it has
been said, in the most unqualified terms: “With him the ceramic art
received its highest development in ancient or modern times; for while
greater beauty of decoration in painting characterized other wares, he
produced the noblest artistic results of the moulding in clay.” However
much others may be led by individual preference to qualify this
encomium, there is no doubt that Wedgwood ranks among the highest names
known in the history of English ceramic art. Born at Burslem, in
Staffordshire, in 1730, of a family which had been engaged in the making
of pottery for many years, Josiah enjoyed in early life none of the
educational advantages which might have developed in him the promise of
his future brilliant career. It is highly probable that his schooling
did not carry him farther than reading and writing, and at the age of
eleven we find him engaged as a thrower in his brother’s workshop. Then
came sickness in the worst of all its forms, smallpox, which left him so
lame that amputation of one leg became necessary, and ended his career
at the wheel. It is possible that, in current phraseology, this
misfortune may have been a blessing in disguise. He at once turned his
attention to the production of ornamental pottery and the imitation of
precious stones, mixing variously compounded clays with oxides, and
otherwise experimenting.

[Illustration: Fig. 324.--Black Basaltes. (Meyer Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 325.--Black and White Jasper. (Barlow Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 326.--Early Wedgwood. Blue; Moulded. (W. S. Ward
Coll.)]

The idea must have got abroad that he had talent, as, at the age of
twenty-two, we find him in partnership with a Mr. Harrison, and then, in
1754, with Mr. Thomas Wheildon, of Fenton. This gentleman lacked his
partner’s enterprise, and in 1759 Wedgwood was in business for himself,
at Burslem, at first in a small way, then in a larger, and again in a
still larger manufactory. In the last he made the ware called
“Queen’s-ware”--a cream-colored fabric of very delicate color, composed
of white clay mixed with flint, and brilliantly glazed. It derived its
name from a specimen service having been accepted by Queen Charlotte.
His fortune was now practically guaranteed, and his career an assured
success. Court patronage made him the fashion in England, and we also
find him engaged in an export business. Prosperity did not rob him of
any of his early enterprise, but rather acted upon him as an incentive
to farther and greater exertion. He continued studying, investigating,
and experimenting, and with the assistance of his partner, Mr. Bentley,
pushed his business in all directions. Several kinds of earthen-ware and
stone-ware were produced by him (Fig. 326), and after effecting various
improvements upon his table ware, he turned his attention to those
imitations of the antique, and of cameos, intaglios, and seals, with
which his name is indissolubly associated. With these are to be classed
his fifty copies of the Barberini, or Portland vase (Fig. 327). The
original is glass in two strata--dark blue and opaque white--and is an
example of Roman work of the second or third century. It was bought by
the Duke of Portland for £1029.

These works admit of no classification. Some are earthen-ware, others
stone-ware, and others are of such a composition that they may be most
correctly classed with porcelain. The name “Basaltes” was given to a
series of imitations of Egyptian styles in black biscuit, with reliefs
in white and red (Figs. 324 and 325). More charming than these is the
jasper or onyx ware from the blue or soft green ground of which the
white busts (Fig. 328), figures, and flowers stand out in the most
exquisite relief. The biscuit is a porcelaneous stone-ware, colored all
through by means of oxides. Wedgwood made in all more than two thousand
copies of antique gems.

[Illustration: Fig. 327.--The Barberini, or Portland Vase.]

In 1771 Wedgwood removed from Burslem to Etruria, a village which he
erected in proximity to his works, and for the accommodation of his
workmen. There he also built for himself a handsome residence, which he
occupied until his death, in 1795, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
His decorated cream-colored ware had, in the mean time, become known all
over Europe, in India, and in this country. In 1775 he made a service
for the Empress Catherine II. of Russia, undervalued at fifteen thousand
dollars. We close our brief sketch of his remarkable career by noting
that the success of the Etruria of his foundation was based upon
commerce, and not upon royal patronage; that his humblest works are
marked by a thoroughness and fitness parallel with the artistic
qualities of his higher pieces; and that excellence of workmanship was
in all cases his primary aim. One of his contemporaries and successors
was Mr. Enoch Wood, who established a workshop at Burslem in 1770, and
was succeeded by Messrs. Caldwell & Wood.

[Illustration: Fig. 328.--Wedgwood Jasper-ware. (John W. Britton Coll.)]

The later products of the Wedgwood factory are hardly less varied than
those of its founder’s lifetime. The jasper-ware is still produced, and
although some of the pieces lack the exquisite finish of the original,
others show little, if any, inferiority. The plate of blue jasper, with
white decoration, given in the illustration (Fig. 330), is a remarkably
fine example of recent work. The Wedgwood majolica is, both in regard to
color and the modelling of the ornaments and figures, unsurpassed by any
similar ware of the present time. Of this the vase (Fig. 331) is an
excellent illustration. The body is a clear deep blue.

[Illustration: Fig. 329.--Recent Wedgwood Earthen-ware. (D. Collamore.)]

In our time the Staffordshire Potteries maintain their old repute. One
well-known name is that of Minton. It occurs in three firms, all located
in the Potteries: Minton & Co.; Minton, Hollins & Co., of
Stoke-upon-Trent; and Mr. Robert Minton Taylor, of Fenton. The
establishment of Minton & Co. was founded while Wedgwood was still
alive, by Mr. Thomas Minton, in 1791. The founder of the firm had been
successively an employé of Mr. Thomas Turner, of Caughley, and of Spode,
before, in 1788, he went to Stoke, and there bought land and built a
house and factory. In 1790 he took Spode’s manager, Mr. Joseph Paulson,
into partnership, and in 1793 assumed a second partner, Mr. Pownall. The
latter retired in 1800, and Paulson died in 1809, after which, for a
number of years, Thomas Minton carried on the works alone. Previous to
1798 the factory made nothing but earthen-ware, the greater portion of
which was decorated in blue and white, after the type supplied by the
porcelain of Nankin.

[Illustration: Fig. 330.--Modern Wedgwood Jasper. (Tiffany & Co.)]

In 1817 Herbert Minton, a younger son of Thomas, was taken in as partner
by his father, and although he practically retired from the business
between 1823 and 1836, he succeeded to it in the latter year on the
death of the founder. He went into partnership first with Mr. John
Boyle, who subsequently joined the Wedgwoods, and secondly with Michael
Daintry Hollins. At the time of his death, in 1858, he had two partners,
Hollins and Colin Minton Campbell. At that time fifteen hands were
employed in the factory. Herbert had directed his attention to the wide
range of works which have since given the name of Minton a world-wide
reputation. These were earthen-ware, artificial porcelain, natural
porcelain, parian, encaustic tiles, azulejos, mosaics, Della Robbia
ware, Palissy ware, and majolica. The Mintons divide with Copeland the
honor of first making parian. Both firms exhibited it at the London
Exhibition of 1851, and the jury to which the question of priority was
referred could not decide between them. To continue the history of the
firm, Colin Minton Campbell dissolved his partnership with Hollins in
1868, and now carries on the business in connection with his cousins,
Thomas, William, and Herbert Minton, the great-grandsons of the founder.

[Illustration: Fig. 331.--Wedgwood Majolica. (Horace Russell Coll.)]

The firm now ranks with the first of English manufacturers. Their
enterprise has traversed a field as wide as that into which Wedgwood
entered, and their success has been very great. In the pursuit of the
commercial they have not neglected the artistic. It is said of Wedgwood
that he copied and imitated everything worth imitating. Minton & Co.
have followed a similar course, though in a different direction.
Twenty-five years ago we find them attempting to make natural porcelain,
but the enterprise was abandoned. When the taste for Oriental styles
revived, they were among the first to succeed in gratifying the public
whim. In doing so they produced specimens of color highly praiseworthy,
and of a beauty vividly recalling that of the Oriental originals. Their
Persian ware and _pate changeante_ have both excited the admiration of
connoisseurs. The Mintons have also been successful in reproducing with
wonderful fidelity the _cloisonné_ enamel of China and Japan, using a
porcelain base. Here, as in the Persian ware, their turquoise blue is
very effective, and the decoration in enamels reflects faithfully the
tone of Oriental ornament. Leaving the East, Minton & Co. have been no
less fortunate in imitating the Italian Grafitto ware of the fifteenth
century, and the famous inlaid Henri Deux ware of France. Several
specimens of the latter were exhibited by Messrs. A. B. Daniell & Son at
the Centennial Exhibition, and included a teapot, a pitcher, and a pair
of candlesticks, all of pale yellow body inlaid with red. Examples are
in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and in the collections of Mr. Walters
and Mr. W. L. Andrews. A mere reference must suffice for their majolica
(Fig. 334), which is rather an independent product than an imitation of
the majolica of Italy. It is peculiar both in composition and in the
colors employed in its decoration, and is fired at a very high
temperature. Mr. Herbert Minton was the first to copy the azulejos of
Spain. The above are only a few of the achievements which might be
adduced to show how Minton & Co. have boldly essayed to duplicate the
choicest products of ceramic art. One is forcibly reminded by them of
the Chinese workman’s delight in contending with technical difficulty
for the mere sake of surmounting it. Among their artists are Mr. Solon,
W. S. Stevens, Charles Toft, H. Darling, J. Leese, M. Mussill, Kirby,
Mellor Slater, F. Fuller, and H. Protat.

[Illustration: Fig. 332.--Minton Stone-ware. (D. Collamore.)]

The firm of Minton, Hollins & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent, was founded by
Michael Daintry Hollins, on the dissolution of his partnership with
Colin Minton Campbell in 1868. He built extensive works, and began to
make majolica and encaustic tiles, slabs, panels, and other similar
wares. The firm now produces an almost endless variety of tiles. At the
Centennial Exhibition this firm was represented by some pieces of great
brilliancy of color and very careful drawing. In one scene two finely
plumaged wading-birds appeared among the water-lilies in a brook. The
soft gray of the feathers tipped with bright blue, and the green of the
reeds and other plants, were thrown out well by the dark-brown
background. On some smaller pieces birds of tropically gay plumage were
painted upon a sombre chocolate ground. On others were flowers and
butterflies upon a pale ground. The style of treatment is purely
Oriental. Drawing and color are paramount. The ground is merely
intended for contrast with, or the heightening of, the superimposed
decoration. Some beautiful heads of dogs, lions, and asses were
marvellous examples of animal portraiture, and illustrated the capacity
of tiling for the reception of that style of decoration. In them was
seen the work of an artist who fully understood that, given the
requisite mastery of color, a tile may be employed as a more lasting
substitute for canvas. It is also worth noting that whenever tiles are
used for covering a large surface, and each one is treated as a unit,
the result is an artistic blunder. The eye wearies with monotonous
repetition, and no minuteness of finish in the single tile can relieve
the bewildering effect of the mass. Minton, Hollins & Co. have been
fortunate in designing fire-places of tiling, with side paintings of
birds and flowers, and larger scenes above the mantel, of a character in
keeping with their place in a household.

[Illustration: Fig. 333.--Minton Plaque, by Mussill. (Tiffany & Co.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 334--Minton’s Prometheus Vase. (Corcoran Art
Gallery.)]

From the Trent we pass to Lambeth, near London. It was here that in 1640
the Dutch makers of stone-ware and delft settled. At one time there were
twenty different establishments, but on the rise of Staffordshire their
number decreased under the weight of competition. Some of the early
Lambeth ware is very skilfully painted, the tiles with a blue ground
being especially commendable. At the present time Lambeth is best known
by its Doulton ware and Lambeth faience. The Doulton or Lambeth pottery
was founded by Mr. John Doulton, who was born at Lambeth in 1793. He
served an apprenticeship with White of Fulham, and in 1815 associated
Mr. John Watts with himself in establishing the present pottery. Mr.
Watts died in 1858, and Mr. Doulton in 1873, and the business is now in
the hands of Messrs. Henry and James D. Doulton, sons of the founder. In
1870 they first issued an artistic ware, and in 1872 turned out the
first specimen of what they have called “Lambeth faience.” The “Doulton
ware” may, without detracting from the originality of much of the
decoration, be described as a revival in both composition and style of
the German stone-ware, miscalled _Grès de Flandre_. Like other
stone-wares the body is highly silicious, close in texture, and very
brittle. The necessary firing takes several days to accomplish, and the
glaze is made by throwing salt into the kiln, according to the process
discovered, as we have seen, in Staffordshire, and long practised at
Lambeth. The body-tints are the result of washing the pieces in a
preparation of oxides, varied according to the shade desired. The
ornamentation is fourfold. It consists either of incrustations,
indented designs, incised figures or scenes, or colors. These methods
are occasionally combined. The Lambeth faience is a finer ware, and is
decorated under the glaze with paintings of flowers, landscapes,
portraits, and figures. The Messrs. Doultons’ artists are all taken from
the ranks of pupils in the Lambeth School of Art. Among them are Miss
Hannah B. Barlow, a very skilful animal painter, Mr. Arthur Barlow, Mr.
Frank A. Butler, Mrs. Sparkes, and Mr. George Tinworth.

[Illustration: Fig. 335.--Doulton Ware. (W. B. Dickerman Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 336.--Doulton Ware. (W. B. Dickerman Coll.)]

A great deal of the Doulton ware very closely resembles the _Grès de
Flandre_ in its decoration, but even to these specimens is to be
accorded the originality resulting from a modified development of the
fundamental style. A larger experience may lead to something more
perfectly original. The present tendency appears to be toward an excess
of ornament, in some instances not a single square inch being left
uncovered. Studs and bosses are affixed in bands, are led over the
surface in floriated designs, and give the arched handles a peculiar
serrated appearance. A very ingenious design consists of incised broad
leaves overlapping each other, and becoming more sharply pointed and
elongated as they rise up the neck to the lip. Studs are then laid in
vertical bands from top to bottom, the lines converging as the leaves
become smaller. In many cases, however, the reliefs destroy the outline,
and mar the beauty of a host of otherwise admirable shapes. In the
matter of form, the Messrs. Doulton, in fact, leave little to be
desired. Many of their vases display a pure, classical gracefulness, and
others are possessed of a quaintness and novelty almost equally
attractive. Canettes, goblets, and small covered jars decorated with
plain or ornamental bands, and dotted with flower-like studs, are to be
classed among the best examples of the more characteristic or
distinctive style of Lambeth decoration.

[Illustration: Fig. 337.--Lambeth Faience.]

The plaques and tiles of Lambeth faience deserve separate notice. Some
of the smaller pieces illustrate the capacity of the ware for
portraiture. The drawing is invariably careful, and the coloring is
applied with both taste and delicacy. The colors will probably be
improved in time, and become more decided without losing anything in
softness. The pieces we have seen inspire us with this hope, and that
here again experience may lead to greater excellence. A large
tile-piece, by Mrs. Sparkes, representing the departure of the Pilgrim
Fathers, and painted upon two hundred and fifty-two tiles of Lambeth
faience, was exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition. The lady-artist is
deserving of all praise for her composition and drawing. The perspective
was very well managed, and the figures were brought out in strong relief
against a sky glowing with the rays of the setting sun.

[Illustration: Fig. 338.--Lambeth Faience. (D. Collamore.)]

The Messrs. Doulton have achieved some wonderful results in the
combination of terra-cotta with their stone-ware. At the Centennial
Exhibition they had a brown terra-cotta fireplace and mirror-frame, with
tiled panels and hearth and terra-cotta fender. In another mantel-piece,
of oak, a set of tiles in the panels showed admirably designed and
executed illustrations of scenes and characters from Shakspeare. In
these and other similar works a great deal of taste and ingenuity was
shown in the combination of material. A magnificent example of the
union of terra-cotta with Doulton ware is now in the Smithsonian
Institute at Washington (Fig. 340). It is a pulpit of red and light buff
terra-cotta with ornaments of blue stone-ware. The balusters on the
stairs leading up to the pulpit are Doulton ware ornamented with bands
of terra-cotta. Under the base of the balustrade, and round the pulpit
under the panels in front and on the sides, are bands of Doulton ware. A
similar band surrounds the alcoves or panels. The latter are by Mr.
George Tinworth, of London, and illustrate scenes in the life of Christ,
from the offering in the Temple of “a pair of turtle-doves or two young
pigeons” to the ascension. Of this artist’s execution, also, are the
panels in a baptismal font which accompanies the pulpit. These and other
similar works are so deeply sunk that they have the appearance of groups
of figures separately modelled and placed in the recess rather than of
mouldings in relief. They are in every way admirable. The expression and
attitudes of some of the faces and figures are marvellously life-like
and forcible.

[Illustration: Fig. 339.--Lambeth Faience. (D. Collamore.)]

Fulham owes the beginnings of its pottery to the Dutch. In 1684 Mr. John
Dwight was making stone-ware, earthen-ware, statues, and porcelain. The
latter was very soon discontinued. The production of other wares was
carried on by descendants of the founder.

The history of Bristol pottery is said to go back to the commencement of
the thirteenth century, but its first piece with a date is five hundred
years later. It is delft-ware, and is dated 1703. A German, named Wrede,
or Reed, is said to have made stone-ware about the same period.
Otherwise Bristol is unimportant in so far as earthen-ware is
concerned.

Leeds is one of the towns which, toward the close of the last century,
were adopted as fields for a pottery enterprise. It did an extensive
trade with the Continent in a cream-colored ware.

[Illustration: Fig. 340.--Terra-cotta Pulpit. (Smithsonian Institute.)]

Liverpool begins its history, in 1716, with the manufacture of delft.
The first event of any importance is the invention by Mr. John Sadler,
in 1753, of a method of printing upon earthen-ware. Wedgwood was in the
habit of sending Queen’s-ware to Sadler to be printed. In 1752 Mr.
Richard Chaffers set up an earthen-ware establishment, but soon turned
his attention to porcelain, which he succeeded in making after
discovering the necessary material in Devonshire. On his death the
enterprise came to an end. The next name of distinction is that of
Pennington, who, about 1760, made delft bowls and vases, some of which
were painted by an artist named Robinson. Pennington ultimately returned
to Worcester. In 1794 the “Herculaneum Pottery” was opened at
Birkenhead, and was worked until 1841.

[Illustration: Fig. 341.--Lambeth Faience. (Dr. H. G. Piffard Coll.)]

Mr. Herolin Luson made an ineffectual attempt to establish a pottery at
Lowestoft in 1756. His failure is to be attributed to the infidelity of
his workmen, who were induced by the London manufacturers to spoil the
ware. Notwithstanding the opposition which led competitors to resort to
similarly unworthy devices, Walker, Brown, Aldred, and Rickman founded a
workshop within a year of Luson’s failure, and by taking the necessary
precautions against treachery, placed it upon a permanent basis. It made
ware of every grade. The Lowestoft earthen-ware was usually decorated
with blue, and occasionally with red. The early porcelain was painted in
the same colors, and the later pieces were ornamented with flowers. The
latter are artistically drawn and colored, and equal the best work found
on English porcelain. Plain Chinese ware was imported and decorated at
Lowestoft; but the production ceased about the year 1830.

[Illustration: Fig. 342.--Lowestoft Pottery. (F. Robinson Coll.)]

It is questionable if ware of any kind was ever made at Yarmouth,
although it is certain that a decorating establishment and kiln existed
there probably about 1752. It is more than possible that this workshop
was in part supplied with Lowestoft biscuit.

Nottingham manufactured pottery from about 1650, and the business was
continued for at least a century. The precise period at which it came to
an end is not known.

The Shropshire factories were offshoots of those of Staffordshire. The
Brosely establishment was founded by Mr. Richard Thursfield, of Stoke,
in 1713, and passed from his family into the hands of the Roses of
Colebrookdale about 1799. A black stone-ware decorated with gilt or
with reliefs was the chief product.

Mr. Francis Place, of the Manor-house, York, made fine pottery or
stone-ware in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The well-known
“Rockingham ware” took its name from a brown pottery made upon the
estate of the Marquis of Rockingham, at Swinton, in Yorkshire. The
production originated in 1757, and the enterprise was subsequently
carried on by Mr. William Malpass (1765); Mr. Thomas Bingley (1778);
Messrs. John and William Bramfield (1807-1842), when the works stopped.
The brown teapots of this factory were at one time very fashionable in
England. Of these and other works each had its specialty of decoration
or composition, but to detail them in full would only complicate a
sketch in which it is intended to give merely salient points, on a
comprehensive plan.


PORCELAIN.

     Plymouth Hard Porcelain.--Cookworthy.--Bow.--Chelsea.--Derby.--Worcester.
     --Minton.--Pate-sur-Pate.--Spode.--Copeland.--Bristol.--Tunstall.
     --Caughley.--Nantgarrow.--Swansea.--Colebrookdale.--Pinxton.--Shelton.
     --Belleek.--General Character of Manufacture in Great Britain.

It may be as well to premise that the porcelain now made in England all
belongs to the soft, or, according to our classification, the artificial
class. Its composition has already been described. The leading seats of
the industry are Bow, Chelsea, Derby, Plymouth, Bristol, Worcester, and
a few workshops in the midland counties and Wales.

With the possible exceptions of Lowestoft and Bristol, Plymouth stands
alone as the only place in England at which a manufactory of hard, or
natural, porcelain ever existed (Fig. 343). This distinction is due to
the enterprise of William Cookworthy, who was born near Plymouth, in
1705. Cookworthy was a chemist and druggist, and was led into his
porcelain venture by the discovery of kaolin and petuntse near Helstone,
in 1755. Five years later his manufactory was running at Coxside, but
meeting with no adequate commercial support, he sold his patents, in
1772, to Richard Champion, of Bristol. The production then ceased.
Cookworthy’s first attempts were not encouraging, but perseverance
brought a certain measure of success, and his later works are of fine
quality. He procured a Sèvres painter, and also employed Bone, the
enameller and artist, and by their help turned out many valuable
services and pieces richly ornamented after the prevailing Oriental
styles, with birds, flowers, and insects.

[Illustration: Fig. 343.--Plymouth Hard Porcelain Coffee-pot.]

Before Cookworthy embarked in his porcelain enterprise at Plymouth,
artificial porcelain was made at Stratford-le-Bow and Chelsea. The
beginnings of the industry at neither place have ever been
satisfactorily freed from obscurity, and it is not known to which the
priority belongs. Thomas Frye, an Essex artist, superintended the works
at Bow for some time, and is said to have been the first who succeeded
in making English porcelain. He died in 1762. Probably the Bow and
Chelsea works both started about twenty years before that date. It is
certain that both stopped after less than fifty years existence. The
porcelain made at Stratford-le-Bow, and designated “Bow china,” is of
coarse paste, and is often found decorated with a bee either painted or
embossed (Fig. 344). The painting of flowers and scenes is not of a high
order, but the reliefs are frequently effective and well executed. The
Bow artists also made figure groups.

[Illustration: Fig. 344--Bow cream-jug.]

The decoration of early Chelsea porcelain closely followed the Chinese,
which it was intended to rival. The business there did not attain to
any eminence, nor did the art rise to a noticeable height, until the
works were patronized by the Court of George II and supported by the
Duke of Cumberland. Between 1750 and 1765, Chelsea porcelain most
closely approached its great Continental rivals (Fig. 345). After 1750
the manufacture could hardly be called an English enterprise, since
material and workmen were both imported from Germany. The management
also was in the hands of a foreigner named Spremont. The articles
produced included all the forms of Sèvres and Dresden, table services,
candlesticks, figures, vases, and the numberless designs among which the
inventive ingenuity of Continental artists was exercised. In 1784 the
works stopped. The Chelsea paste was extremely soft, and the glaze was
vitreous and liable to crack. The colors were superb, and included some
of the choicest found on Sèvres porcelain, besides at least one other, a
claret color, peculiar to Chelsea. Very high prices have been obtained
for this porcelain at auctions, more than a thousand dollars having been
given for a pair of vases. In design, workmanship, color, and
decoration, there are pieces of Chelsea porcelain unexcelled by any
other establishment, either English or foreign.

[Illustration: Fig. 345.--Chelsea Porcelain Vase.]

[Illustration: Fig. 346.--Derby Porcelain. Third Duesbury Period. (F.
Robinson Coll.)]

Mr. Duesbury, who purchased the Chelsea works in 1769 and finally
transferred them to Derby, had been making porcelain in the latter place
since 1750. He had also bought and transferred the Bow works, and
carried on a most extensive business, taking the place in public
estimation of the two establishments he had consolidated. The elder
Duesbury died about the year 1788, and the subsequent proprietorship is
not very clear. He appears, however, to have been succeeded by his son,
who died in 1798, and the works then fell to the third Duesbury, who
carried them on in conjunction with Michael Kean until they were
acquired by Robert Bloor in 1815. Bloor kept them until he died in 1849,
and then Locker & Co. held them until 1859, when they were assumed by
Stephenson & Hancock, of which firm Mr. Hancock, the surviving partner,
came into sole possession in 1866. The ware was called Chelsea-Derby
from 1769 to 1773, when it received the name of Crown-Derby, a crown
having been added to the mark after a visit of the king and queen. The
Derby paste was very fine and translucent, and in the production of
biscuit figures it was unrivalled. The best of the old Derby colors was
a beautiful bright blue.

[Illustration: Fig. 347.--Bloor-Derby Porcelain. (F. Robinson Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 348.--Old Worcester Porcelain. (Robert Hoe, Jun.,
Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 349.--Worcester Porcelain. (G. Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 350.--Worcester Porcelain. (D. Collamore.)]

The Worcester works were founded in 1751, by a company headed by Dr.
Wall. To this gentleman has been ascribed the invention of printing on
porcelain, which we have already found in use on pottery in Liverpool in
1753. The matter is involved in doubt, as the process was in vogue at
Battersea about the same period, and it is improbable that it was
simultaneously invented at three different establishments so far apart.
However this may be, Dr. Wall availed himself of the invention, and
handled it with great skill and precision. Steatite obtained from
Cornwall was first used by the company in 1770, and in 1783 the Messrs.
Flight bought up the original establishment, which had found competitors
in the Chamberlains, who had commenced business as decorators in 1786.
In 1788 the works were visited by King George III., who became a patron
of Flight, and were afterward called the Royal Worcester Porcelain
Works. One of the Flights died in 1791, and a partnership was formed by
the survivor with Martin Barr in 1793. The concern was carried on under
the firm of Flight & Barr until 1807, when it became Barr, Flight &
Barr, Jun., and in 1829 another change was made to Flight, Barr & Barr.
It retained that form until 1840, when an amalgamation was effected with
the Chamberlains. In 1862 a joint-stock company was formed, under which
Mr. R. W. Binns, the author of a history of Worcester potting, acted as
superintendent of the artistic department. It is estimated that at
present upward of four hundred workmen are employed in the Worcester
establishment, which is made all the more interesting by reason of its
being one of the few survivors of the old English works. Every effort
is made to bring the porcelain to perfection, and the body and
decoration are both very fine. The Worcester paste does not appear at
first to have equalled that of some other English centres, but its
yellowish tinge made it very well suited for the brilliant color
demanded by the Oriental styles of decoration. The process of transfer
printing is said to have been perfected by Josiah Holdship, who was
assisted by his brother Richard in engraving the plates. Robert Hancock
was also an engraver in the factory. Some rare specimens of transfer
printing are found painted with colors and gold, by which means good
imitations of Dresden were made. This success led to the adoption of the
Dresden mark, a practice to which the Worcester manufacturers seem to
have been too much addicted, as the marks of several of the leading
workshops are found upon their wares. At the present time the Worcester
factory is turning out a great deal of excellent work. The table ware,
of which an example is given (Fig. 351), is generally tastefully and
often brilliantly decorated. The colors in the specimen given are
yellow, red, blue, green, and gold, very judiciously combined, and have
a warm and rich effect. The portrait plaque (Fig. 349) is by A. Handley,
and is executed in flat colors. The flesh-tint is especially soft and
refined. It is a highly satisfactory example of its class.

[Illustration: Fig. 351.--Worcester Porcelain. (D. Collamore.)]

A work widely differing from either of the above is the basket vase
(Fig. 350), with rustic handles and feet, and decorated with leafy
branches in relief. The only color used is a pale shade of blue, which
deepens in the interstices of the wicker-work. These examples have been
chosen not for any exceptional qualities, but for the purpose of
illustrating the average products of a factory which ranks among the
first in England.

The Mintons, although devoting themselves chiefly to stone-ware and
earthen-ware, made porcelain at an early period of their history. This
occurred in 1798, when a semi-translucent porcelain of inferior quality
was made. The production ceased in 1811, and was taken up subsequently
by Herbert Minton. Their _pate-sur-pate_ has been noticed under France,
but we here give a superb specimen of their decoration in that style by
Mr. Solon (Fig. 352).

[Illustration: Fig. 352. Pate-sur-pate, by Solon. (H.C. Gibson Coll.)]

Another famous firm working at Stoke-upon-Trent is that of the
Copelands. It was founded in 1780 by the first Josiah Spode, who
established himself in the works which had been occupied by Banks &
Turner. He appears to have been chiefly engaged in the manufacture of
blue printed willow-ware, and imitations of the more famous works of
Wedgwood, especially his cream and jasper wares. He died in 1797, and
his son and namesake carried on the business, and first turned his
attention to porcelain about the beginning of the present century. The
body he used was of great purity, and the ware was chiefly decorated
with gold and flowers after the fashion of his day. In this venture he
was very successful, and devoted every energy to pushing his enterprise.
In 1805 he achieved another triumph by what he described as “a sort of
fine ware, called opaque porcelain,” which was extensively consumed on
the Continent, to the great detriment of the makers of French faience.
In 1806 the honor was conferred upon him of being appointed potter to
the Prince of Wales, and in 1827 he died, after amassing a large
fortune. The firm consisted for some time of Josiah Spode, William
Spode, and William Copeland, and in 1833 the concern was bought by a son
of the latter, William Taylor Copeland. He was joined by Mr. Garrett in
1843, and the firm consisted of Copeland and Garrett until 1847, when
Mr. Copeland again became sole proprietor, and continued so until 1867,
when he was joined by his sons. The works are now carried on under the
firm of Copeland & Sons, and have attained to great dimensions, covering
about twelve acres of ground, and giving employment to about nine
hundred operatives.

[Illustration: Fig. 353.--Copeland Vase. (Tiffany & Co.)]

Mr. Abraham, art director of the Copeland works, has furnished much of
the above information, and of that which follows regarding the wares of
both Spode and Copeland. According to Mr. Abraham, one of Spode’s most
celebrated wares was the stone china already referred to, an opaque or
nearly opaque compact body of a blue-gray tint resembling Oriental
china. It was fired at a much higher temperature than earthen-ware, and
in reproducing it at the present time it is fired in the porcelain kiln.
It was decorated by Spode in various ways, the qualities most highly
prized being the “old Japans” and oven blues of different shades.
Spode’s stone china and ivory bodies are exceptionally well adapted for
treatment in which oven blue is employed.

This stone china has never been entirely out of use, but for a long time
it did not receive the attention it deserved, and has only been recently
revived. When receiving least attention its manufacture was restricted
to matching sets, the possessors of which were so sensible of its high
qualities as a table ware, that they were desirous of making up
deficiencies in their services whenever practicable. The name of
Copeland is now well known wherever commerce has carried the ceramic
wares of England. Some of the most artistically designed and finely
decorated pieces found in the collections of the present time are from
this workshop. The Copelands have rivalled the most prominent houses of
England, we might say of Europe, both in the many-sidedness of their
enterprise and in its results. The best artists and modellers are
employed, and the products may be compared with any in Europe. What may
be considered a specialty of the Copelands is the employment of royal
blue upon porcelain, both in arbitrary designs and in landscape and
figure painting. They have it so perfectly under control that the most
delicate tints and the greatest depths of which the color is capable are
produced at will, without the overflowing of the color on the one hand,
or on the other the harshness and poverty of tone so common in works
decorated in this blue.

[Illustration: Fig. 354.--Copeland Parian.]

[Illustration: Fig. 355.--Copeland Parian.]

A great deal of the Copeland jewelled ware is exceedingly beautiful. We
have chosen one specimen as being exceptional, both in its design and
decoration (Fig. 353), and it would certainly be difficult to lavish
upon it too much praise. The base is gilt, the body is of two shades of
blue, and the gracefully expanding neck pale brown dotted with brown of
a darker tint. The handles consist of golden butterflies resplendent
with jewels. The effect is rich, but harmonious and charming, and the
piece may be regarded as one of the most favorable illustrations of what
the English artists of our time can accomplish.

[Illustration: Fig. 356.--Copeland Reticulated Porcelain. (W. B.
Dickerman Coll.)]

In approaching the Copeland parian (Figs. 354 and 355), we find
ourselves among some of the finest works in that material yet given to
the world. An enumeration of the artists regularly or specially engaged
in this department would include many of the highest names in the
profession. This branch of art has developed rapidly, partly on account
of the rivalry between manufacturers, but chiefly by reason of the
welcome everywhere extended to the works issued. Among the subjects
chosen by the Copelands, many, possibly the greater number, are
ideals--such personifications as those of Music and Poetry. It could not
be expected that all these would be of equal merit, and fault may
occasionally be found with attitudes and proportions; but they are, as a
whole, admirably executed.

Yet another branch of art in which the Copelands have been eminently
successful is represented by the perforated or reticulated ware of which
the Chinese supply the types. The potting difficulties and risk in
making this double surface ware are greater or less according to the
intricacy and delicacy of the perforations. In the cup and saucer here
given (Fig. 356) the manipulation and firing were exceptionally delicate
and hazardous, far more so than in the case of the honey-comb
perforation. Held up to the light, the inner surface appears to be as
thin as egg-shell; and it seems a perfect marvel that, when the heat has
softened the body, the upper surface does not sink down upon that below.
Where plugs can be used to keep them apart, or where the perforated
surface is strongly arched, or where the article can be placed upright,
the danger is manifestly less than in such a piece as the saucer, with
its pointed leaf-work bending downward rather than arching. It is also
necessarily placed flat in the kiln. Many pieces of the same kind have
been made by the Copelands.

We have already seen that Cookworthy sold his patent to Mr. R. Champion,
of Bristol. It appears, however, that he retained an interest in it
after Champion started his manufactory in that city until the year 1773,
when he relinquished his right on payment of a royalty. The Bristol
workshop was founded a few years previously, but no natural porcelain
was put upon the market until that date. The fact that Champion was, in
1776, making artificial porcelain indicates that he very soon found his
hard porcelain venture would not be remunerative. He was, according to
one authority, associated with a company of Bristol gentlemen in his
enterprise, and it appears to be certain that when he applied for the
extension of his patent he did not stand alone. In 1781 or 1782 he
resigned his right to a company of Staffordshire potters, and was
appointed Paymaster of the Forces, under his friend Mr. Edmund Burke. He
died in 1787, at Camden, South Carolina. The Bristol china is chiefly
valuable by reason of its rarity. The decoration is after Continental
and Chinese styles, and the paste is inferior.

The company which purchased Champion’s patent continued to make natural
paste until 1810, first at Tunstall and afterward at Shelton. It was
called “New Hall china.” Artificial porcelain was made until 1825.

When, in 1807, the Bramelds acquired the Swinton works, they conjoined
the manufacture of Rockingham and fine pottery with porcelain of
excellent quality. They endeavored to make a ware of the finest sort in
both body and decoration, but fell into financial difficulties in 1826,
and, although assisted by Earl Fitzwilliam, finally succumbed, as we
have already seen, in 1842.

Caughley is the earliest and most important of the Shropshire
porcelains. The workshop would be deserving of remembrance were it only
for one reason--that it was here Mr. Thomas Turner originated, in 1780,
the willow pattern. The manufacture of porcelain at Caughley was
inaugurated soon after the middle of the eighteenth century. Turner took
the management about 1780, although he had been interested in the works
for some years previously. He effected great improvements, introduced
printing, raised the quality of the ware, and engaged the most skilful
decorators. He also made white ware for other decorating establishments,
especially those of Worcester. The Caughley works were, in 1799,
amalgamated with those of Colebrookdale.

A factory was founded at Nantgarrow in 1813, by Walker & Beely, or
Billingsley, and was carried on, in conjunction with Mr. W. Young, until
1828, when it was bought by Mr. John Rose, of Colebrookdale.

The “Cambrian Pottery” of Swansea was founded in 1750, and began to make
“opaque china” in 1790, and from 1814 to 1819 was making porcelain.
Young and Billingsley, the Nantgarrow artists, both appear to have been
employed at Swansea, by Mr. Dillwyn, who had bought the works in 1802.
In 1820 they passed into the possession of Mr. Rose, of Colebrookdale.

At this place, or Coalport, as it is alternatively called, the Caughley,
Nantgarrow, and Swansea factories were thus consolidated in the hands of
Mr. John Rose, a pupil of Turner of Caughley, and a man of great
enterprise. He took with him the best artists of the works successively
absorbed, and it is here that we again meet Walker and Billingsley as
superintendents. The present proprietor is Mr. W. F. Rose. The Messrs.
Daniell, of London, are among the leading supporters of the factory, and
have incited Mr. Rose to some of his most successful experiments in
color. Of these the Dubarry rose, one of the most famous and beautiful
colors of Sèvres, is probably the most important.

Billingsley worked first at Derby, then successively at Pinxton,
Mansfield, Worcester, Nantgarrow, Swansea, and Coalport. He died at the
last mentioned place in 1828.

The Pinxton factory here mentioned was established in 1795, by Mr. John
Coke, who transferred it to Billingsley, from whom it passed to Mr.
Cutts. It was closed in 1812.

[Illustration: Fig. 357.--English Porcelain. Brown, Westhead, Moore &
Co. (D. Collamore.)]

Brief mention has already been made of Tunstall and Shelton. The latter
place is less known in America, in connection with the working of the
Champion patent, than by the names of Ridgway and Brown, Westhead, Moore
& Co. (Fig. 357). Job Ridgway was a Shelton potter in the latter part of
the last century, and was, in 1814, succeeded by his sons John and
William, who were followed by the above firm. The porcelain of both
firms is well known in this country. With Shelton, although there are or
have been many other factories in England, we close our sketch of that
country.

[Illustration: Fig. 358.--Belleek Porcelain. (Tiffany & Co.)]

A peculiar ware from Belleek, Lough Erne, Fermanagh County, Ireland, has
made its appearance in America within the past ten years, and has been
received with considerable favor both here and in Canada. It is
carefully and artistically wrought into ornamental pieces and services.
Its chief peculiarity is an iridescent glaze of a silvery, lustrous
appearance. In the specimen (Fig. 358) the pedestal is unglazed, and its
dead white contrasts admirably with the lustrous flowers, base, and top.
The ware is obtained from a combination of clays found in the
neighborhood from which it takes its name. It is a true porcelain and
very translucent, and in thin lustred pieces rivals the egg-shell of the
far East. It is equally beautiful in biscuit or glazed.

[Illustration: Fig. 359.--Belleek Porcelain. (Tiffany & Co.)]

Several original designs appear among the table services of this ware,
which are rendered very attractive by the peculiar glaze. Exceedingly
beautiful imitations of shells (Fig. 359) are made of Belleek ware, a
purpose for which it is especially suited by reason of the similarity
the glazed surface presents to the inside pearly lining of a shell (Fig.
360). A ware somewhat similar in appearance is made in England and
France, where an artificial metallic glaze is employed to produce the
_madreperla_ lustre.

[Illustration: Fig. 360.--Belleek Porcelain. (Tiffany & Co.)]

The ceramics of England are of special interest to the American reader.
In many of our old homes are to be found samples of English pottery and
porcelain brought to this country long before Revolutionary times. Many
of them are, like heirlooms, passed on from generation to generation,
the remnants being all the more highly prized as they become fewer in
number. A great deal of the earthen-ware and porcelain used here within
the last century has come from the centres of which we have been
treating. To the student of the art, also, England has an interest all
its own. The workmen of England have, from the earliest times, shown
that moral as well as mental capacity for coping with mechanical and
scientific difficulties which marks the typical English character.
Wedgwood was a remarkable instance of a man who, with materials usually
considered of inferior quality for artistic embellishment, steadily
aimed at producing works which should be, and actually were, the best of
their kind. So it is with the Mintons and Doultons of our day. They
surround themselves with the best artists they can find, and have taught
England, which was still disposed to reserve its warmest admiration for
works executed in the long-coveted and only recently possessed
porcelain, to forget the medium in the art it conveys.

[Illustration: Fig. 361.--Tile-piece, by F. T. Vance.]




BOOK IV.--AMERICA.




CHAPTER I.

SOUTH AMERICA.

     Antiquity of American People.--Scope of Inquiry.--PERU: Its Old
     Inhabitants.--Course of Ceramic Art.--Doubts regarding Origin of
     Peruvian Civilization.--Periods.--The Incas.--Pizarro.--Geological
     Evidence of Antiquity.--Unbaked Bricks.--Pachacamac.--Its
     Graves.--Opposite Types.--Effect of Religion.--Symbols.--Forms of
     Pottery.--Water-Vessels.--Human Forms.--Leading Features of
     Decoration.--Colors Employed.--Processes.--Customs Learned from
     Pottery.--BRAZIL: Ancient Specimens.--Modern Ware.--Bricks and
     Tiles.--Talhas.--Moringues and other Water-Vessels.--Colombia.


The ceramics of America bring us into a field hitherto unexplored, and
showing few footprints of the investigators who have been led to its
borders. We are here confronted by a state of things to which we have
hitherto been strangers. As creatures belonging to the New World we have
been taught to look with a respect in which America has no share upon
the aged civilizations of Egypt, Assyria, and China. Their ancient
inhabitants were the patriarchs of the world, the pioneers of
civilization; we are the latter-day heirs to the arts and sciences of
which they laid the foundations. The present citizens of those lands are
the children of æons, we the mushroom growth of centuries. Research has
already partially succeeded in endowing America with so much of the
venerable as can be conferred by age. Such notions as those above
referred to are being rapidly dissipated. We have long known that the
hemisphere we inhabit was styled new, not because its geological
formation is of later growth than those of the Old World, nor because
its inhabitants are the after-math of the world’s population, but
because five hundred years ago it was new to the navigators of the East.
We now know that, from Lake Superior to Peru and Chili we can traverse
the sites of old settlements and find the vestiges of peoples who lived
we cannot tell how many hundred or thousand years ago. In the history of
ceramic art America in no way differs from Europe or Asia. We can begin
with the sun-dried bricks of the Peruvians, or Mound-builders, and end
with the porcelain of Greenpoint. As Europe loosed its hold upon the
earlier arts of Greece and Rome, was dismembered, and was for centuries
plunged in darkness by the incursions and dispersal of barbarians, and
then, as it revived, developed a new artistic sense and greater
strength, so America passed through a precisely similar ordeal.

Two thousand years ago--possibly many more--art and civilization existed
here, and continued to expand until Europeans came and checked their
farther growth. America is not even singular in this, that a broad chasm
divides the old from the new.

There are thus two great periods which we shall be called upon to
consider. There is, first, the ancient, when the aboriginal people were
building curious and wonderful monuments of their presence, and
modelling the quaint vessels now found in our museums. There is, then,
the second period, limited to little more than half a century, in which
art wears a modern guise, when the products of American potteries become
a recognized item in the industry of the country, and the manufacture is
substantially founded upon a broad commercial basis. Our inquiry will
not, therefore, be entirely confined to a recent past and a present
chiefly remarkable for the promise that it contains. We shall, in a
hasty review, turn back across the centuries intervening between the
present time and the advent of Europeans with Columbus, Cortez, and
Pizarro, across the barbarism of the Indian period, across even the
earlier times, when the Aztecs in the North, and the Peruvians under the
Incas in the South, were cultivating their peculiar forms of
civilization, to a more remote past occupied by those elder children of
Time, to whose heritage these peoples appear to have succeeded.
Afterward will come the indulgence of the characteristic tendency of the
nineteenth-century American, who is more addicted to looking to the
future than to the past. In the mean time, we must try to accustom
ourselves to the fact that, for the purposes of a continuous history,
the potters of our own time are the successors of those who deposited
their urns in the mounds of the Mississippi valley and in the tombs of
Peru.

It will probably be both the only historically consequent and the most
lucid method to treat the different countries from south to north. We
begin with Peru. We need not go into the theories, mostly fanciful, by
which an origin and genealogy are found for the ancient inhabitants of
America. We cannot even undertake to solve the question whether the New
World may not be the Old.

[Illustration: Fig. 362.--Peruvian Water-vessels.]

The evidence in support of America’s having been the resting-place of
the lost tribes of Israel, of its having been visited from the Pacific
by Malays, from the Atlantic by Phœnicians, of the truth of the old
legend of Atlantis, a land which lay beyond the Pillars of Hercules, is
in great part composed of inferences from assumptions. Reason would
point to Behring Strait as the point at which the first inhabitants
entered, but even that supposition may account for nothing more remote
than the arrival of the Indians of North America. Or, to find a
genealogy for the same people, we might adopt Mr. Griffis’s very
plausible theory of a Japanese descent, based upon the fact that “for
twenty centuries past Japanese fishing-boats and junks, caught in the
easterly gales and typhoons, have been swept into the Kuro Shiwo, and
carried to America.” It is more pertinent to our purpose to find that,
amidst a civilization which bears a stamp of originality, ceramic art
followed the course it had taken in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Similarity in forms, even in symbols, may argue nothing more than a
mysterious identity in the workings of humanity toward artistic and
religious expression. They cannot, without other evidence, be held to
prove an identity of origin. This preliminary observation is made that
we may not fall into the baseless theorizing which is the bane of
science. External resemblances have, before this day, sadly misled
scientists, with whom possibilities have become probabilities, and
probabilities have unconsciously passed into assumed facts.

Let us take the parallel supplied by the search for the primitive tongue
before language became the subject-matter of a science. For centuries
the idea was entertained that the honor of priority was to be accorded
to the Hebrew. In the sixteenth century Goropius, of Antwerp, proved,
beyond a peradventure, that the language of Paradise was Dutch. Erro
advocated the claims of Basque; and about a century after Goropius had
settled the question, it was gravely recorded in the minutes of the
Chapter of Pampeluna, that, though it could not be asserted with
confidence that Basque was the primitive language of mankind, yet “it
was impossible to bring forward any reasons or rational objection to
this proposition, that it was the only language spoken by Adam and Eve
in Paradise.” Assume the positive, and leave it to objectors to prove
the negative! Science came afterward, and found that not fanciful verbal
resemblances, but similarity of grammatical construction, was the test
of radical affinity, and all the above fine theories were exploded. The
rule will hold good with pottery. If two potters at two places far
remote from each other, possibly as far removed in point of time, should
produce similar forms, it would be rash at once to conclude that they
were inspired by the same idea or followed the same model. The adoption
of such a course would amount to a resuscitation of the extinct
philological rule of comparing the words in different tongues to
demonstrate relationship. We shall find a point for this caution as we
proceed.

When Peruvian civilization began we have no means of ascertaining.
Repeated changes have swept over it. It rose and fell, and rose and fell
again, at epochs only partly within our ken. Of the overwhelming
antiquity claimed for it some of the facts brought together by Mr. J. D.
Baldwin may give an idea. Montesinos, a Spaniard, who believed Peru to
be the Ophir of Solomon, dates its ancient history from the year B.C.
2500. His first period extends down to the first or second century of
our era, when the ancient kingdom was broken up into fragments, and
shorn of its earlier glory. Then came a long interval of confusion,
strife, and internecine struggle, which ended with the advent of
Inca-Rocca, the first of the Incas. The Incas had extended their sway
over the old limits of Peru, when Pizarro came, in 1531, and with his
Spanish followers swept everything back into chaos. A greedy lust for
gold was the sole impulse of the treacherous and brutal invaders.
Perfectly dead to every sense of honor, stained with the reddest hues of
crime, too rapacious to withhold their hands from the commission of any
brutality, too crassly ignorant to care for knowledge, the Spanish
buccaneers turned Peruvian progress back in its course, and struck such
a blow at the vitality of the country that it has never recovered.

It will at once be thought that B.C. 2500 is a very remote date at which
to begin the history of a country in the New World, but let us see what
countenance science lends to such a chronology. Professor Orton says:
“Geology and archæology are combining to prove that Sorata and
Chimborazo have looked down upon a civilization far more ancient than
that of the Incas, and perhaps coeval with the flint flakes of Cornwall
and the shell mounds of Denmark. On the shores of Lake Titicaca are
extensive ruins which antedate the advent of Manco Capac (the second of
Montesinos’ oldest dynasty of kings), and may be as venerable as the
lake-dwellings of Geneva.” Mr. James S. Wilson, in 1860, found “ancient,
or fossil, pottery” on the coast of Ecuador. To help in assigning it an
age, the fact is all-important that it was found _below_ a marine
deposit several feet in thickness. This pottery, then, was made; the
land was submerged at a rate almost incalculably slow; it was covered
with a marine deposit; the land was then upheaved to its former level,
again at a very slow rate, and seventeen years ago, the pottery came to
light, like a fossil taken from the rocks, to tell us that at an age so
remote that it is hard even for imagination to reach it, the Peruvians
were accustomed to working in clay. Compared with this people the Incas
are creatures of yesterday, and the earliest date of Montesinos is
hardly mediæval. The difficulty is to assign an exact, or even an
approximate, date to the ceramic remains we possess. Many of them belong
to an era preceding that of the Incas, but no more precise language can
be employed in specifying their age. The conditions, moreover, are such
that an erroneous deduction might easily be made. The great road from
Quito to Chili, for instance, is built chiefly of stone. The same
material was used for the inns along its course, and for many other
buildings. This road must, at least in part, be ascribed to a period
anterior to that of the Incas. At a later date, when the least ancient
part of Pachacamac, the ruined city of the Incas, near Lima, was built,
sun-dried bricks appear as the chief building material. Pachacamac was
originally built by the natives of the coast, and among its ruins are
those of one of their temples, composed of adobes painted red. The Inca
Mamacuna on the same site is composed of the same material. This is a
reversal of previous experience. We have hitherto associated unbaked
bricks with the earliest attempts of the potter. If we argue from
Asiatic or European usage, the most ancient Peruvians would appear as
primitive settlers ignorant of art, which we have already seen they were
not.

The best articles of pottery have been taken from the tombs. The
connection of moulded clay with the burial of the dead was thus
universal. We have seen the Egyptian mummy surrounded by vases and jars,
urns holding or covering the ashes of the ancient British dead, the
hut-shaped urn of the Teuton, the remains of the Roman legionary
deposited in an _olla_ covered by tiles or bricks, and the _tuguria_ of
Etruria; and here, in Peru, is a precisely similar custom regulating the
burial rite.

At Pachacamac Mr. Squier found three strata of mummies. Most of these
were taken from little vaults of adobes, roofed with sticks and rushes.
In one of them he found, lying beside the dead family, the implements of
the husband’s business as fisherman, the wife’s domestic articles,
including a primitive spindle, a girl’s work-box under her body, small
contrivances of hollowed bone for cosmetics, and between her feet the
dried body of a pet parrot. An infant’s body had a rattle beside it.
“Besides the bodies there were a number of utensils, and other articles
in the vault; among them half a dozen earthen jars, pans, and pots of
various sizes and ordinary form (Fig. 363). One or two were still
incrusted with the soot of the fires over which they had been used.
Every one contained something. One was filled with ground-nuts,
familiar to us as peanuts; another with maize, etc., all except the
latter in a carbonized state.” Probably the nuts and maize were
deposited for the use of the deceased in the future, and the supposition
helps to increase the illusion that we are away from Peru, and back
among the graves of Ancient Egypt. To this superstition, common, as we
have seen, to nearly all peoples, we are therefore indebted, not only
for our knowledge of Peruvian pottery, but for much of our information
regarding the people themselves. No other place could have equalled the
grave in safety for the preservation of the records which have been
passed from its secrecy into our hands. The imaginary wants of a future
state led the poor and the Inca to be laid in their respective vaults
with the articles they had used here, and which they were supposed to
stand in equal need of hereafter. “Every Inca,” says Mr. Ewbank, “had
his cooking utensils in his cemetery; not only his gold and silver ware,
but, observes the native historian, ‘the plates and dishes of his
kitchen.’” The favorable conditions of soil and climate under which they
were interred increase the difficulty of telling their age by
examination merely. They might from their appearance have been buried
for generations or for ages. It is, however, evident, from the character
of the deposits and the assumed wants they anticipated--corn,
cooking-vessels, toys, pets, fishing-lines, spindles--that the Peruvians
shared the belief held by Christians, that here they were strangers and
sojourners. They prepared for the next life by taking all their movables
with them, as if merely changing their place of abode.

[Illustration: Fig. 363.--Pottery from Pachacamac.]

The tombs being thus the great receptacles of Peruvian antiquities, what
do we find to be the general character of the art represented in the
pottery? The same that is found in the architecture or statuary of the
country, viz., the greatest possible disparity in both design and
workmanship. On one hand are creations of art, the conception of an
artist carried out by an artist’s hand; on the other are the most
outrageous concessions to an idolatrous barbarism. In a similar manner,
earthen-ware vessels of diametrically opposite types are found side by
side in the same tomb. To perplex us still farther, French writers have
advanced the theory that for a very long period art in South America
gradually but surely declined. They state that from a primitive
simplicity and purity of style it sank step by step into barbarism.

This may or may not be true, but in any case the two sets of facts may
be thus explained. We have seen that in Egypt religion set a limit to
art. Practically the matter resolved itself into this, that the
potter-artist could rise above neither the god he worshipped nor the
sacred symbol he revered. Priestcraft is necessarily conservative.
Change and improvement involve a departure from the old, and the ancient
gods might be left behind and their shrines deserted, were art to rise
above the delineation of the artistic abominations which were encased in
sacred tradition as the symbols of deity. The image cannot change any
more than the god. In Egypt nearly every form of life--bird, beast, and
plant--was monopolized by its religious system and petrified into a
traditional form. It is possible that a similar influence was at work in
Peru. The rude forms may really have been what we have styled them,
“concessions to an idolatrous barbarism.”

It is necessary in the case of Peru, as in that of China or Egypt, to
make an attempt to discover the essentials of its religion, that we may
understand its ceramic art. With Peru, however, we must in part work
backward, by first constructing a system from what we find upon pottery.
Mr. Squier gives much valuable information on this point. “To them,” he
says, referring to the sacred vessels of pottery devoted to religious
and mortuary services, “in default of other probable or possible means
of recording a religious symbolism, we must look for all the scanty
illustrations we are ever likely to obtain of the religious ideas and
conceptions of their makers.” Pachacamac took its name from the chief
divinity of the people prior to the coming of the Incas, and means, “He
who animates the universe,” “The creator of the world.” The idea of a
supreme being may thus be inferred to have been the foundation of a
system which, like many other ancient religions, resorted to symbols,
and thence by an easy transition assumed in popular practice the form of
idolatry. We thus find that when the Inca Yupanqui invaded the Chimus,
he called upon them to renounce their worship of fishes and animals, and
turn to that of the sun. There is no reason for believing that the creed
of the Incas was superior to that of the Chimus. It appears rather that,
in broadly condemning that people for their worship of animals, the Inca
mistook the use of symbols for the adoration of the animals so used. Our
researches in Egypt and elsewhere would lead us to the conclusion that
if the worship of animals existed anywhere, it resulted from a
misapprehension by the ignorant of the purpose of symbolizing by living
things the attributes of a higher power. As in Egypt, so in Peru the
religion may be said to have been dual. On the one hand is the worship
of a supreme power, and the personification of visible agencies in air,
earth, and water. On the other is a lower form, an idolatry bordering
upon fetichism. Under the higher form water is personified, and the god
thus constructed is accompanied by befitting symbols of his domain--the
turtle, fish, or crab; the earth is personified, and has as symbols the
serpent and lizard; the air is also personified, and the figure carries
in his hand a spear, as representing the thunder-bolt, his symbol. Mr.
Squier gives an engraving of a design upon a Chimu vase, in which the
powers of earth and sea are arrayed in combat. The latter is armed with
the claws and shell of a crab, hence assumed to be his symbol. The
former bears on his front a serpent’s head, wields a horned serpent in
one hand, and has two similarly horned reptiles hanging at his back:
hence the serpent is accepted as his symbol. Probably coeval with a form
of belief which sought such expression, was another under which images
were resorted to, and set up as the recipients of the worship originally
directed to a higher power. It is not impossible that the worship of a
supreme being, and of his attributes and symbols, may have been
coexistent among the same people. On the contrary, such actually appears
to have been the case; and if the highest form of belief existed along
with the lowest form of expression, it is not hard, as already pointed
out, to find a reason for the coexistence of the highest and lowest
forms of art.

As to the French theory of a long-continued decline of Peruvian art, if
we assume its truth, it may be explained in the light of Peruvian
history. The supposition has reference, apparently, to the earliest
Peruvian elevation, prior to the dismemberment of the empire. Before the
coming of the Incas art must have suffered from the civil discord, and
under the Incas its recovery was probably hindered by the wars which
extended down to the Spanish conquest. After Pizarro--a second death.

[Illustration: Fig. 364.--Peruvian Water-jar. (Smithsonian Institution,
5341.)]

Let us now examine some of the forms of Peruvian pottery. It would be
impossible to classify or enumerate them all. Nature and religion
contributed decorations and forms. The beings of earth, sea, and
air--men, fishes (Fig. 364), animals, and plants (Fig. 365)--were
modelled in clay, and decorations were drawn from the same sources and
from the customs of the people. The only classification of a
comprehensive character is that into coast and inland. The former of
these divisions comprises the greater part of the specimens now
existing, including, of course, all from Pachacamac, Huacho, Santa, and
Truxillo, or Chimu. The latter includes all that comes from Cuzco (Fig.
367) and other places in the interior.

[Illustration: Fig. 365.--Peruvian Pottery.]

Visitors to the Centennial Exhibition may remember to have seen a large
array of vases and household utensils sent from Lima. In the collection
of Mr. W. B. Colville were several clay idols, belonging to the period
before the advent of the Incas. Some of these were wrapped in cloth, and
none possessed any claims to artistic finish or design. A similar image
was exhibited by Brown University, in the Rhode Island section. All were
mere caricatures of the human form. Along with them, in the space
allotted to Lima, were several hundreds of quaintly shaped water-vessels
and bottles. In some of these were to be found those compound typical
forms distinctively American. In others appeared forms which at once
recalled the Egyptian. Of the latter the most remarkable were the
double or twin bottles joined together by bands at the neck and base,
after a fashion observed in Egypt and also in Mexico. It is unnecessary
to conclude from this fact that Egypt had an ancient connection with
Peru. Sometimes on one of the bottles a head was placed as a cover to
the orifice, others had both necks plain and open.

[Illustration: Fig. 366.--Peruvian Drinking-vessel. Stag and Doe.]

The more characteristic forms belonged to the class comprising the
water-vessels. Of these the favorite form appeared to be what might be
described as a pot-bellied graybeard ornamented with a rude semblance of
the human face, hands, and feet. It was made of all sizes. Another might
be taken as the prototype of the modern round-bodied glass water-bottle,
or carafe. A third had the arched syphon handle characteristic of an
entire class; and on the body, under the span of the arch, was the
figure of an animal, too rudely modelled for us to give it a name. On a
small proportion of those mentioned weak and undecided colors were
applied in a primitive style of decoration, and in others the
ornamentation consisted of lines and dots or studs.

[Illustration: Fig. 367.--Vases from Cuzco.]

The Peruvian potters bestowed a large share of their inventive talent
upon water-vessels, and the reason is not difficult to find. According
to its present limits, Peru extends from the third to the twenty-first
degree south latitude. In the sixteenth century it included the entire
territory now divided into Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Chili. The
country in which its remains are found extended over two thousand miles
south of the equator. In some parts of this vast territory rain
occasionally falls, in others never. In this fact we see the necessity
for ample means of slaking thirst. The quaint forms are largely due to
the dread of small creeping animals finding their way into the jars or
flagons. The latter were, therefore, made in the comparatively intricate
shapes already described, and in others still more complex and more
highly ornamental.

[Illustration: Fig. 368.--Coiled Water-vessel. Peru. (Smithsonian
Institution, 1403.)]

The largest class comprises those with the bifurcate spout, which serves
at the same time for a handle. This is found attached to vessels of
every conceivable form. The simplest shape is that seen in the specimen
from the Smithsonian Institution (Fig. 368), the body of which, however,
is somewhat peculiar, by reason of its rising from the base in a coil of
spiral folds. Several modifications of this style are seen in the
engraving (Fig. 369). The presence of this spout in any of its forms is
of special interest as distinctive of pottery from the coast
settlements. Its modifications include a vast number of interesting
examples more or less artistic. From the single vessel with bifurcate
spout we may pass to others in which there are two openings joined
together by a handle. Higher than these are the vases, in which, with
only one orifice, the body is double.

[Illustration: Fig. 369.--Ancient Peruvian Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 370.--Peruvian Pottery.]

In one the receptacle for the water consists of a series of four
chambers, with pointed bases arranged in a circle, and joined together
(Fig. 370). The handle is the arch, with spout on the top. In some the
vessel assumes the form of a fish, with a handle on the ridge of the
back, or of an animal with semi-human face. The twin shape is
exceedingly varied. A very fine specimen has the bottles with round,
flattened bodies, and one of them surmounted by a diminutive human
figure holding a cross on the right shoulder, while from the left the
handle crosses to the tall, slightly tapering neck of the twin bottle.
The flat sides of the bottles are decorated with studs and zigzags,
which might be construed into serpentine forms. A bird sitting in the
cavity of one neck sometimes takes the place of the heads already
alluded to. In some of the double bottles the communication is through
the handle. In others it is effected by joining the bodies together, as
in the curious specimen (Fig. 371), in which the rudely modelled
kneeling figure of a man eating and drinking is joined to the twin
compartment at the back by the passage-way between the two sections.
There are many other varieties; but the most remarkable specimens are
those in which an attempt is made to simulate the human head and form.
The former is carved in coarse lines covering the entire expanse of a
heavily formed vase, the handles of which, low down on the body,
represent the ears. Even lower than this, and parallel with the most
primitive _bessa_ of Egypt, are other wide-mouthed jars of a type
altogether different, designed to serve a purpose entirely distinct from
those last considered. From these as a base we can rise to what we must
regard as the _chefs-d'œuvre_ of ancient American art.

[Illustration: Fig. 371.--Peruvian Water-vessel. (Smithsonian Inst.,
1399.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 372.--Greek Drinking-cup.]

It is curious to observe, en passant, a similarity of usage between Peru
and Greece (Figs. 372 and 373) in selecting the human head as the model
of a drinking-cup; but let us observe the Peruvian type. In one (Fig.
373) the head is thrown back, and from the forehead to the crown passes
the syphon handle. To balance this backward weight the face is thrust
forward, and the expression is affected by the position. We see that the
artist has made allowance for this in the lines round the mouth and the
slightly parted lips. A faint suspicion of weakness is thus left upon
the countenance. Taking it in profile, one almost wonders where the
artist found a model for the large but well-formed nose and strong
underjaw. Even finer is another head (Fig. 374), covered with a
close-fitting cap falling in heavy flaps behind. In this the face is, we
would say, of the best Saxon type, full of strength, vigor, and
determination. Not a weak line can be found. With it before us, all
wonder as to the civilization of ancient Peru is at an end. Apart
altogether from the workmanship, there are moral qualities traceable in
the model which convince us that with such men civilization was a
condition of life; not a labor, but a necessity. The face wears the
placid, self-confident, powerful expression of one born to be a ruler of
men. That the artist has caught such a look of strength in repose may
imply either his mastery of portraiture or his familiarity with a high
type of manhood.

[Illustration: Fig. 373.--Peruvian Drinking-vessel.]

[Illustration: Fig. 374.--Peruvian Water-vessel.]

[Illustration: Fig. 375.--Head of Ruminhauy.]

Belonging to a lower order of the same class is that given in the
engraving (Fig. 375), the head of a man whose whole history is written
in indelible lines in his face. The head is that of Ruminhauy, or
Rumminaui, a Peruvian cacique. The piece is from the collection of
Senhor Barboza, Rio de Janeiro, and originally belonged to General
Alvares, “the last Spanish political chief and commandant of the
province of Cuzco.” Mr. Ewbank saw it at Rio, and gives a description of
it, and a sketch of the monster whose features are thus preserved. The
piece is of reddish clay, modelled by hand, nine inches in height, and
with an internal depth of six inches. Everything indicates that the
work is a likeness. Little peculiarities, such as the want of a tooth
and a scar on the cheek, cannot be explained upon any other hypothesis.
The piece is comparatively recent. When, in 1531, Pizarro entered Peru
at Tumbez, the Inca, Huayna Capac, had divided his kingdom between his
two sons, Huascar and Atahualpa, between whom a struggle ensued for the
sole power, and resulted in the death of Huascar. Atahualpa was
afterward seized by Pizarro, and, under circumstances of gross treachery
and brutality, was put to death. It was then that Ruminhauy comes upon
the scene in the history of Garcilasso de la Vega. Scheming to succeed
Atahualpa, he invited his brother and children to a banquet, and, after
making them drunk, murdered them. With the skin of Atahualpa’s brother
he covered a drum, and left the scalp hanging to it. His next atrocity
was the burying alive of a number of women, young and old. “Thus,” says
Garcilasso, as quoted by Mr. Ewbank, “did this barbarous tyrant discover
more inhuman cruelty and relentless bowels by this murder committed on
poor silly women, who knew nothing but how to spin and weave, than by
his bloody treachery practised on stout soldiers and martial men. And
what farther aggravates his crime was, that he was there present to see
the execution of his detestable sentence, being more pleased with the
objects of his cruelty, and his eyes more delighted with the sad and
dismal sight of so many perishing virgins, than with any other prospect.
* * * Thus ended these poor virgins, dying only for a little feigned
laughter, which transported the tyrant beyond his senses. But this
villany passed not unpunished; for, after many other outrages he had
committed during the time of his rebellion against the Spaniards, and
after some skirmishes with Sebastian Belalcaçar (who was sent to
suppress him), and after he had found by experience that he was neither
able to resist the Spaniards, nor yet, by reason of his detestable
cruelties, to live among the Indians, he was forced to retire with his
family to the mountains of _Antis_, where he suffered the fate of other
tyrannical usurpers, and then most miserably perished.” These details,
beside giving a ghastly kind of interest to the object engraved, enable
us to form an opinion of the artist’s ability. Aside from the
possibility that the piece has preserved the actual features of the
monster, it certainly gives expression to all the bad qualities with
which the historian has clothed Ruminhauy, and contrasts strongly with
those given above, and with that (Fig. 376) from the Smithsonian
Institution.

[Illustration: Fig. 376.--Peruvian Water-vessel.]

[Illustration: Fig. 377--Peruvian Water-vessel. (Smithsonian
Institution, 7242.)]

After these individual examples a few of the leading points of Peruvian
decoration and technique must be noticed. We have seen that in forms the
leading tendency was toward the reproduction of the natural object.
Mingled as the high is with the low, the ultimate aim appears to have
been the excellence contained in similitude. In decoration we find
designs with which old-world experience has made us more or less
familiar. The vessels on which they appear illustrate the tendency not
toward a purely ornamental art, but toward the artistic embellishment of
the useful. Like all other nations, the Peruvians rose from use to
beauty, and having devised the shape best subserving the useful object,
they then attempted its ornamentation. In doing so they resorted to
decoration closely allied with the European and Asiatic. Their fret is
the same as that distinguished by the name “Grecian,” although it
originally came from Asia. Their scrolls also occasionally bear a close
resemblance to the European. The faces already referred to are either
incised, engraved, or laid upon the surface. Those engraved leave the
impression of having been cut into a body made sufficiently thick to
permit of the successful application of such a method of decoration.
They have no appearance whatever of having been made from a mould. Of
the same general character is the drinking-vessel (Fig. 377). The
design, the import of which it is difficult to determine, is graved in a
panel covering the greater part of one side of the piece. Other pieces
have the figures similarly graved upon panels studded with dots, for the
evident purpose of heightening the relief. On one of this class is a
long-billed bird, and on another, which is here given (Fig. 378), the
design consists of a nondescript animal. A singular resemblance to a
Chinese habit is discoverable in the employment of monkey forms, either
for handles or otherwise, where the Chinese used those of lizards. On
one of the double-bellied bottles common to Peru, China, and Japan, we
find two monkeys clinging to the upper sphere, as if supporting it.

[Illustration: Fig. 378.--Peruvian Pitcher. (Smithsonian Institution.)]

The chief colors employed were red, black, and brown. It appears
probable that they were mineral colors fixed by firing, since we cannot
otherwise account for their preservation. The Chilians are said (Hartt)
to have baked their pottery in holes dug in the hill-sides, and to have
applied to it a sort of varnish made of mineral earth. It is worth
noting, however, that the Peruvians possessed vegetable dyes of which we
have no practical knowledge. All the wonderful colors used for dyeing
cloth, which preserved their original hue and brilliancy after ages of
exposure or burial in the tombs, are vegetable. The lasting quality
alone does not, therefore, compel the conclusion that the colors on
pottery are mineral.

[Illustration: Fig. 379.--The Caballito, from Chimu.]

The consideration of the uses of these colors, and of several other
kinds of decoration, may be combined with that of the customs and tastes
of the Peruvians as reflected in their clay records. Travellers reaching
Peru from the sea tell of encountering, as they neared the shore,
numbers of the natives paddling their _caballitos_. These quaint
apologies for boats are merely bundles of reeds tied together, across
which the boatman strides, and rows, Indian fashion, with a
double-bladed paddle. The prow is turned up in front. So crazy a craft
would seem to be among the things least calculated to inspire the potter
with an idea. It did, however, prove suggestive (Fig. 379), and the
_caballito_ has been found in clay on the sites of different coast
settlements.

[Illustration: Fig. 380.--Trumpet. Baked Clay.]

[Illustration: Fig. 381.--Tambourine Player.]

We also learn from their ceramic decorations that the Peruvians of Chimu
lived in buildings of a single story with slanting roof, and having a
hole in the gable for light or ventilation. That they had a taste for
music is placed beyond dispute by their vessels and instruments of clay
(Fig. 380). Some of their ruder devices are very singular. Mr. Ewbank
mentions a whistle formed in the body of a small bird of baked clay. The
relic, he says, was very old, and the head missing. “The tone was shrill
and clear, and was pleasantly modified by partially or wholly closing
with the finger an opening in the breast.” The water-vessels are also
sometimes so constructed that the handle passes from the spout on one
side to a similar projection on the other, on which is a bird or
animal’s head. The air rushing through a hole left in the latter, as the
vessel is being filled or emptied, frequently causes a sound resembling
that peculiar to the bird or animal. To this class of “whistling jars”
belongs the double vessel (Fig. 371) representing a man at lunch.
Musicians and musical instruments are painted upon vases, and, as in the
cut (Fig. 381), the vessel itself may be a representation of a musician.

[Illustration: Fig. 382.--Black-ware. Peruvian. (Smithsonian Inst.,
1701.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 383.--Peruvian Cup, found at Arequipa. (Smithsonian
Inst., 1812.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 384.--Peruvian Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 385.--Peruvian Vessels.]

The decorations hitherto observed have consisted of gravings in the
paste, dots, and colors. The black-ware jar (Fig. 382) is a farther
exemplification of the first of these methods. The head and the ears of
corn which divide the surface into four sections have all been
apparently carved in an originally thick body. By cutting it down the
ears are left in high relief. The specimen is evidently very old. The
vessels decorated with paintings are generally of a totally different
artistic order, although a few, such as the cup here given (Fig. 383),
combine painting with a rude attempt at modelling. The handle consists
of a monkey with its forepaws, or hands, resting upon the edge of the
cup. It was taken from a grave at Arequipa, eleven feet below the
surface of the soil, and was brought to this country and presented to
the Smithsonian Institution by United States Consul Eckel, Talcahuana,
Chili. The decoration is dark brown on a creamy ground. Similar to it,
but having the mitred head of an Inca on the handle, is the cup on the
left of the adjoining cut (Fig. 384). The other vessels, with the
exception possibly of the lower one, have been used as pans or boilers,
the largest showing marks of the fire, and all being destitute of
ornament with the exception of the painted stopper of the largest
specimen. It thus appears the Peruvians used earthen-ware for culinary
purposes, and several vessels of this kind are elaborately painted in
black and red on the yellow ground. In the illustration (Fig. 385) Nos.
1 and 3 are of this class. They were apparently designed either to be
suspended above an open fire, or to rest in a stove-cover perforated for
their reception. To serve the purpose of a lid hollow stoppers, like No.
4, were used. The lower part of the vessels is undecorated. The
flat-bottomed pitcher and bowl, Nos. 2 and 5, are especially worthy of
attention for their decoration. The light red body of the former is
covered with a dark chocolate ground-color, in which the design appears
in white--a mingling of the star, circle, and chain pattern. Other
varieties are seen in the pieces (Fig. 386) from Senhor Barboza’s
collection. On the left is a caldron, flat-bottomed and with side rings.
The greater part of its ornamentation has been worn away. The remaining
three pieces are supposed to have been used for carrying liquids, and
that on the right has, besides the rings on the body, perforated ears
immediately below the lip. The decoration of the small round-bottomed
pichet consists of incised lines. The long-necked bottle is ornamented
in colors, in regard to the arrangement of which the piece may be taken
as representing a large class of vessels in which the
decoration--consisting of squares, the larger containing the smaller--is
arranged vertically. The art is of the same order as the geometrical
designs and concentric circles of Phœnicia and early Greece. We find
it again in the shallow ladles (Fig. 387), notably in that on the right,
which was found near St. Sebastian, Cuzco, in 1820.

[Illustration: Fig. 386.--Peruvian Pottery. (Senhor Barboza Coll.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 387.--Peruvian Pottery. (Barboza Coll.)]

On these pieces yellow is combined with the red, white, brown, and black
we have hitherto met. A yet richer palette was brought to the decoration
of the flat circular bottle (Fig. 388), the upper part of which is
painted upon the red paste in black, white, green, and purple lines.

As to the processes to which the Peruvians resorted, Marryat quotes a
passage from Southey’s “History of Brazil” which gives a little light.
“The Tupinambas,” he says, “were in many respects an improved race. The
women were skilful potters. They dried their vessels in the sun, then
inverted them, and covered them with dry bark, to which they set fire,
and thus baked them sufficiently. Many of the American tribes carried
this art to great perfection. There are some who bury their dead in jars
large enough to receive them erect.

[Illustration: Fig. 388.--Peruvian Pottery. (Barboza Coll.)]

“The Tupinambas, by means of some white liquid, glazed the inside of
their vessels so well, that it is said that the potters in France could
not do it better. The outside was generally finished with less care.
Those, however, in which they kept their food were frequently painted in
scrolls and flourishes, intricately intertwisted and nicely executed,
but after no pattern; nor could they copy what they had once produced.
This earthen-ware was in common use; and De Lery observes that in this
respect the savages were better furnished than those persons in his own
country who fed from trenchers and wooden bowls.” Other Indian tribes
used water-colors after burning, and also a vegetable varnish. How far
these customs extended we cannot define by geographical limits. It shows
the tendency of this people, already remarked in the Peruvians, to
making beauty subservient to use. An inside glaze in connection with a
rough exterior is something rarely to be found elsewhere. That the
Peruvians used moulds is almost certain. Mr. Hartt is of the opinion
that many of their vessels were moulded in two parts and then luted
together, and that some of the moulds were made from natural objects. He
also suggests that the mould was sometimes made from a pattern vessel,
and then baked.

To conclude as to Peru, its ceramics may yet be more fully and
systematically studied. At present it is instructive to remark how, on
the assumption of its art being original and not derivative, it sought
expression in ways so nearly identical with those of the Old World. A
theory of chronology cannot, in the present condition of our knowledge,
be constructed. The works passed in review evidently belong to epochs
far apart from each other, and probably to different branches of the
people inhabiting Peru. Some of the specimens are undoubtedly very old,
and others, including the painted wares, cannot be ascribed to a very
remote era. The head of Ruminhauy cannot be referred to a more distant
date than the middle of the sixteenth century, and the modern work,
though inferior to that we have noticed, is too closely allied to it, in
composition and the style of decoration, for us to feel justified in
according to much of the older painted pottery a greater age than two or
three hundred years.

[Illustration: Fig. 389.--Brazilian Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 390--Brazilian Coroados Chief, in Funeral Urn.]

Of modern Brazil we would expect much, if we take its ruler, the
indefatigable and enlightened Dom Pedro, as a representative of his
people. Our knowledge is extremely meagre. In an otherwise admirable
section at the Centennial Exhibition, the pottery was of little
consequence. The best works were unglazed terra-cottas, Greek in form,
and decorated with Greek subjects. There were also some vases of red
clay representing native Brazilian forms decorated with reliefs,
medallions, and faces, in light-brown clay. In others the colors were
reversed, the light brown clay forming the body and the red the
ornaments. Some of the better specimens are now in the Smithsonian
Institute, at Washington.

[Illustration: Fig. 391.--Modern Brazilian Pottery.]

Of the ancient Brazilian pottery Mr. Thomas Ewbank describes a basin
(Fig. 389) in the Rio Museum. It is made presumably by hand, as no marks
of the wheel are observable, of a grayish yellow clay imperfectly
burned, covered with a light and poor kind of glazing, and is overrun by
minute cracks. It is colored inside and out with red, yellow, and brown.
The outside was black with smoke, and suggests that the vessel may have
been used as a pot or caldron. The decoration consists of a dark-red
band just below the rim, and a tangled mass of lines and dots. Some of
the tribes, and among them the Coroados of the Parahiba River, used
earthen jars for the reception of the mummies of their chiefs (Fig.
390). Mr. Ewbank also gives some interesting details regarding the
making and quality of modern Brazilian pottery. On one estate which he
visited he found a number of female slaves engaged in making bricks and
tiles. The native Brazilian gives no encouragement to foreign trade,
preferring the pottery of his own country as better suited to the
domestic usages among which he lives. Water-vessels form the staple of
the industry, entire cargoes sometimes consisting of _talhas_ and
_moringues_, for holding water and drinking. The large centre piece in
the illustration (Fig. 391) is a _talha_, and may be seen in almost any
Brazilian house. It will hold from ten to fifteen gallons. The four
vases in the engraving, two on either side of the talha, are varieties
of the same vessel. Of the drinking-vessels the most common is that
called the “monkey” (Fig. 392, _a_). Although it holds from a gallon and
a half to two gallons and a half, it is used without the intervention of
a tumbler, the smaller spout being applied to the lips. In the same
engraving, _b_, _c_, _d_, and _e_ are table moringues, as are those at
_i_, _i_. The decanter, _h_, is common porous earthen-ware, admirably
suited for keeping its contents cool. The ewer and basin, _f_ and _g_,
are highly colored earthen-ware from Bahia, and between them stands an
Indian moringue of ingenious construction. It is filled from the bottom
by means of the tube marked by a dotted line. The cup-like vessel at _k_
is one of the ordinary kind of censers.

[Illustration: Fig. 392.--Modern Brazilian Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 393.--Corrugated Ware. Colombia. (Smithsonian
Institution, 15,352.)]

To show that the Peruvians did not necessarily use mineral colors for
their pottery, Mr. W. H. Edwards’s description of the processes he found
among the wild tribes on the Amazon may be referred to. Their colors
were of the simplest kind: indigo blue, black from the juice of the
mandioca, green from another plant, and red and yellow from clays. A
small kind of palm was made into a brush to apply the pigments. The
designs consisted of squares, circles, and rudely drawn figures. A
resinous gum was rubbed over the vessels after they had been warmed, and
answered all the purposes of a glaze.

Before leaving the South American continent attention may be directed to
a single specimen from Colombia. It is (Fig. 393) an unpainted bowl of
corrugated ware, and is of importance to the present inquiry, as
belonging, apparently, to a class of pottery of which examples have been
found in many parts of the North American continent. These will be
treated of hereafter.




CHAPTER II.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

     Connection with Peru.--Nicaragua.--Ometepec.--Modern
     Potters.--Guatemala.--Ancient Cities.--Who Built
     Them.--Copan.--Quirigua.--Palenque.--Mitla.


[Illustration: Fig. 394.--Red-ware Vase. Ometepec. (Smithsonian
Institution, 28,914.)]

Passing the Isthmus we reach the archaeological wonderland comprising
Central America and Mexico. It is not improbable that there was an early
connection between the ancient occupants of these regions and the South
Americans. As they appear to us in their architectural remains, however,
there is little beyond the grandeur common to their undertakings to
suggest affinity. At the time of the Conquest the natives of the Isthmus
had undoubtedly relations with Peru. It was there that Balboa and the
more successful Pizarro first heard anything definite of that country.
On Pizarro’s second attempt to reach the rumored land of gold, he met
one of the Peruvian _balsas_ laden with textile fabrics, silver mirrors,
vases, and general merchandise. It is curious to find Mr. Squier
describing the same primitive craft in the Gulf of Guayaquil, more than
three hundred and fifty years later. These rafts could hardly have been
used for distant voyages, but were apparently the means of carrying on a
coast trade between Peru and the north. The inhabitants of the Isthmus
had a tolerably intimate acquaintance with Peru, and Balboa, according
to Mr. Baldwin, gained clear information in regard to that country from
natives who had evidently seen it. From this it may be inferred that the
intercourse between the two peoples was sufficiently close to account
for any similarity between the pottery belonging to Central America and
that of Peru.

[Illustration: Fig. 395.--Nicaraguan Vase. Ometepec. (Smithsonian
Institution, 28,436.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 396.--Painted Tripod. Ometepec. (Smithsonian
Institution, 28,479.)]

Passing northward through Costa Rica, where many specimens have been
found, we reach Nicaragua. Dr. J. F. Bransford, U. S. N., exhumed from
the graves on Ometepec Island, in Lake Nicaragua, a number of very
interesting relics, which are now in the Smithsonian Institution. They
are especially worthy of study as having been discovered in different
deposits marked by successive layers of volcanic matter. One of the
oldest (Fig. 394) was taken from a grave below the low-water level of
the lake. Making due allowance for the fact that the lake lies in a
region dotted in every direction with volcanoes, the grave and its
contents must still possess a very respectable antiquity. Generally the
old burying-grounds occupy elevated sites. The design resembles the
double cross, and is graved in the paste. A similar style of decoration
appears on another vase (Fig. 395) from the same district. The red clay
is covered with a creamy enamel, overrun with incised lines. These are
carried round the body in two bands of three lines each, and are
otherwise disposed over the surface without any apparent method in the
arrangement. The colors found upon many of the Peruvian vessels, red,
creamy buff, and black, are seen upon the tripod (Fig. 396), also from
Ometepec. Whatever may have been the purpose for which this vessel was
employed, its use was not confined to Ometepec. At Gueguetenango, in
Guatemala, Mr. Stephens found one of polished ware of the same general
design. It was taken from a vault containing bones, under a
religious--probably a sacrificial--pyramidal structure. The specimen
from Ometepec was found in a grave.

[Illustration: Fig. 397.--Burial Urns from Ometepec.]

The urns of the ancient Nicaraguans are generally of one shape (Fig.
397), and have been found containing both ashes and unburned bones.
Terra-cotta vessels of all kinds, some of them painted, have been dug up
both within and beyond the bounds of the cemeteries. They occasionally
take the form of men (Fig. 398) and animals.

[Illustration: Fig. 398.--Terra-cotta from Ometepec--¼ size.]

The present inhabitants are skilful potters. They follow methods of
decorating practically identical with those of the Brazilians, and such
as they have been acquainted with for at least three centuries. The
wheel is unknown among them. Colors and a kind of glaze are both brought
into requisition.

The old inhabitants of Guatemala have left clay idols and urns. One of
the former, from Santa Cruz del Quiche, and here given in front and
profile (Fig. 399), is hollow, very hard and smooth. It is said to be
the image of Cabuahuil, one of the old deities of the country. From the
same district come the terra-cotta heads (Fig. 400), one of which--that
on the left--is hollow, and the other is solid. They are well polished
and extremely hard.

[Illustration:

Profile of Figure.

Fig. 399.--Terra-cotta Hollow Figure, from Santa Cruz del Quiche,
Guatemala.]

[Illustration: Fig. 400.--Terra-cotta Heads, from Santa Cruz del Quiche,
Guatemala.]

Resembling the burial urns of Ometepec is one taken from a mound at
Gueguetenango (Fig. 401). The chief differences are the handle and a
decoration in relief on the unpolished surface. It was accompanied by a
vase or cup (Fig. 402) of polished ware tastefully decorated with bands
and a graved design.

[Illustration: Fig. 401.--Vase found at Gueguetenango, Guatemala.]

[Illustration: Fig. 402.--Vase found in a Mound at Gueguetenango,
Guatemala.]

Over this entire region, extending from Nicaragua to Mexico, and only
partially explored, there are evidences of successive changes having
taken place between the Spanish conquest and a remote antiquity. As in
Peru, dates are purely conjectural. Epochs are marked by broad
divisions, such as make it clear that the changes which took place were
deeply felt. History, properly so called, gives us but little aid. We
are told of a time when the Chichimecs inhabited the country--a rude,
ignorant people, classed as aboriginal. The name Chichimecs is applied
to all savage tribes. They may have been either the original inhabitants
of the country, or wanderers from the Peruvian centre of civilization,
from which they had been separated so long that they had relapsed into
barbarism, or detached portions of the original settlers who travelled
from the north to the south. In any event, civilization came to Central
America with the Colhuas, who introduced the arts and industries, and
left the grandest monuments to be found in that strange land. Who were
the Colhuas? and whence did they come? No positive answer can be
returned to these questions, and that is selected which appears most
reasonable, viz., that they came by sea from the northern parts of South
America. Tradition points in this direction. After the Colhuas the
Toltecs arrived, and reduced their predecessors to subjection at a
suppositious epoch, B.C. 1000. For some reason or other, possibly on
account of both internal disorganization and attack from without, the
Toltec power is said to have decayed a few centuries before the Aztecs
appear on the scene. Several hundred years later (1519) Cortez arrived,
and the results marking Pizarro’s conquest of Peru followed in Mexico.
That the Aztecs were a people of great intelligence cannot reasonably be
doubted; that they equalled their Toltec or Colhuan predecessors may be
questioned. All the evidence goes to show that they went upward from the
South, where they had existed as a semi-civilized tribe, and that, on
reaching the seat of the Toltecs, they subjugated them, and availed
themselves, to the best of their ability, of all the knowledge and
attainments with which conquest brought them in contact. The beginnings
of Central American civilization are buried in an antiquity which even
to the Aztecs was remote. To measure it, we must bear in mind that
forests grow upon the ruins of cities which were as inaccessible to the
Aztecs as they are to the modern explorer, and that the science and art
of which they are the monuments must have required many centuries to
develop.

We have already glanced at a few of the ancient settlements on the
Pacific slope. The remains found among the ruins of Yucatan and the
entire sweep of country between the Sierra Madre and the Gulf and
Caribbean Sea were also taken from the tombs. They are usually of a red
paste, and present an endless variety of form and, if those found
together are contemporaneous, an equally wide range of taste. Of the
leading cities it is necessary to mention only Quirigua, Copan, and
Palenque. Of these the first named is considered the most ancient, and
Palenque the most modern. Copan is situated in the western part of
Honduras, and many urns of the prevailing red color have been taken from
the recesses of its arched tombs. At Palenque and Mitla a
silico-alkaline glaze covers some of the specimens of gray earthen-ware.
The shapes include grotesque images of deities and priests, and rudely
modelled snakes and other animals. Found at places far apart, and
presenting widely varying characteristics, these potteries admit of no
classification, either by date or character.

In Central Mexico bricks were used alternatively with stone for facing
the gigantic pyramidal mounds which there abound. The Tlascalans, who
aided Cortez in his war upon Montezuma, burned their bricks.

At Palenque, farther to the south, the ceramic remains are of a higher
artistic order. At the risk of invading the domain of architecture, we
may mention the stucco or plaster figures with which the buildings were
embellished. In other places were statuettes, one of which is described
as “made of baked clay, very hard, and the surface smooth, as if coated
with enamel.” At Mitla we again meet with the phenomenon which we found
so strange in Peru--the association of two entirely different orders of
art, the most magnificent architecture and exquisite inlaid decoration
with rude paintings of the figures of idols. The knowledge of coloring
materials is nowhere better illustrated than in Yucatan, where red,
yellow, blue, green, and brown appear in the wall-paintings. We find the
pottery of Nicaragua compared with that of Mexico and Peru, but far more
enthusiastic language was employed by the Spaniards in regard to what
they saw. Cortez, in 1520, compared the pottery of Tlascala with the
best of Spanish manufacture, and Herrera finds in Faenza ware the best
parallel with that of Chulula.

Should farther explorations be made of the cities buried by the forests
which have sprung up around the ruins we have indicated, a more
connected history of the ceramics of the entire region may be written.
At present one is liable to be lost in conjecture, and to launch into
speculations such as that which very plausibly attributes to Central
America a civilization the most ancient in the world.




CHAPTER III.

THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

     Who were they?--Their supposed Central American Origin.--The place
     they occupy in the present History.--Recent Discoveries.--Pottery
     of the Lower Mississippi.--Deduction from Comparison with Peruvian.


[Illustration: Fig. 403.--Mound-builders’ Vases, from Southern Missouri.
Centre piece, height, 9 inches. (Mrs. J. V. L. Pruyn Coll.)]

In the central part of the North American continent, along the valleys
of the Mississippi and the Ohio, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great
Lakes, the land was, in a very remote age, settled by a people akin to
those of Mexico and Central America. Their name is now unknown, and to
designate them they are, from the great mounds of earth which they have
left, called “Mound-builders.” Whence they came or whither they went is
unknown. It is conjectured that they are the same people whom we have
called Toltecs; that therefore they passed up from the south, and then,
in course of ages, deserted their northern settlements on the incursion
from the north-west of the Asiatic tribes known as North American
Indians. It is surmised that they were then in part absorbed by the
invaders of their lands, and that they in part sought refuge in the
south, whence they had issued centuries before. Their long absence had
given them all the appearance of a distinct people. The evidence in
favor of these several surmises may be condensed into the following
form:--

That the mounds of North America were intended apparently for both
religious and defensive purposes, and are practically identical with
those of Central America;

That their most populous settlements were in the southern part of the
Mississippi valley, whence they passed upward until they reached and
overspread the valley of the Ohio;

That, according to old books and traditions, the Toltecs reached Central
America from the north-east;

That the reason given for the Toltecs deserting their settlements in the
north-east, designated Huehue-Tlapalan, was the successive attacks of
Chichimecs. We have already seen that the name Chichimecs was applied to
all barbarians, and would in this case point to the North American
Indians.

[Illustration: Fig. 404.--Mound-builders’ Vase. (Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.)]

The question is an important one, since in the above view the
Mound-builders would, as we shall hereafter see, form the link
connecting the ancient people of South and Central America with the
pottery-making Indians of our own time in New Mexico, Colorado, and
Arizona.

[Illustration: Fig. 405.--Missouri Mound-builders’ Vase. (Smithsonian
Institution, 27,939.)]

Now and again new discoveries are made which act as stimuli to fresh
researches. A few months ago a terra-cotta tablet covered with written
characters was reported to have been brought to light in Stoddard
County, Missouri. It was said to bear the appearance of having been
impressed with its undecipherable characters while the clay was still
damp, to have then been hardened and glazed. A hint is all that is
needed to originate speculation. We can turn to the terra-cotta tablets
of Assyria and ask if there is no connection between them and this
Missouri relic, and if the partially submerged continent in mid-Atlantic
of old writers is really mythical. Such a hint was dropped at the time
of the discovery. It might possibly be better to compare the tablet with
some of the inscriptions of Central America. It concerns us more at
present to find that the Mound-builders used sun-dried bricks in rearing
their giant structures. In the Lower Mississippi and along the Gulf
these bricks appear to have been generally employed to strengthen the
embankments. One in Mississippi is described as having a supporting wall
of “sun-dried brick two feet thick, filled with grass, rushes, and
leaves.” On some appears the impress of human hands. As to their
pottery, it may be said in general terms to compare well with that of
the South Americans. In the Peabody Museum at Harvard, an extensive
collection has been brought together. Some of the vases are admirably
finished, and of good design. Others are quaintly designed, but somewhat
rudely worked, and would appear to indicate that fictile art had little
attraction for that people. We have seen numberless specimens showing a
partiality even in the humblest vessels for imitations of animal and
human forms. Examples of this and other kinds are given in the preceding
illustrations.

[Illustration: Fig. 406.--Mound-builders’ Jar. (Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 407.--Mound-builders’ Vases.]

From a comparison of the pottery of the Mound-builders with that of
South and Central America, the conclusion will be inevitably reached
that the view already taken of the migrations of the former people is
correct. Between the ruder works of the two peoples there is often a
striking and close resemblance. To this class belongs a great deal of
the pottery of the Mound-builders to be seen in collections. Among them
we find nothing equal to the best Peruvian art; but in the details of
decoration and the tendency of the potter toward certain typical forms,
specimens may be discovered such as we might expect from a nation
composed of emigrants, and far removed from the centre where the
rudiments of their art were acquired.




CHAPTER IV.

INDIAN POTTERY.

     Successors of the Mound-builders.--Opinion of Professor
     Marsh.--Pueblos descended from the Mound-builders.--Natchez and
     Mandan Tribes.--Pueblos of Colorado, etc.--Pottery found at El
     Moro.--Zuni.--Further Discoveries.--Immense Quantities of
     Fragmentary Pottery.--Corrugated Pottery of Colorado.--Painted
     Pottery.--Moquis of Tegua.--Modern Pueblos.--Trade in
     Pottery.--Resemblances between Potteries of South, Central, and
     North America.--Indian Pottery from Illinois.--Louisiana, and how
     Pottery made.--New Jersey Indians.--Tennessee.--Maryland.--Other
     Indian Tribes.


After the Mound-builders came the Indians. A distinction must be
observed between the real North American Indians and those tribes in New
Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona, of whose pottery specimens belonging to
the present day have been obtained. It is clear that whether or not the
Mound-builders and Toltecs were the same people, the former had no
affinity of race with the Indians. They were undoubtedly an American
race, while the Indians were as undoubtedly Asiatic, for whom no
ancestry can with any show of reason be traced to the Mound-builders.
Were the resemblance between the Indians and the nomadic tribes of
Siberia beyond Behring Strait to be set aside as proving nothing, we
should yet have the tradition common to many tribes pointing to a
north-western source, to fall back upon in disposing of the question of
the origin of the red man. We may, therefore, leave him out of farther
present consideration, and turn to the successors of the Mound-builders.

Professor O. C. Marsh in a recent lecture touched upon this point, and
at the same time hinted at a possible community of race among all the
ancient peoples of America. “On the Columbia River,” he said, “I have
found evidence of the former existence of inhabitants much superior to
the Indians at present there, and of which no tradition remains. Among
many stone carvings which I saw, there were a number of heads which so
strongly resemble those of apes that the likeness at once suggests
itself. Whence came these sculptures, and by whom were they made?
Another fact that has interested me very much is the strong resemblance
between the skulls of the typical Mound-builders of the Mississippi
valley and those of the Pueblo Indians. I had long been familiar with
the former, and when I recently saw the latter, it required the positive
assurance of a friend who had himself collected them in New Mexico to
convince me that they were not from the mounds. In a large collection of
Mound-builders’ pottery, over a thousand specimens which I have recently
examined with some care, I found many pieces of elaborate workmanship so
nearly like the ancient water-jars from Peru, that no one could fairly
doubt that some intercourse had taken place between the widely separated
people that made them.”

According to this view the Mound-builders would have a relationship with
the Peruvians on the one hand, and with the Pueblos on the other. When
the Mound-builders retreated from their upper settlements, they
maintained for some years their occupancy of territory along the lower
Mississippi, before finally retiring toward the south. It is hardly
possible that they disappeared _en masse_ before the invaders, or that
those lingering behind the main body should have been utterly
exterminated. It would be difficult in that case to account for such
exceptional Indian tribes as the Natchez and Mandan. Both tribes were
skilful workers in clay. The Natchez, at the time when the West was
first opened up by Europeans, over three hundred years ago, were making
pottery comparable with that of Europe. They found the requisite clay on
the banks of the Mississippi, and were acquainted with the use of color.
The Mandans employed earthen-ware in their households, almost as
extensively as any modern people. They baked pots in such a way that
they were as capable of resisting the action of heat as the metal
utensils of the present day. These were hung over the fire for purposes
of cooking and numberless other articles of earthen-ware were seen in
their lodges. The Mandans were making pottery on the upper Missouri
forty-five years ago, and probably continued doing so until a late date.

The Pueblos of New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona present us with another
problem, which can only be solved by one of two suppositions, either
that they are the descendants of emigrants from Central America who
degenerated through contact and association with Indians, or that they
represent a remnant of the Mound-builders who sought in the west the
security which the main body of their countrymen found in the south. We
shall find additional reason hereafter for believing that if there was
no extensive amalgamation of the races, the Indians at least borrowed
some of the customs of their predecessors. If it be well understood that
the ancient occupants of the territory extending from the mouth of the
Mississippi northward and westward to Arizona had a common origin, and
that their victorious barbarian successors were in certain districts
modified by absorption, such facts as a similarity between the pottery
of Louisiana or Illinois and Colorado need not be received with either
hesitation or bewilderment. And, besides, the historical necessity for
ascribing it to a specific age is thereby materially lessened.

The Pueblos, or Village Indians, of New Mexico and Arizona have left
many interesting pieces of earthen-ware, and many others of the present
time come from the same section. There is abundant proof that this
entire district was inhabited at a very ancient date, and the relics of
successive degrees of civilization are found in the ruins. El Moro, in
New Mexico, was visited by Lieutenant Simpson in 1849, and afterward by
Lieutenant Whipple. Pottery was found painted in zones and wavy lines,
and occasionally highly polished. Following the same parallel westward,
Lieutenant Whipple discovered other ruins to which no age could be
ascribed, although some were clearly more ancient than others,
indicating that the region must have been inhabited throughout a long
series of years. More pottery was collected, brightly colored, and
painted after patterns resembling those noticed at El Moro. The
paintings occasionally assumed the forms of animals and insects. Still
farther to the west, at Zuni, and at places beyond it in the same
direction, the examples of the ceramic work of the early inhabitants
multiplied. Sun-dried bricks were found to have been employed in
building, and in addition to painted pottery, an older indented kind was
met with.

An extended exploration of the same region, but somewhat farther north,
was made in 1875, under the auspices of the United States Geological and
Geographical Survey of the Territories. Mr. W. H. Holmes and Mr. W. H.
Jackson subsequently presented notices of the results of their
examinations of the ancient ruins within an area of six thousand square
miles, chiefly in Colorado, but partially also in New Mexico, Arizona,
and Utah. Their joint evidence regarding the immense quantities of
fragmentary pottery seen in the course of their explorations must create
great astonishment. In speaking of the ruins of a village in New Mexico,
situated on the Rio de la Plata, about twenty-five miles above its
junction with the San Juan, Mr. Holmes says, “The soil was literally
full of fragments of painted and ornamented pottery.” Near the same
locality, and while riding through a desert-like district, he observed
“fragments of pottery strewed around,” and “on the high dry table-lands,
on all sides, fragments of pottery were picked up.” Writing of the
Montezuma cañon in Utah, Mr. Jackson says, “As the valley widened it was
dotted in many places with mounds thickly strewed over with the
ever-accompanying ceramic handiwork of the ancient people in whose
footsteps we are following, and occurring so frequently and of such
extent as to excite astonishment at the numbers this narrow valley
supported.” The same writer says, “All who have ever visited this
region, which extends from the Rio Grande to the Colorado and southward
to the Gila, have been impressed with the vast quantities of shattered
pottery scattered over the whole land, sometimes where not even a ruin
now remains, its more enduring nature enabling it to long outlive all
other specimens of their handiwork.”

[Illustration: Fig. 408.--Ancient Corrugated Pottery of Colorado.]

The presence of such immense quantities of fragmentary pottery can
possibly be explained upon the hypothesis that the vessels were liable
to fracture when exposed to the fire, and that those cracking under the
heat were thrown away when taken out of the primitive and open kiln.

[Illustration: Fig. 409--Fragment showing Manner of Making Corrugated
Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 410.--Ancient Corrugated Pottery, from Utah.]

The specimens obtained, both fragmentary and entire, give abundant
opportunity for studying the processes and decoration of these old-time
potters. As illustrating the fertility of their talent for shaping and
ornamenting their wares, Mr. Holmes observes that on one occasion, when
encamped in the Mancos Cañon, he found, within a space of ten feet
square, fragments of fifty-five different vessels, and adds that, “in
shape these vessels have been so varied that few forms known to
civilized art could not be found.” The clay varies according to
locality, in some cases being of an apparently fine quality mixed with
sand and shells, and in others coarse and more friable. All this old
pottery was made by hand, and fired, although no remains of kilns have
been discovered.

[Illustration: Fig. 411.--Handle of Twisted Clay.]

The smaller pieces, such as cups and jars, are usually covered with a
peculiar thin, hard, and smooth glaze or enamel, and then painted. The
larger pieces, which apparently answered the purpose of the Egyptian
amphora, present a rough, corrugated surface, are seldom glazed and
never painted. A specimen of the latter class, found among the _débris_
in one of the cliff-houses of the Mancos in Colorado, is given in the
illustration (Fig. 408). Its rough exterior is to be attributed to the
process of making. The potter began by drawing the clay into strips, and
then commencing at the bottom, wound the strips spirally and pressed
each layer down upon that below it, indenting the outside with a stick
or with his thumb. The illustration (Fig. 409) may serve to elucidate
the method of construction. The inside is perfectly smooth, and so well
are the strips worked together, that they show no division on fracture.
An attempt was made at decoration or variety, by running the strips a
few times round without indenting them and by attaching scrolls or
spirals immediately below the neck. All the pottery of this description
is ancient. A jar of similar construction to the above, but of a better
shape, was found in Epsom Creek, Utah (Fig. 410). The fragment of a
handle (Fig. 411) would appear to indicate that the ancients were
familiar with the well-known cable pattern of modern porcelain
manufacturers. It is made by twisting together three rolls of clay. A
ladle (Fig. 412) and what seems to have been a pipe (Fig. 413) will tend
to show farther the extent of the resources of the aboriginal potters of
the west.

[Illustration: Fig. 412.--Pottery Ladle.]

[Illustration: Fig. 413.--Clay Pipe.]

[Illustration: Fig. 414.--Painted Mug.]

[Illustration: Fig. 415.--Pitcher, from a Grave on the San Juan.]

[Illustration: Fig. 416.--Small Jug, from Ruins on the De Chelly.]

[Illustration: Fig. 417.--(Entire).]

[Illustration: Fig. 418.--(Restored).]

[Illustration: Fig. 419.--(Restored).]

[Illustration: Fig. 420.--(Fragment).]

[Illustration: Fig. 421.--(Extended to show Pattern).]

In the specimens of their painted pottery we have the best means of
judging their art. The painting is generally black laid upon the white
enamel or glaze; and however the color was obtained, it was very
durable. Although the fragments, as we have seen, have lain on the
ground exposed to the action of the weather for at least several
centuries, the color, in very few cases, shows any symptom of decay. In
one piece the white ground has actually worn away, leaving the black
decoration in relief. The designs show a vast amount of ingenuity on the
part of the artists. They are nearly all modifications of the fret and
scrolls. A very common style (Fig. 414) consists of a series of enclosed
squares, the alternate borders being composed of crossed lines and
straight lines, and having undecorated bands between. A remarkably fine
specimen (Fig. 415), both in shape and the simplicity of its
decoration, was taken from a grave on the banks of the San Juan, near
the mouth of the Mancos. Its excellent form, and the throwing of the
classical fret round the widest part of the body, bear witness to an
artistic sentiment of considerable refinement. The artists of the time
appear to have chiefly directed their attention to tasteful combinations
of lines in triangular, rectangular, and other odd forms, in which the
two latter are united or conjoined with straight bands of color. A fine
specimen (Fig. 416) was found in a heap of rubbish at a cave ruin on the
De Chelly. Its perfectly rotund form argues a skill in manipulating the
clay which one can hardly conceive possible without the assistance of
the wheel. For the purpose of farther illustrating the decorations and
shapes, a few fragments are presented in a restored and extended form
(Figs. 417-420). In nearly every case the decoration is on the inside of
the vessel, sometimes covering the entire surface, but more frequently
taking the form of a band round the lip; when it appears on the outside,
it generally consists of a narrower band (Fig. 422). It will be observed
that, so far, we have not met with a single attempt at decoration by
painting animal or floral forms. Mr. W. H. Jackson says that only one
fragment has been found exemplifying such a style (Fig. 423). It was
found in the upper cañon of the Montezuma, and has the figure painted on
the inside. A rudely modelled frog on the outside of a fragment of a cup
(Fig. 424) is from the same district. In this case the ornamentation is
in relief on the outside.

[Illustration: Fig. 422.--Outside Decoration of Ancient Pottery.]

[Illustration: Fig. 423.--Fragment of Pottery, with Painting of Animal.]

It would be interesting to inquire if the modern Moquis of Tegua are the
degenerate descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the cave-dwellings
and cliff houses of the valleys of the San Juan and its tributaries. The
probabilities are in favor of such a supposition, just as the
semi-civilized dwellers in modern Zuni are the descendants of the old
Pueblos. There are evidences of decay scattered throughout the entire
region.

[Illustration: Fig. 424.--Fragment of Pottery, with Frog in Relief.]

[Illustration: Fig. 425.--Painted Water-vessel, found at Tegua.]

In architecture the inhabitants of the present day are certainly
inferior to their old-time predecessors, and in the ceramic art there is
a similar decadence. A very peculiar and altogether exceptional piece
(Fig. 425) was found by Mr. W. H. Jackson among the Moquis of Tegua,
about which its possessors could give him no information. He concluded
that it had been made at Zuni by the Pueblos, and a color of probability
is lent to this supposition by the fact, previously noted, that the
Pueblos of Zuni make use of insect and animal forms in decorating their
pottery. The specimen mentioned is evidently of modern manufacture. The
upper part is white, the lower red, and the figures are red and black.
More nearly resembling, although far inferior to, the ancient works is a
piece (Fig. 426) made by the Moquis of Tegua. The decoration is after
the ancient type, but more crowded and complicated, and covers both the
inside and the outside of the vessel. It is a fair example of the modern
work, of which two further examples are given (Figs. 427 and 428).

[Illustration: Fig. 426.--Pottery of the Moquis.]

[Illustration: Fig. 427.--Modern Pottery, from Zuni. (United States
Geological Survey.)]

The modern Pueblos are exceptional both for the comparative excellence
of their work, and by reason of the fact that they make pottery for the
purposes of trade, as well as for their own use. This appears from
Gregg’s work, published about twenty-five years ago, entitled “Commerce
of the Prairies.” The author says: “They manufacture, according to their
aboriginal art, both for their own consumption and for the purpose of
traffic, a species of earthen-ware not much inferior to the coarse
pottery of our common potters. The pots made of this material stand fire
remarkably well, and are the universal substitutes for all the purposes
of cookery, even among the Mexicans, for the iron castings of this
country, which are utterly unknown there. Rude as this crockery is, it
nevertheless evinces a great deal of skill, considering that it is made
entirely without lathe or any kind of machinery. It is often fancifully
painted with colored earths and the juice of a plant called _guaco_,
which brightens by burning.”

[Illustration: Fig. 428.--Modern Moqui Pottery, from Zuni. (United
States Geological Survey.)]

To revert for a moment to Professor Marsh’s remarks, there appears to be
abundant reason for considering a great proportion of the old pottery of
America as belonging to one class, and that the old inhabitants were
originally of one race. The corrugated ware which we first found in
Colombia reappears among the Pueblo Indians, and has also been found in
Utah. The Indians made it in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Georgia, Florida, and District of Columbia, having probably acquired the
art from their predecessors. Professor Rau says it was widely known in
North America, and Mr. Hartt shows the wide spread of the practice of
coiling throughout South America. The latter states upon authority that
the tribes on the Araguaya River all coil, using the hand, water, and a
bamboo trowel. The same process is found among the tribes of the Orinoco
section. The red and dark brown painted ware we have traced from Peru to
Nicaragua, and thence to the Moqui settlements. The Moquis of Arizona
make great numbers of the shallow ladles with short handles terminating
in animals’ heads, similar to those of Peru. We have seen the Brazilians
and Moquis both using vegetable colors on pottery, and it is probably
only our ignorance of Peruvian and Central American methods which
hinders our tracing these processes back to antiquity. It is difficult
upon any other hypothesis than that of a community of race to explain
these facts. We have said that the Moquis may be descendants of
Mound-builders seeking safety in the west. They may also have come
directly from the south, and having passed the country lying between the
Gulf of Mexico and the Sierra Madre, have reached the Colorado River,
along the upper affluents of which their settlements extend.

An interesting discovery was made some years ago by Mr. Charles Rau on
the Cahokia Creek in Illinois, in the rich alluvial strip of land known
as the “American Bottom.” He there found the place where pottery had
been made by some former inhabitants, and saw the clay-pit, and the
heaps of shells to be ground or broken and mixed with the clay. The
vessels were all round-bottomed, and do not appear to have differed much
in shape from those of the San Juan Valley. The painting deserves
particular notice. It was laid upon the outside so as to cover it, and
sometimes on both sides, and in either black, dark brown, or a beautiful
red, only one color being used on each article. “It is evident that the
coloring preceded the process of baking, and the surfaces thus coated
are smooth and shining, the paint replacing to a certain extent the
enamel produced by glazing.” Covering the entire surface with one color
does not suggest much ingenuity, but on the pieces where incised lines
and indentations form the decoration, there are fuller evidences of
artistic feeling. The lines were either drawn straight round the
vessels, or formed zigzags or figures of greater or less simplicity.
Without insisting upon any relationship between the potters of the
Cahokia and the Mound-builders, Mr. Rau believes the pottery he found to
be equal to that taken from the mounds of the Mississippi valley. Some
of the unpainted vessels were made in basket moulds, and other remains,
such as the fragment of a toy canoe, show that modelling was practised
to some extent. The age of this pottery is left to conjecture.

The same writer quotes from Dumont, who wrote about a century and a
quarter ago, a description of the method of making earthen-ware adopted
by the inhabitants of the large tract of country then called Louisiana.
The passage is here given in full: “After having amassed the proper kind
of clay and carefully cleaned it, the Indian women take shells which
they pound and reduce to a fine powder; they mix this powder with the
clay, and having poured some water on the mass, they knead it with their
hands and feet, and make it into a paste, of which they form rolls six
or seven feet long and of a thickness suitable to their purpose. If they
intend to fashion a plate or a vase, they take hold of one of these
rolls by the end, and fixing here with the thumb of the left hand the
centre of the vessel they are about to make, they turn the roll with
astonishing quickness around this centre, describing a spiral line; now
and then they dip their fingers into water and smooth with the right
hand the inner and outer surface of the vase they intend to fashion,
which would become ruffled or undulated without that manipulation. In
this manner they make all sorts of earthen vessels, plates, dishes,
bowls, pots, and jars, some of which hold from forty to fifty pints. The
burning of this pottery does not cause them much trouble. Having dried
it in the shade, they kindle a large fire, and when they have a
sufficient quantity of embers, they clean a space in the middle, where
they deposit their vessels and cover them with charcoal. Thus they bake
their earthen-ware, which can now be exposed to the fire, and possesses
as much durability as ours. Its solidity is doubtless to be attributed
to the pulverized shells which the women mix with the clay.” It will be
observed that this is practically the same method of construction
described by Messrs. Jackson and Holmes as existing in the San Juan
valley.

In a valuable paper upon “The Stone Age in New Jersey,” by Dr. C. C.
Abbott, of Trenton, and published in the report of the Smithsonian
Institution for 1875, much interesting information is given of the
Indian pottery of that State. Dr. Abbott describes a small round vase
with flaring rim, decorated before firing with lines roughly made with a
pointed stick. He then gives a caution which it is well to bear in mind
when examining the pottery comprehensively styled Indian. The vase is in
size similar to those found in western mounds, but less carefully
ornamented. Difference in decoration is not, however, always a safe test
to apply in order to distinguish the pottery of the Mound-builders from
that of the Indians. “In gracefulness of outline the New Jersey vase is
the equal of that of the Mound-builders, while we have seen a drawing of
a large vase found in Vermont which exceeds in elaborateness of detail
any figured by Messrs. Squier and Davis. The Mound-builders were never
inhabitants of what is now known as New Jersey nor of the State of
Vermont, but pottery is sometimes found in these sections the equals in
some instances of the pottery of the west in style of decoration, while
in all cases it is as hard and durable.” A pipe, the bowl of which
slopes outward and with the underside of the stem flattened, is also
described by Dr. Abbott. It is made of fine yellow clay. A fragment of
another pipe with a quadrangular bowl was made of the paste generally
used by the Indians, a mixture of clay, mica, and shells. Some of the
fragments of pottery are curiously marked with dots and lines. In one
case a spear of grass had been employed to make bead-like studs in rows
on the surface.

A discovery was made a few years ago in Tennessee, by which we learn
something of the Indian processes (Dr. J. F. Wright on “Antiquities of
Tennessee,” Smithsonian Report, 1874). It consisted of an excavation six
or eight feet in diameter, and four or five feet deep, and was
apparently a kiln or oven for baking pottery. Unwrought clay, charcoal,
fragments of pottery, and pieces of bark more or less charred were found
among the sand in the excavation. The pottery was peculiarly marked on
the _inside_, and investigation led to the conclusion that the vessels
had been moulded round an interior core of beech bark, the corrugations
of which corresponded exactly with the impressions on the pottery. The
Maryland Indians (Paper by O. N. Bryan, Smithsonian Report, 1874) are
thought to have baked some of their pottery in nets.

Many others of the Indian tribes practised the fictile art, very few, so
far as is known, being entirely ignorant of it. Moulding in clay was
not, however, a practice likely to commend itself or to offer any
attractions to the nomadic red man, and it fell into desuetude, whenever
the introduction of metal utensils rendered its continued pursuit not
absolutely necessary. Some of the tribes which followed the buffalo
possibly never engaged in it, but left the practice to their
corn-raising brethren (Dr. W. E. Doyle on “Indian Forts and Dwellings,”
Smithsonian Report, 1876). The exceptional tribes of New Mexico and
Arizona, which cannot, as already pointed out, be identified with the
North American Indians, are chief among the few which still continue to
make pottery. We have seen that they adhere in a great measure to the
ancient shapes and primitive decorative patterns. The fact of chief
importance in connection with the old potters of the West and the
processes to which they resorted is their employment of a glaze. It is
considered by Dr. Emil Bessels as the most striking peculiarity of the
pottery found near the ruins. It is regular, very hard, sometimes opaque
and whitish, at others transparent and tinged with blue. Neither this
glaze nor the colors have been accurately analyzed, but of the latter
the reddish-brown and brown are undoubtedly mineral, derived from iron
and manganese. The black was probably an organic substance, such as
charcoal made into a pigment by being mixed with fine clay.




CHAPTER V.

UNITED STATES.

     The Future of America.--Obstacles in the Way of
     Progress.--Commercial Conditions Illustrated by Tariff.--Expense of
     Artistic Work.--Lack of Public Support.--American
     Marks.--Misrepresentation of American Wares.--Materials.--Early Use
     in England by Wedgwood, etc.--Cookworthy and a Virginian.--Native
     Use of Clay.--New Jersey.--Value of Clay Deposit
     Illustrated.--American Kaolin.--Vague Use of
     Word.--Analysis.--Opinions of American Deposits.


We now approach the potters and artists of the present day. That there
is a brilliant future in store for the ceramic art of America may be
inferred from the rapidity with which it has been pushed forward to the
stage it has already reached. With a limitless wealth of material at his
command, and gifted with enterprise, originality, and taste, the
American artist can look confidently forward to taking his place beside
the best the world has produced.

And here it may be profitable to consider some of the obstacles in his
way. The first of these is commercial. With a high protective tariff the
home manufacturer is barely enabled to compete with the foreign producer
in plain domestic wares. The import duty does not cover the greater
expense of working in this country. Statistics show that in the items of
labor and material the American manufacturer, as compared with the
European, labors under a disadvantage of about one hundred per cent. In
works of art this disadvantage is vastly increased. The makers of the
tariff draw a distinction of only ten per cent. between white granite
and decorated porcelain, or, in other words, they give the makers of
artistic porcelain protection greater by twenty-five per cent. than that
accorded the makers of granite. A distinction to the extent of five per
cent. is drawn in the tariff between undecorated and decorated porcelain
and parian. Art work, therefore, is benefited to the extent of one-ninth
more than plain goods of the same material. It need not be pointed out
that art is thus protected less than workmanship, since the
proportionate cost of artistic work, as compared with skilled and
unskilled labor, is far greater here than in Europe. As a consequence,
there is little to induce manufacturers to turn to art unless some
profit can be drawn from the reputation which it brings. It is not
intended to discuss here the question of protection _versus_ free trade.
The tariff is merely brought forward to illustrate the difficulty of
rearing up something worthy of being called an American art. To
demonstrate this by example, here (Fig. 429) is a porcelain plate made
at Greenpoint on a challenge. It is a copy of a plate now in the
possession of Mr. George Such, of South Amboy, by whom it was purchased
at the sale of the effects of Louis Philippe. The original is from
Sèvres, and is decorated chiefly in gold. The Greenpoint copy was made
in order to test the question whether it were altogether unreasonable to
entertain the hope that American decoration might not--at some future
day, of course--equal that of Sèvres. Those who saw both had some
difficulty in distinguishing the original from the copy, and in some
instances could not do so without examining the ware as well as the
decoration. The copy is a remarkably fine specimen of decorative art,
and would lead us to entertain great expectations regarding the work of
the artist when his skill is devoted to original designs.

[Illustration: Fig. 429.--Greenpoint Porcelain. Sèvres Decoration.]

The challenge made was, therefore, fully answered. Should it be asked
why, under these circumstances, similar work should not be done
regularly, the answer is simple. The existing state of the market, in so
far as the demand for American artistic work is concerned, is such that
prices will barely bring back the actual cost of production. Toward
lessening that cost the efforts of manufacturers must be directed; and
in connection with this subject a remark may be quoted, made by
President T. C. Smith at the Convention of the Potters’ Association:
“Foreign clays can be put down in New York tide-water cheaper than you
can buy Pennsylvania clays, by about fifteen per cent.”

The great expense attending the production of works of art is not,
however, the only drawback with which the American manufacturer has to
contend. It may, in fact, be said that the impediments to the rapid
advancement of ceramic art in America have not yet been touched upon.
They consist of neither the lack of capital, enterprise, experience, nor
skill.

It is a singular fact that while native manufacture advances with rapid
strides, and finds on all sides a public ready to give it a hearty
reception, native art must force its way to recognition. Its first
honors must be won abroad. It must bear a foreign stamp to be accepted
at all in the home of its birth. The cause of this is not far to find.
The American market is a good market, and is so regarded by the world at
large. Foreign artists send their works to it, and are sure of a
welcome. Competition by a native superior is thereby made difficult; by
an equal almost impossible; by an inferior, an absurdity. The foreign
competitor comes branded as a genius, and home critics hesitate about
issuing a verdict in favor of a countryman. They appear to have a lack
of confidence in their own judgment, and would rather endorse or modify
another’s opinion, than take the responsibility of issuing an
independent one of their own. Patrons suffer from a similar diffidence.
On the one hand they see certainty, on the other uncertainty. On this
side is the work of one who has won the praise of all Europe; on the
other, nothing but that of one who makes a direct appeal to their own
discrimination.

Under such conditions it is difficult for an art to struggle into
existence. French art is to a Frenchman the finest and best the world
ever saw. Englishmen support English art because it is their own. They
are satisfied with it, if all the universe should wonder what it is they
nurse and cherish. It is good to them, and that is enough. If their own
opinion should change, it will then have become a curiosity, and
therefore doubly worthy of their care. American art may be good, even
equal to the best, but unfortunately it is American. Receiving no
notice, the artist loses even the benefit of criticism, and concludes
that his own people compliment themselves by believing that no work of
art can be produced among them.

This may appear overdrawn, but the facts are eloquent. It has been said
that, as a rule, Americans take a pride in their own manufactures. That
of pottery is an exception. Almost anywhere granite-ware can be seen
bearing as a mark the royal arms of England, with the motto in full--in
this case very appropriately--_honi soit qui mal y pense_. It is a
curious mark for an American potter, or at first sight seems so. The
ware may have been made at Trenton, or anywhere else in America, and the
explanation is simple. The dealers will not buy it without that mark,
and first suggested its use as they would order a certain style of
decoration. Inquiry among the dealers brings out the whole truth. Their
customers look for the English mark, and finding it, are satisfied.
After this we need not inquire if the English granite-ware is superior
to the American. There is no question of superiority or inferiority, but
only one of the potency of a name.

Again, in the matter of porcelain, that made and decorated in this
country is sold every day for French, German, or English. It is, in
fact, “all things unto all men,” according to the requirements of the
purchaser and the ingenuity of the dealer. In some cases it is bought
plain, and decorated, after it leaves the factory, in the various
foreign styles. No objection is ever made to its appearance, its finish,
purity, durability, or decoration, only it has the misfortune to be
American, and its parentage must be concealed at all hazards, and even
in spite of the manufacturer’s mark. Here, again, there is no question
of quality, but only one of the effect of a name.

To discuss the objectionable part of misrepresentation is away from the
present purpose, and the deduction from these facts is the only thing
now requiring to be made. They argue that upon their merits there are
wares produced in America which, if made anywhere else, would cope with
the corresponding qualities now imported.

For artistic works the struggle is still harder. In their case the test
is not practical, but critical. They demand taste, and not use, to be
appreciated; and, as a consequence, very rarely receive the recognition
to which they are entitled. Art grows slowly, and, especially in a
country so largely interested in commerce as America, is long in
reaching its maturity. Looking at it aright, there is all the more
reason why, when it makes its appearance, it should be received with
warmth and treated with deferential respect, in order that its growth
may be hastened and not retarded. America is, in this respect, an
exception to the nations of the earth. The question may be looked at
from various points of view. The patriotic course would certainly be to
encourage, and not by neglect to stifle, a budding art. If the art be
poor, it stands in all the greater need of encouragement, in order that,
for America’s sake, it may rise to an equality with that of other
countries.

In France, Germany, Prussia, Russia, Italy, China, and England, the
ceramic art received the support of governments and wealthy patrons, and
the result has been recorded. In America such support is neither given
nor required. What is chiefly needed is appreciation. In the Republic
the people are the rulers and patrons. In their hands are both power and
wealth, to be used in the rearing of art, surely with as much
discrimination and judgment as in the monarchies of Europe and the
Orient. We might say from another stand-point that the earliest works in
any branch of the arts are those of the highest value in the future.
They reveal to the historian the foundations of the eminence from which
he views the past, and that eminence America will undoubtedly attain.
The skill now being developed, and the taste now being cultivated, are
the legacy of the present generation to the next, and future attainments
will be but the interest of present struggle and endeavor.

These considerations, however, are, in a certain sense, extraneous. The
American artist and artist-manufacturer demand no exceptionally
favorable position, nor that their works shall be viewed in any other
than a fairly critical and commercial light. Prejudice in art is the end
of criticism; prejudice in commerce is suicidal.

The materials for making every kind of ware are found in different parts
of the country, and the industry is for that reason well distributed. As
early as 1766 American clays were imported into England, captains on
their return voyages often taking samples from the Carolinas, Georgia,
and Florida. Many of these reached Wedgwood, who, in allusion to one of
them, says, “It will require some peculiar management to avoid the
difficulties attending the use of it.” He elsewhere avows his
willingness to make all necessary experiments with American clays. These
trials turned out well, as we find him making arrangements for a
regular supply from Ayor, in the country of the Cherokees, about three
hundred miles from Charleston. He desired a monopoly by patent or
parliamentary grant, but ultimately sent out an agent, of whom we learn
nothing more, except that he began his journey to the Cherokee deposit.
In October, 1768, a cargo of Carolina clay reached Liverpool, and the
trade became general both in the Cherokee and Pensacola clays, Wedgwood
apparently giving the preference to the latter. What use he made of it
is not precisely stated. More interesting is the fact that America
contributed to Cookworthy’s invention of natural porcelain in England in
1760. It is said that an American showed Cookworthy, in 1745, specimens
of both kaolin and petuntse found in Virginia, and samples of the ware
made from them. Cookworthy’s own account of it is slightly different,
inasmuch as lie only mentions having seen specimens of the manufactured
china. He says: “I had lately with me the person who has discovered the
china earth. He had with him several samples of the china ware, which I
think were equal to the Asiatic. It was found on the back of Virginia,
where he was in the quest of mines; and having read Du Halde, he
discovered both the petuntse and the kaolin. It is this latter earth
which he says is essential to the success of the manufacture. He is gone
for a cargo of it, having bought from the Indians the whole country
where it rises.” Mr. Cookworthy was not favorably impressed by the
gentleman from Virginia, of whom no more is heard. Nor does it appear
that he returned to England with the cargo, which he thought he could
land there at about sixty-five dollars per ton. There is one purely
American feature of the story, and that is the purchase from the Indians
of “the whole country where it rises.”

The final practical effect of Mr. Cookworthy’s association with this
American was the foundation of the English porcelain industry. The
acknowledgment is thus made in the catalogue of the Museum of Practical
Geology: “The great advance of the porcelain manufacture in England is
due to the discovery of the kaolin of Cornwall by William Cookworthy, of
Plymouth, about 1755. He apparently had his attention directed to the
subject by an American, who showed him samples of china-stone and kaolin
from Virginia, in 1745.” One hundred and thirty-two years later, the
country from which the suggestion came is importing kaolin from that
which received and acted upon it.

New Jersey is the only State of the clay deposits of which we know much
historically or have any precise information. The facts here presented
are gleaned from a report issued by the State Geological Survey, and
will give an idea of the value of our native clays. It is stated, on the
authority of Mr. Samuel Dally, of Woodbridge, that the clay there was
known to the soldiers before and during the Revolution, and that, when
stationed at Perth Amboy, they called it _fuller’s-earth_, and used it
for cleaning their buckskin breeches. In 1800 the South Amboy clay was
dug for making stone-ware, and after 1812 the use of New Jersey clays
for fire-bricks and other refractory materials began. Soon after 1816,
Mr. Price was shipping fire-clay from Woodbridge to Boston, to be used
in making fire-bricks. About 1820, Mr. Jacob Felt, of Boston, bought
fifty tons of Woodbridge clay from Jeremiah Dally, at twenty-five cents
per ton, and so started a regular trade, which was maintained for many
years. The Woodbridge deposit is very rich, and is now extensively
worked, the clay being suitable for different purposes. It can be used
as fire and pipe clay, or for white-ware, and also meets the
requirements of paper-makers. In 1835 the same clay was in use by Howell
& Bros., Philadelphia, for satining wall-paper. Gordon, in his Gazetteer
(1833), speaks of a discovery of extensive beds of white pipe-clay
between Woodbridge and Amboy; but even in 1840 its extent and uses were
not fully known. Coming down to 1855, we find clay for fifty millions of
fire-bricks being taken from the pits at Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, and
South Amboy; 2000 tons for the paper-makers; 2000 tons for making alum,
and a large quantity for fine pottery. In 1868 the aggregate production
had doubled. In 1874 265,000 tons of fire-clay were dug, and brought, at
an estimated average price of $3 50 per ton, $927,000; 20,000 tons of
South Amboy stone-ware clay, at $4 per ton, brought $80,000. These
figures are sufficient for the formation of an opinion of the worth of a
good clay deposit.

With regard to the materials to be obtained in this country, it may be
premised that, from a vague use of words having an otherwise definite
meaning, it has been difficult to obtain satisfactory information upon
some of the most interesting points. The following extract is taken
from a report upon the pottery industry, by the secretary of the United
States Pottery Association to the Industrial Directory for 1876: “The
clay, or kaolin, mines of the United States have been wonderfully
developed the past few years. Rich and inexhaustible beds of fine kaolin
are now being worked in the following States: Delaware--three extensive
deposits; Pennsylvania--three very fine mines are worked, and the whole
of Chester County abounds with as fine a deposit as England can boast;
Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana can boast of rich deposits also now
being worked; New Jersey abounds in ball-clay, common white-ware clay,
and all kinds of fire and retort clays; while Maine, Connecticut, and
Maryland furnish felspar in abundance, and Pennsylvania and Maryland
endless quantities of quartz or silica. Every section of the country,
from the Rocky Mountains to the State of Maine, has raw material in
great variety, as yet unimproved.” In view of these statements, it may
appear singular that the Union Porcelain Works at Greenpoint are
consuming large quantities of imported kaolin. To explain this, we must
believe the word kaolin in the above extract to be applied to the native
clay as found, and before it is freed from any impurity. This belief is
supported by M. Ch. de Bussy, one of the French members of the
International Jury at the Centennial Exhibition. In his report he says:
“Les matières premières pour la poterie sont abondantes aux États-Unis.
Des dépôts de kaolin sont exploités dans un grand nombre d’États,
principalement dans ceux de New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Georgia. Plusieurs des matières désignées sous le nom de
_kaolin_ ne sont pas toutefois le produit de la décomposition du
feldspath _in situ_; ce ne sont à proprement parler, que des argiles
blanches qui ne peuvent servir à la fabrication de la porcelaine que par
leur association à du feldspath et du quartz.” He then goes on to say
that the kaolin is not prepared with sufficient care, and that for that
reason the Greenpoint factory uses for its table porcelain a great deal
of English kaolin.

Another reason is that the English clay can always be depended upon, and
that the native, for lack of proper preparation, cannot. The general
conclusions of M. Ch. de Bussy are confirmed by investigations made
here. The above mentioned report by the Geological Survey, embracing all
or the greater number of the clays of the State of New Jersey, gives
much valuable information, and farther substantiates our view. The
following table has been compiled from the data there given, for the
purpose of comparing the imported kaolin with the New Jersey clays, and
thus arriving at the truth upon this point:

  +------------+---------+---------+--------+---------+------+--------+-------+
  |            |Cornwall,|Cornwall.|Standard| Redruth,|Perth | Staten |Washing|
  |            | England.|         | Kaolin.|Cornwall.|Amboy.| Island.| -ton. |
  +------------+---------+---------+--------+---------+------+--------+-------+
  |Silica      |    46.32|    46.29|   46.00|    28.40| 77.10|   92.70|  99.40|
  |Alumina     |    39.74|         |   40.00|    24.11| 17.10|    5.70|   7.80|
  |Water       |    12.67|         |   13.00|     7.90|  4.50|    0.70|   2.60|
  |Potash      |         |         |        |     0.96|  1.30|    0.35|       |
  |Line        |     0.36|     0.50|    0.33|         |      |        |       |
  |Magnesia    |         |         |    0.33|         |      |        |       |
  |Iron        |     0.27|     0.27|    0.33|     0.79|      |        |       |
  |Titanic Acid|         |         |        |     0.20|      |        |       |
  |Sand        |         |         |        |    37.80|      |        |       |
  |            |         |         |        |         |      |        |       |
  +------------+---------+---------+--------+---------+------+--------+-------+
  |            |     1   |     2   |    3   |     4   |  5   |    6   |   7   |
  +------------+---------+---------+--------+---------+------+--------+-------+

     No. 4.--This clay is used with others to give toughness to vessels
     to be exposed to sudden changes of temperature.

     Nos. 5, 6, and 7.--In these the silica and sand are added together,
     and the alumina includes the iron.

In the selected clays of New Jersey the great preponderance of silica at
once attracts attention, and is to be attributed to the admixture of
sand, which averages about seventy-five per cent. of the mass. Whenever
the silica is present in a greater amount than the standard percentage
given in the table, and particularly when it appears in the form of
sand, the clay becomes less fit for making fine ware. The body is
proportionately coarser. The Jersey clay, therefore, although locally
dignified with the name of kaolin, cannot be used by the manufacturer of
porcelain.

The deposit has been made under less favorable circumstances than that
of south-western England. There nature has to a great extent performed
the washing process, by carrying the decomposed felspar along a valley
and dropping the impurities and coarser ingredients by the way. The
artificial process is simply the counterpart of that of nature. In New
Jersey the clay and quartz-sand are in some places deposited together,
and are then miscalled _felspar_; in others they have been partially
assorted, the fine particles being deposited in one bed, the quartz-sand
in another. An analysis of three specimens of this “felspar” shows the
following ingredients, the decrease of sand and increase of alumina
being especially noteworthy:

  Silicic Acid and Quartz-sand......  75.88  74.00  77.40
  Alumina...........................  18.95  17.55  16.07
  Water.............................   4.90   6.30   4.30
  Iron..............................   0.49   0.54   0.53
  Magnesia..........................  .....  .....   0.25
  Potash............................   0.15   0.12   0.15
  Soda..............................   0.21   0.21  .....
  Titanic Acid......................  .....   0.90  .....
                                     ______  _____  _____
                                     100.58  99.62  98.70

These tables will explain the language of the report, that the New
Jersey “kaolins” are “simply mica-bearing sands,” and that the felspar
“is more properly a kaolin.” “The so-called kaolin is a micaceous sand,
consisting of fine-grained white quartz-sand, mixed with a small and
varying percentage of white mica, in small flakes or scales, and a very
little white clay.” In other words, there is no New Jersey clay entitled
to the distinctive name of kaolin, and the inveterate misapplication of
the word illustrates the difficulty to be encountered by the inquirer
into this matter. M. de Bussy, for example, in the passage quoted, falls
very naturally into the error of classing New Jersey with the “large
number of States in which deposits of kaolin are found.” His mistake,
and the confusion of terms which led to it, makes it all the more
desirable that something definite should be known of the deposits in
other States.

As to the deposits of Pennsylvania and the West, there appears to be
considerable difference of opinion, but the existence of clay for making
every kind of ware, from drain-pipes to porcelain vases, is beyond all
doubt. A partial analysis of Georgia kaolin showed that in the leading
ingredients of silica and alumina it approached very nearly the standard
given in the table. The whole question appears to be one of analysis,
preparation, and experiment, so that when the manufacturers buy clay for
a special purpose, they can depend absolutely upon what they obtain.

Mr. T. C. Smith, of Greenpoint, is so confident of the richness of this
country, that he believes kaolin of the best quality exists in
abundance, and that it will in course of time be an article of export.

At the Centennial Exhibition, Mr. Laughlin, of East Liverpool, Ohio,
appeared as one of the representatives of Western enterprise. He thinks
the varieties of clay in America outnumber those of all the rest of the
world. At East Liverpool all the varieties are used. A new clay found in
Missouri, and expected to be very valuable, has recently been added to
the list. It gives the paste a peculiar softness of color, and lends
additional beauty to the manufactured ware. Mr. Laughlin said nothing of
exporting clays, but thought it highly probable that European capital
would be brought into this country to work the inexhaustible materials
which it contains for every kind of ware. What are wanted to render
these kaolinic treasures available are the enterprise, skill, and
capital to prepare and compound them. It is, at least, suggested that
this is the greater part of the difficulty, and that if the peculiar
qualities of each deposit were more precisely known, if the crude
material were skilfully cleaned, and experiments were systematically
conducted for the purpose of discovering the combinations necessary for
making a true and regular porcelain clay, there would be no necessity
for going away from home for any ingredient of the requisite porcelain
paste. This supposition is borne out by the fact that a few years ago a
number of American potters attempted to make porcelain with kaolin
brought from the South, and in every instance failed. Others have since
met with success more or less complete. Böttcher did not succeed on his
first attempt, and, in fact, it was not until several years after his
death that the best Dresden ware was made. In a similar manner,
experiment alone can enable American potters to avail themselves of the
undoubted wealth of their own country. Meantime, it is noteworthy that
the deposits of all kinds now being worked are of sufficient value to
maintain a number of mills for levigating, drying, and grinding. Several
are on the Susquehanna, in Maryland; at East Liverpool, Ohio; at Fort
Ann, New York; on the Connecticut River; and at Trenton, New Jersey.


POTTERY.

     Dependence upon England.--Wedgwood’s Fears of American
     Competition.--Norwich.--Hartford.--Stonington.--Norwalk.--Herbertsville.
     --Sayreville.--South Amboy.--Philadelphia.--Baltimore.--Jersey City.
     --Bennington.--New York City Pottery.--Trenton.--Present Extent of
     Industry.--Trenton Ivory Porcelain.--Terra-cotta.--Beverly.--Chelsea.
     --Portland.--Cambridge.

The few known incidents in the development of the art may be stated as
nearly as possible in chronological order; and, to keep the thread of
the narrative unbroken, reference may at the same time be made to the
early and unsuccessful attempts at establishing the manufacture of
porcelain in conjunction with that of pottery. During the eighteenth
century the records open to our inspection, especially the journals of
the day, make occasional references to imported wares, chiefly of
English manufacture. Mr. Marryat, in treating of English pottery, refers
to the popular indifference in England to the advantages of crockery
over pewter dishes and wooden trenchers. He then says, “The introduction
of stone-ware in the sixteenth century, and of Oriental porcelain in its
imitation delft-ware shortly afterward, and, lastly, the Staffordshire
earthen-ware, gradually expelled pewter dishes and plates, though it is
but recently they have been entirely dismissed.” Popular usage in
America followed a parallel course, and there are many places at which
the substitution of crockery for wood and metal was made within the
memory of persons now living. Mr. J. F. Watson, in his “Annals of
Philadelphia,” describing the furniture of a room of presumably about a
century ago, gives some interesting particulars in regard to this
subject. “One corner,” he says, “was occupied by a beaufet, which was a
corner closet with a glass door, in which all the china of the family
and the plate were intended to be displayed for ornament as well as use.
A conspicuous article in the collection was always a great china
punch-bowl, which furnished a frequent and grateful beverage; for wine
drinking was then much less in vogue. China teacups and saucers were
about half their present size; and china teapots and coffee-pots with
silver nozzles were a mark of superior finery. The sham of plated ware
was not then known, and all who showed a silver service had the massive
metal too. This occurred in the wealthy families, in little coffee and
tea pots; and a silver tankard for good sugared toddy was above vulgar
entertainment. Where we now use earthen-ware, they then used delft-ware,
imported from England; and instead of queen’s-ware (then unknown) pewter
plates and porringers, made to shine along a dresser, were universal.
Some, and especially the country people, ate their meals from wooden
trenchers.” This passage may be taken as affording a faithful view of
American usage in regard to the different points upon which it touches,
not in Pennsylvania alone, of which Mr. Watson is more particularly
treating, but throughout the country. China was still an article of
luxury, in which only the rich could indulge. We are, therefore,
prepared to find that it was not until the close of the last century,
and after the Revolutionary troubles, that crockery assumed any
importance as an article of commerce between England and the United
States. For a long time prior to that period it is reasonable to suppose
that America had been able to satisfy the home demand for all the
coarser wares, and also for bricks; but at the close of the eighteenth
century the manufacture had made little or no progress. It had not
advanced beyond the production of bricks, tiles, and certain kinds of
coarse stone-ware and pottery. It is, to say the least, amusing to find
Wedgwood, in 1765, expressing fears for England’s earthen-ware trade
with America, on account of the establishment of some “new Pottworks in
South Carolina.” “They have,” he said, “every material there, equal if
not superior to our own, for carrying on that manufacture;” and on these
and other grounds he asked if something could not be done to protect the
home manufacture!

Miss Meteyard, Wedgwood’s biographer, relates that in 1766 a Mr.
Bartlem, a Staffordshire potter, emigrated to South Carolina, and having
induced several workmen to join him, began his trade in that State. He
failed there, as he had done in England, and a similar fate befell an
enterprise which had for its object the establishment of china works in
Pennsylvania.

Previous to 1796 both earthen and stone ware were made by Mr. Charles
Lathrop at Norwich, Connecticut; and in 1789 Mr. Samuel Dennis made an
unsuccessful application for State aid in founding a stone pottery in
Connecticut, at which he promised to make ware resembling the
Staffordshire queen’s-ware. The industry was also pursued at Hartford by
Isaac Hanford, at Stonington by Adam States, and at Norwalk. Shortly
afterward, or in the first decade of the present century, ware of an
apparently higher class began to be made in the Eastern States, and
although large quantities continued to be imported from England, the
native wares rapidly improved in quality and increased in quantity.

About the year 1800, Van Wickle’s stone-ware factory was in operation at
Old Bridge, now Herbertsville, New Jersey. The clay used was obtained
from Morgan’s Bank at South Amboy. Two years later a similar factory,
using the same material, was started by the Prices at Roundabout, now
Sayreville, on the Raritan. In 1833 J. R. Watson, of Perth Amboy,
established a factory of fire-brick, and was working it regularly three
years later.

The workshop now carried on by Mr. Richard C. Ramey at Philadelphia is
one of the oldest stone-ware factories in America. It turns out a good
quality of fire-brick and ware for chemical purposes. A few other
Philadelphia firms may here be noticed. Harvey & Adamson make a strong
and durable quality of stone-ware, with a hard vitreous glaze (_grès
cérames_), and artistic terra-cotta. Jeffords & Co., of the same city,
manufacture an excellent grade of fine stone-ware for household
purposes, and table wares. The pieces have usually mouldings in relief,
and are colored brown or yellow on the outside and white inside. The
latter is apparently produced by making use of an _engobe_ of very white
clay. Galloway & Graiff make earthen-ware of various kinds, including
terra-cotta in Greek shapes. Moorhead & Wilson have very extensive clay
works at Spring Mills, and manufacture terra-cotta for building
purposes. They also make terra-cotta vases, after the antique, for
decorators.

At Baltimore good qualities of common earthen-ware and salt-glazed
stone-ware are made by Perrine & Co.

[Illustration: Fig. 430--Jersey City Earthen-ware Pitcher.]

About 1825 a factory of natural porcelain was founded by a number of
Frenchmen in Jersey City. We have a specimen of this porcelain, made in
1826--a small bowl, with excellent body and glaze, and decorated with a
gold band round the outside of the rim. The venture did not prove a
success, and the production ceased within a year or two. In 1829 the
works were assumed by David Henderson & Co., and carried on under the
firm of the American Pottery Company. It was here that the throwing and
turning of earthen-ware upon the English principle was first performed
in America, by William and James Taylor. This was also the first
successful attempt to compete with England, and was made in connection
with the manufacture of a yellow ware. Three years later, or in 1832,
the same potters were making a cream-colored ware chiefly from imported
materials. To the decoration of a white ware the English process of
printing was successfully brought, and a brown earthen-ware, made about
the same date, was variously ornamented with reliefs and colored
enamels. Three specimens of the latter are in the Metropolitan Museum.
One consists of a water-pitcher modelled by Daniel Greatbatch (Fig.
430), with the handle in shape of a hound, and a hunting scene in
relief, and belongs to the earlier period of the factory. About 1845 a
change appears to have taken place in the proprietorship, as we then
find the company consisting of Messrs. William Rhodes (whom we shall
meet again in Trenton), Strong, and M’Gerron. The firm made white
granite and cream-colored ware until 1854. At that time the pressure of
foreign competition was so great that they could not gain a foothold in
the regular trade. Their wares were chiefly sold by peddlers and
itinerant dealers, who were in the habit of going to the factory with
wagons, when they knew that a kiln was to be drawn, and carting off the
goods before they were trimmed. Rhodes resigned in 1854, and went to
Vermont; and the remaining partners sold out, in 1855, to Rouse, Turner,
Duncan & Henry, of whom Messrs. Rouse & Turner are now carrying on the
establishment. The popularity occasionally reached by a single form was,
perhaps, never better exemplified than by the brown pitcher above
mentioned. It is made down to the present time, and has become so
identified with the factory, that, when wishing to send a memento to
his friend Mr. John Haslem, of the Derby Works in England, Mr. Rouse
thought he could not do better than send him one of these pitchers, of a
size larger than ordinary. The present firm have not used any imported
clay for the past fifteen years. They now obtain spar from Connecticut,
flint from Lantern Hill, Connecticut, China clay from South Carolina,
and other clays from New Jersey. The staple of the factory is
granite-ware, for which a peculiar ivory-colored glaze has recently been
adopted. Parian is also made. The Jersey City biscuit is extensively
consumed by decorators, and some new and very handsome shapes have been
designed for this special branch of trade (see Fig. 457).

[Illustration: Fig. 431.--Porcelain Statuette, New York City Pottery.]

Messrs. Lyman, Fenton & Co. embarked, in 1847, in an enterprise at
Bennington, Vermont, which promised to be a commercial success. They
made both pottery and artificial porcelain. The enamel upon certain
specimens of the former in the Metropolitan Museum, and belonging to the
Trumbull-Prime collection, is of a notably good quality. The works
stopped, after running for about twelve years.

The oldest establishment in New York is the Hudson River Pottery, in
West Twelfth Street. It was founded in 1838, and is now carried on under
the firm of William A. Macquoid & Co. The only products, until within a
year ago, were stone-ware and glazed earthen-ware. At that time the
demand by decorators for terra-cotta in the choicest antique forms led
the firm to add it to their list of productions. The experiment was
successful. The paste is fine and well worked.

The “Manhattan Pottery” of Stewart & Co., in West Eighteenth Street, New
York, is engaged chiefly in the production of drain-pipes and
terra-cotta. The former are glazed with “Albany slip,” obtained from the
bed of the Hudson at Albany, which renders them perfectly impervious to
the action of acids.

[Illustration: Fig. 432.--Iron-stone China Plaque.]

[Illustration: Fig. 433.--New York City Pottery.

Lambeth style.]

Mr. James Carr, of the New York City Pottery, after working for some
time with the American Pottery Company, in Jersey City, went, in 1852,
to South Amboy, and founded an establishment for making yellow,
Rockingham, and cream-colored ware. Twenty-two years ago he removed to
his present premises in West Thirteenth Street, New York. Mr. Carr makes
use of six or seven different bodies, all composed of American
materials. Some time ago he made a few pieces, including a tea-service
and two statuettes (Fig. 431) of artificial porcelain, using bone and
kaolin from Chester County, Pennsylvania. The table-pieces are decorated
with festoons of flowers, in pink and green, and a rim of blue and gold.
The statuettes are well modelled and very tastefully colored. The staple
product of the factory is stone china, which is largely sought in
biscuit by decorators. The quality is probably as fine as it is possible
to make stone china, and styles of decoration are followed which are
rarely found on a similar body. Dinner-services are decorated with all
the care usually reserved for porcelain, and many ornamental pieces,
including a series of circular plaques, show admirable taste and
workmanship (Fig. 432). A third quality of ware is called “Semi-china,”
and is nearly as translucent as porcelain. It is made from American
kaolin clay, with a large admixture of felspar. It is decorated in
styles similar to those found upon the iron-stone china. Mr. Carr also
makes statuettes and busts in terra-cotta, of a warm, rich tint, and in
a fine, partially translucent parian. Besides these, the works produce
cream-colored ware and majolica. The latter is made into a great variety
of forms--jars, pedestals, seats, boxes, and cups, the leading colors of
which are a clear deep blue, yellow, and green.

Some of the colors found upon iron-stone china pieces are remarkably
good, notably a fine mazarine blue and a brilliant black. Artistic work
of all kinds is receiving attention. Mr. Carr has made many experiments,
and continues making them with unremitting ardor (Fig. 433). Beginning
to work at a time when the mechanical difficulties in the way of success
seemed insuperable, he gradually extended his efforts as these
difficulties disappeared, and is now reaching toward the higher forms of
the art. The story of his life is the history of modern American
pottery.

The history of Trenton is interesting from the enormous development of
the manufacture in that city within a very short space of time. The
business was begun in 1852, by the firm of Taylor & Speeler. Taylor is
said to have made the first porous cup at Jersey City, for Professor
Morse’s experiments. This honor is also claimed for the Robertsons of
Chelsea, Massachusetts. But leaving that question in the mean time, it
would appear that the Taylor here spoken of is the same whom we have
seen at work as a thrower with the American Pottery Company. The Trenton
firm made yellow and Rockingham ware, with which they were successful
from the first. They also attempted porcelain and parian; but these
wares, though of fine quality, were not received with such favor as to
make their production a commercial success. This resulted, in all
probability, from the difficulties attending the manufacture. Since
their day the business has almost entirely turned toward another class
of white goods, the granite-ware in common use, and for a long time no
attempts to manufacture porcelain were made except in the way of
experiment. This was done by nearly every firm in the business.

Taylor & Speeler were making white granite in 1856, but only to a
limited extent, and in connection with yellow-ware and Rockingham. A
medal was awarded them for the manufacture of superior pottery. This
honor was conferred in 1856, by the Franklin Institute of the State of
Pennsylvania. The medal is now in Mr. Taylor’s possession. As a memento
of the skill shown in the early days of American pottery it will bear
description. It is made of silver, and has on one side the inscription,
“Reward of skill and industry to Taylor, Speeler & Bloor, Trenton, New
Jersey, for china, granite, and earthen ware, 1856.” On the obverse is a
likeness of Benjamin Franklin, and the words “Franklin Institute of the
State of Pennsylvania, 1824.” To Mr. Taylor, the senior partner of the
firm, the credit is due of first firing a kiln with anthracite coal.

The factory is now called the Trenton Pottery Works. Mr. Bloor joined
the original firm of Taylor & Speeler in 1854, and retired in 1859. Soon
afterward Mr. Speeler sold out to John F. Houdayer, and in 1870 the firm
consisted of Mr. Taylor and John Goodwin. A year later Mr. Goodwin was
bought out by his son, James H. Goodwin, and Isaac Davis, the latter of
whom soon afterward acquired Goodwin’s share, and in 1875 became sole
proprietor by purchasing Mr. Taylor’s interest. Mr. Davis, like several
others of the older Trenton potters, is an Englishman, and the fact is
noteworthy, in view of the opposition to goods of American manufacture.
It shows how blind was the prejudice which, there being no question of
the excellence of American materials, will not concede to an Englishman
in America the skill and ability of the same Englishman in England. Mr.
Davis went to Trenton from Staffordshire in 1862, worked first with
William Young & Sons, formed a copartnership with George Lawton, upon a
capital of $300, joined the Glasgow Pottery Company, and then, as we
have seen, bought an interest in the firm of Taylor & Goodwin.

The first to make cream-colored ware for the market were William Young &
Sons, Astbury & Millington, who comprised the firm which, in 1853, laid
the foundation of an industry which has since attained to enormous
dimensions. They had large orders for strawberry bowls from a trucker
near Rocky Hill, and these they fired in Taylor & Speeler’s yellow-ware
kiln. The business, although greatly increased, has not changed its
character, and is at the present time carried on by William Young’s
sons.

Of the original partners Astbury formed a copartnership with Mr.
Maddock, and the present firm is Astbury & Maddock, of which the latter
is the only surviving partner. Its chief product is sanitary and
druggists’ ware, and experiments are also made with American
kaolins--those of Missouri, Pennsylvania, and other States--with a view
to the manufacture of a true American porcelain. Decorating and printing
are now receiving a considerable amount of attention. Mr. Millington,
also of the old firm, resigned, and founded the pottery now bearing his
name.

The first pottery fitted up for the exclusive manufacture of white
granite and cream-colored ware was that of Rhodes & Yates, in 1859, at
the present City pottery, on Perry Street. This Mr. Rhodes is the same
one who was partner in the Jersey City pottery. On going to Vermont, in
1854, he established the manufacture of white-ware, and remained there
until the fall of 1859, when he joined Mr. Yates in a new enterprise in
Trenton. The previous history of the City pottery is a story of
continuous changes. At one time it was occupied by William Young & Sons,
who were making porcelain hardware trimmings. In 1853 it was purchased
by Mr. Charles Hattersley, and in 1856 passed into the possession of Mr.
Yates, who leased it to James and Thomas Lynch. For two years they
occupied it as a drain-pipe factory, and in 1859 it was assumed by Mr.
Yates, in partnership with Mr. Rhodes. In putting granite and
cream-colored ware upon the market, the firm had many obstacles to
overcome. Chief among them was the all-prevailing prejudice of dealers
and consumers in favor of imported goods. Success, however, came in
course of time. An entrance was forced into the market, and other firms
which rapidly sprung into existence seconded their efforts in securing
for Trenton a remunerative recognition in the white-ware trade. Meantime
several changes took place in the firm of Rhodes & Yates. Mr. Higginson
became leading partner, and in 1865 the firm was Yates & Titus, which
was changed, in 1870, to Yates, Bennett & Allen, and in the fall of 1875
to the City Pottery Company, of which Mr. Yates and Mr. John Rhodes--a
son of William Rhodes--are two of the partners. The period of seven
years between Taylor & Speeler’s venture and that of Rhodes & Yates may
be called the infancy of the Trenton manufacture. Since that time the
production has increased year by year, and Trenton well deserves the
title conferred upon it of “The Staffordshire of America.” Its annual
productive capacity is about two and a half millions, and during 1876
the actual production was about $1,750,000. There are, in all, nineteen
potteries in the city, and several decorating establishments. To
illustrate what is now being done, and to indicate the new channels
which the industry is seeking, a few of the leading factories may be
referred to.

The Etruria Pottery Company is now working the factory built, in 1863,
by Messrs. William Bloor, Joseph Ott, and Thomas Booth. Mr. Booth
retired in 1864, and was succeeded by G. S. Burroughs, who, in 1865,
withdrew and made way for J. Hart Brewer. In 1871 Mr. Bloor retired, and
the firm of Ott & Brewer remained in possession until January, 1878,
when the Etruria Pottery Company was organized. Until 1876 the staple
products of the factory were white granite and cream-colored ware. Its
ivory porcelain and parian will be noticed hereafter.

The Glasgow Pottery of John Moses & Company sends out an immense
quantity of white granite and cream-colored ware, and experiments are
also conducted, chiefly with Pennsylvania kaolin, with a view to making
porcelain. That now regularly made is called semi-porcelain, and many
trial pieces have a pure translucent body and excellent glaze.

The firm of Coxon & Co. was founded, in 1863, by Mr. Charles Coxon, and
is now composed of his widow, J. G. Forman, and S. M. Alpaugh. Mr. Coxon
began with cream-colored ware, and conjoined it with white granite
toward the end of 1863. Since that time the firm has produced both
qualities.

One of the later establishments is the Mercer Pottery, built in 1868, of
which Mr. James Moses is sole proprietor. Besides the common grades of
earthen-ware, stone china and semi-porcelain are made and decorated.
There is a decided tendency here toward the production of a finer
quality of ware, and of styles of decoration possessed of artistic
merit.

At the Arsenal Pottery Mr. Joseph Mayer manufactures Rockingham and
brown stone-ware, and is in the possession of a number of excellent
designs. Of the remaining Trenton potteries--the East Trenton Pottery
Company, the American Crockery Company, Joseph H. Moore’s, the Greenwood
Pottery Company, and the Millham--it is unnecessary to give details.
Within the past two or three years all have been turning their
attention to work of a more or less artistic character, some directing
their efforts more particularly to decorating, and others to the
perfecting of a body which shall enable them to compete with the
manufacturers of porcelain. In the latter respect the Greenwood company
has met with gratifying success, and has given their ware the name of
“American China.”

It will thus be seen that the history of modern American art and
manufacture does not extend much beyond a century. Progress has been
rapid, and the trade has developed with gigantic strides.

It is estimated that there are in all seven hundred and seventy-seven
pottery establishments in the United States, including those for all
kinds of ware, from terra-cotta to porcelain. All, or nearly all, these
have sprung up within twenty-five years, and many of them since the
Civil War. The productive capacity of some of the leading centres may be
judged from the number of kilns they require. At Trenton there are
fifty-seven kilns; at East Liverpool, forty-six; at Cincinnati, twelve;
at Flushing and Greenpoint, Long Island, eleven; at Pittsburg six; or
there are at sixteen seats of the industry, and excluding terra-cotta
manufactories, one hundred and seventy kilns. The capital invested by
the forty firms, members of the Potters’ Association, is upward of four
millions, an amount vastly increased by the remaining seven hundred and
thirty odd establishments throughout the country. White granite-ware, an
abomination in point of art, but eminently useful, is made at other
places in this country besides Trenton in great abundance. The only
manufactory of white granite and cream-colored ware in the Eastern
States is that of the New England Pottery Company at East Boston. It was
established in 1854.

A display was made at the Centennial Exhibition of what was called
“Ivory Porcelain,” from the Etruria Pottery of Ott & Brewer, Trenton. It
has a hard, semi-translucent body, and clear, smooth boracic glaze. It
bears a close resemblance to Mr. Carr’s semi-china, and is substantially
the same ware that is now receiving attention from many of the other
Trenton potters. It may be said to mark the first stage on the way to a
true American porcelain. By exhibiting it at the Centennial Exhibition,
Ott & Brewer were really the first to draw the public attention to this
new departure in American manufacture. Its distinctive name is taken
from its soft, ivory-like tint. The advantages claimed for it are, that
while it answers all the purposes of china, its manufacture is less
expensive, and permits its being put upon the market at a much lower
price; that it equals the average china in point of both utility and
appearance; and that its consistency is such that it can be made into
more graceful or less clumsy shapes than granite. Experience alone can
dispose of these claims. It is fired, like granite-ware, hard in the
biscuit and soft in the gloss-kiln, from which it would appear that the
glaze and paste are not homogeneous, as in natural porcelain.
Practically, however, this new ware represents a great and substantial
improvement in the manufacture of a general domestic article. All the
component ingredients of both paste and glaze are found in America.

[Illustration: Fig. 434.--Parian Vase. Etruria Pottery Company.]

At Ott & Brewer’s, also, are to be discovered the first glimmerings of
what may be called an art, in the studio of Mr. Isaac Broome, an
American artist of considerable repute and skill. Mr. Broome devoted
himself to both painting and sculpture before turning his attention to
ceramic art. Some years ago he established a terra-cotta workshop in
Pittsburg; but the locality was unfavorable, and the enterprise was
abandoned. A similar venture in New York city also failed.

Several months prior to the Centennial Exhibition he was employed by
Messrs. Ott & Brewer to design and model certain works in parian. These
were exhibited at Philadelphia, and were very favorably received. The
improved kiln previously described (see page 79) was built after his
plans, and under his personal direction for firing the works turned out
of his studio. Of these one of the best was suggested by Mr. J. Hart
Brewer, and consists of (Fig. 434) a pair of vases in parian designed to
illustrate the national game of base-ball. Great variety of detail is
attained without detriment to a certain severity of outline. From a
narrow base the body contracts quickly to its smallest girth, and thence
expands gradually to the top. Round the foot of each vase, and standing
on the supporting pedestal, are arranged three figures of base-ball
players, modelled after a thoroughly American ideal of physical beauty,
embodying muscular activity rather than ponderous strength. The
attitudes are very well chosen, and invest the figures with an
appearance of life and vigorous action. A series of clubs belted round
with a strap ornaments the stem of the vases, and some exquisitely
wrought leaves and berries are woven round the top. The orifice is
covered by a cupola or dome, composed of a segment of a base-ball, upon
which stands an eagle. These vases are the work of a genuine artist, who
has surrounded a general design of great merit with many finely executed
and suggestive details.

[Illustration: Fig. 435.--Pastoral Vase. Etruria Pottery Co.]

[Illustration: Fig. 436.--Faun’s Head Bracket. Etruria Pottery Company.]

The same artist’s “rustic,” or “Pastoral,” vases (Fig. 435) illustrate a
different order of ideas. Here the surface is covered with mouldings in
relief, composing a design partly suggested by mythology, partly
original. It carries us back to the golden age of the poets. A female
figure, which might be that of Flora or Proserpina, dances to a satyr
who plays a musical instrument. The details are all in perfect
harmony--the dancing goats, the grape-vines, the leaves, rustic
wood-work, and goat’s-head handles. A tasteful finish is given to the
decoration by a fluting running round the upper part of the neck to the
lip. To produce a good effect, work of this kind, all in relief and
uncolored, demands the nicest finish, and a design which shall lean
neither toward scantiness on the one hand, nor overloaded ornamentation
on the other. In both respects Mr. Broome has been fortunate. The
decoration relieves without destroying the fine outline of the vase.

[Illustration: Fig. 437.--Parian Vase. Etruria Pottery Company.]

Mr. Broome’s “Fashion” vases (Fig. 437) are embellished with some very
fine illustrations of the fashions of a century ago and also of the
present time. Of these the shapes are exceedingly quaint and uncommon,
and the figures in low relief are very highly finished.

Besides these, Mr. Broome has modelled a great number of the heads and
busts which have always been the staple of workers in parian. Some are
original, others are reproductions from the antique. To the former class
belongs an ideal Cleopatra (Fig. 438). The artist has chosen a full and
sensuous type of beauty, vastly different from that adopted by recent
painters who have ventured to portray upon canvas the charms which
melted the stern Cæsar and enslaved Antony. Somehow one associates the
style of beauty represented in Mr. Broome’s bust rather generally with
the land of Egypt than specially with the conquests of Cleopatra. This
may result from a familiarity with less truthful conceptions, and in
that view implies a decided merit. The artist has in details followed
history as closely as it seems possible for him to have done, and has
wisely preferred study and research to giving his imagination a free
rein. Imagination, or an American model, might have led him to present a
higher type of beauty, but neither would have led him to produce a
distinctively Egyptian Cleopatra. Accepting his ideal, it is worked out
with unmistakable talent, and with the most painstaking attention to
workmanship.

It is unnecessary to particularize farther. The Etruria Pottery Company
have made a good beginning, and in directing the efforts of their
artists it is to be hoped that they may not allow the commercial success
of copies of the antique to divert attention from such works as those
described. The paste employed is fine, compact, and hard, and assumes in
some pieces the clear and polished appearance of marble. Its precise
composition is not known. The paste is, as in the usual case, poured in
a fluid state into plaster moulds, which absorb the superfluous water.
Oxides are used to vary the color of the casts, and a number of tints of
great delicacy and beauty have been secured.

[Illustration: Fig. 438.--Cleopatra, in Parian.]

American terra-cotta must be briefly dismissed. At the Centennial
Exhibition an extensive assortment was shown from works situated in many
parts of the country. One or two makers displayed an utterly misguided
taste in attempting something original. Others appeared to confine
themselves to the well-known Apollo Belvederes, Niobes, and other
antique subjects. Garden vases and ornaments were meritorious as a
class; but whatever artistic work may be produced in some quarters, in
others art is only budding, and will take some time before it blooms
into flower. Some excellent work in terra-cotta is executed in
Philadelphia and New York, and has been referred to above. Of the
hundreds of other factories throughout the country few have done
anything distinctive. One or two might possibly be mentioned, such as
the Halm Art Pottery Company, of Sandy Hill, New York, which are
gradually drawing away from the commonplace, and may be expected, sooner
or later, to possess an artistic individuality. Among Eastern workshops
may be mentioned those of Beverly, Portland, North Cambridge, and
Chelsea, Massachusetts. A great deal of the red terra-cotta of Beverly
is consumed by decorative artists and students. The Portland terra-cotta
is well known both for excellence of body and beauty of shape. The paste
is unusually fine and close in texture, and is excellent under the
brush. The North Cambridge establishment also turns out ware of a high
quality. The designing department is evidently under skilful and
competent supervision, and the forms have an antique grace which never
loses its charm. As in the case of Beverly, the products of both these
workshops are well adapted to the purposes of the decorator.

Chelsea demands a larger share of our attention for styles of work in
terra-cotta unique among American products. The establishment is at
present carried on by Robertson & Sons, under the name of the “Chelsea
Keramic Art Works.” The firm consists of J. Robertson and his two sons,
A. W. Robertson and Hugh C. Robertson. The workshop was founded on 1st
June, 1868, by A. W. Robertson, for the production of English
brown-ware. He was joined by his brother, and the chief wares made at
that time were fancy flower-pots. J. Robertson was admitted to the firm
by his sons on 1st June, 1872, and affords a good instance of the wide
experience it is possible to compress into one lifetime. Mr. Robertson
was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and first worked in the Fife pottery,
at Dysart, where his father was head workman. He there acquired a
knowledge of modelling and mould-making, and at the age of sixteen was
engaged by the Watsons of Prestonpans, Mid-Lothian, then the leading
fine-ware factory in Scotland. He next tried the North of England, and
worked as modeller and mould-maker at several factories, gaining
experience and proficiency, and ultimately took the management of a
small red-ware pottery, where he introduced both white and printed ware,
“smeared black” and “lustred” ware. On leaving, he tried manufacturing
on his own account for a time, and then accepted the position of
superintendent of a black-ware factory at North Shields. He arrived in
America in 1853, and worked first in a factory at South River; then with
Mr. J. Carr, at South Amboy, and afterward at Thirteenth Street, New
York; next with Speeler, Taylor & Bloor, at Trenton; and lastly as
manager of the East Boston pottery. His next step was to join his sons
at Chelsea, each of whom has had a more or less varied career, and is
expert in at least one branch of the business. Since the establishment
was opened, a great many experimental pieces have been made of different
materials, sizes, and shapes. What are known as porous cones were made
some time ago for chemical purposes, and are of so open a body that the
breath can be drawn through them with ease. We have already seen that
Jersey City claims this discovery. The credit is probably due to both,
as they appear to have arrived at the same result by independent
courses. Work of a more purely artistic character was tried about eight
years ago, but, commercially speaking, without success. A second attempt
was made in 1873, and the production has been continued down to the
present time. The artists and collectors of Boston soon discovered
certain qualities in the Chelsea potters and their works deserving
recognition. They may possibly have reached the conviction that Chelsea
is to be numbered among the places where artists value their work solely
according to its truth, excellence, and beauty. Without affecting to
disregard commercial considerations, they succeed in giving their art
the precedence. It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise either that
they should have convinced a section of the public that Chelsea can do
noble service in the cause of American art, or that many excellent works
should bear its mark. Allusion may first, however, be made to certain
matters with which the Robertsons allow their attention to be diverted
from more serious pursuits. They have been inspired by Doulton’s
treatment of stone-ware to make certain small pieces of fine
earthen-ware of a gray color faintly tinged with blue, and very
brilliantly glazed. The decoration consists of incised designs. The
pieces do not bear a very close resemblance to Doulton ware, but are in
themselves decidedly attractive. The Robertsons, having mastered the
fundamental secret of the Haviland process, viz., of applying the colors
upon the unbaked clay, have, in the second place, brought out a few
pieces after the style of the Limoges faience. Their success here is
limited by a palette which must be considerably enriched before the
effects of the French ware are reached.

[Illustration: Fig. 439.--Chelsea (Robertson) Terra-cotta.]

[Illustration: Fig. 440.--Chelsea (Robertson) Terra-cotta.]

The best Chelsea works are in red and white unglazed earthen-ware. Of
these we give two illustrations (Figs. 439 and 440). Some of the forms
are original, and others are after the Greek, Italian, and other types.
The decoration consists of designs graved in the paste, of mouldings in
relief, and of carvings in relief. The application of moulded ornaments
to the surface has been practised in all ages, and the Chelsea work does
not demand special comment, although many of the designs are attractive
and simple. The carving in relief belongs to a different order of work.
Instead of being moulded, the ornamentation of leaves or flowers is
carved out of clay laid upon the surface of the vase while still moist
from the hands of the thrower. The effect is similar to that obtained by
mouldings, but the work is finer, the details more highly finished, and
the outlines sharper and clearer. Of the designs in these and the pieces
decorated with mouldings, the best are those in which leaves either lie
across the vase or form a calyx from which it rises upward. The absence
of color allows the attention to rest solely upon the fidelity with
which every detail is rendered. If this be the quality of work with
which the Robertsons tested American taste eight years ago, it is not
easy to understand why they did not succeed.


PORCELAIN.

     Philadelphia.--William Ellis Tucker.--Bennington.--Jersey
     City.--Greenpoint.--Decorating Establishments.--Metal and
     Porcelain.

The history of American porcelain is necessarily brief. The impetus
toward the higher branches of the art, emanating from Europe, in due
time reached these shores. It affected the rapidly developing enterprise
of the citizen of the young Republic, and touched his faith in the vast
and varied resources of his country. Previous to the achievement of
independence, however, and during the early colonial intercourse with
England, an incident occasionally transpired not without interest in our
narrative. When Mr. Richard Chaffers died in Liverpool, and his
porcelain establishment was closed, many of his workmen came to this
country. In 1771 it was reported in England that a large china
manufactory was established in Philadelphia, where “better china cups
and saucers are made than at Bow or Stratford.” It may astonish many who
are not acquainted with anything in American ceramics beyond the
competitive spirit which rules the business, to find that more than a
century ago it had left England behind in the race!

[Illustration: Fig. 441.--Philadelphia Natural Porcelain.
(Trumbull-Prime Coll., New York Metropolitan Museum.)]

There appears to be no longer any doubt of the existence of a porcelain
factory in Philadelphia about the year 1770, and that, therefore, the
report alluded to above was “founded on fact.” Advertisements have been
discovered which go far toward settling the question. They promise work
equal to that of Bow, and are therefore in all probability the basis of
the rumor above mentioned, which was current in England a year later.
How long the works were carried on is not known.

[Illustration: Fig. 442.--Philadelphia Natural Porcelain.
(Trumbull-Prime Coll., New York Metropolitan Museum.)]

The next porcelain venture was made in the same city, between 1816 and
1830, by William Ellis Tucker. Tucker began as a decorator, and, after a
series of experiments, made first a non-translucent ware of good
quality, and then natural porcelain (Figs. 441 and 442).

[Illustration: Fig. 443.--Bennington Artificial Porcelain.
(Trumbull-Prime Coll., New York Metropolitan Museum.)]

His works were originally situated behind his father’s china store in
Market Street, and afterward at the corner of Market, Schuylkill, and
Front streets. One serious impediment to success was a treacherous
workman, who did all he could to frustrate his employer’s design. His
first experiment was to cut the handles off the pieces when placing them
in the kiln. His next was to wash the seggars with felspar, which melted
in the kiln and fastened the wares to the bottom of the seggars. When
Tucker first made porcelain for the market is not recorded, but in 1827
he was honored with a silver medal by the Franklin Institute of the
State of Pennsylvania. Some time prior to Tucker’s death, in 1832, Judge
Hemphill had been admitted as partner, and subsequently carried on the
factory, in connection with Thomas Tucker, a brother of the founder, for
a few years. He then sold out. Thomas took the works in hand alone in
1837, and kept them running for about a year, when the production
ceased. The products of the factory were chiefly table wares. The paste
and glaze were both excellent, but the form and decoration would not
permit of competition with imported china. The workshop went down for
want of public support, and also on account of the alleged impossibility
of securing the services of skilled artists. We have already seen that
Lyman & Fenton conjoined the making of artificial porcelain (Fig. 443)
with that of pottery at Bennington, Vermont. This factory is chiefly
remarkable as the first from which figures in biscuit were turned out.
We have also noticed the Jersey City enterprise of Henderson & Co.
Several attempts to produce porcelain were made at Greenpoint, Long
Island. In 1848, Mr. Charles Cartalege met with some success in the
manufacture of knobs and buttons, but in no table ware. Altogether it is
probable that about a dozen different establishments were founded for
the purpose of inaugurating the manufacture of a native porcelain. They
generally succeeded in making a few pieces, and then stopped for lack of
patronage. The honor of first establishing the industry upon a
successful basis, and of turning out a commercial ware, is to be
ascribed to Mr. Thomas C. Smith, of the Union Porcelain Works,
Greenpoint.

Mr. Smith is an American, whose ancestors arrived in the Eastern States
about one hundred and fifty years ago. He was brought up as a mechanic,
and first went into the porcelain manufacture in 1857, under a company
composed of a number of Germans who had started the business about three
years previously. At this time several small kilns existed in
Greenpoint, like that of Cartalege, for the purpose of making door-knobs
and other hardware trimmings. The paste then used was compounded upon
the principle of the English artificial paste, and contained a large
proportion of burned bones or phosphate of lime. This was the
composition used by the Germans with whom Mr. Smith connected himself.
These Germans, through dishonesty and want of knowledge of the business,
soon brought the concern into trouble, from which Mr. Smith tried to
extricate it by acting as manager for a time, but the derangement and
prostration of trade, caused by the outbreak of the Civil War, compelled
the company to wind up its affairs. Mr. Smith, being the largest
creditor, became the purchaser, his intention being to bring the
porcelain enterprise to an end, and make the property available for some
other purpose. Meantime he went abroad. At the time when the second
battle of Bull Run was fought he was in France, and it was there the
idea grew upon him that there was a good opportunity for establishing
the porcelain business in his native country. So complete was the change
in the formation of his plans, that he immediately turned his attention
to making such inquiries as might subserve his purpose, among the great
workshops of France and England. When he returned home, his intention of
abandoning the manufacture of porcelain disappeared, and he decided to
embark anew. The experiments which followed were attended with much
anxiety. Up to November, 1863, the old bone body had been retained; but
in 1864 Mr. Smith stopped using it, and directed his attention solely to
the production of a natural kaolinic porcelain like that of China or
Meissen. His experiments extended over about two years. The first pieces
were uneven and the vitrification was incomplete. This arose from an
ignorance of the correct composition required for success. Farther
trials were more encouraging, and in 1865 he succeeded in making a plain
white-ware, which he could place upon the market. Mr. Smith prides
himself upon one fact, that, unlike any one of the European
establishments, from that of Florence downward, he succeeded without aid
either from a wealthy patron or from government.

[Illustration: Fig. 444.--Century Vase. Greenpoint Porcelain.]

In 1866 he first began to decorate, with one English and one German
artist. By availing himself of odd fragments of information, he not only
improved his decoration, but discovered some European usages, the
prevalence of which he had not suspected. One of these was that Dresden
ware was sent in large quantities to England to be decorated, and was
afterward returned to Dresden and sold as Meissen ware. On one occasion
he bought in Europe a Meissen porcelain cup decorated with blue, red,
and gold. On returning home, he broke the cup, and put one of the pieces
in his porcelain furnace, to see if the colors would stand the heat to
which his own were exposed. When it was withdrawn the red had
disappeared, a thin, almost imperceptible line was all that was left of
the gilt, and the blue had run into streaks and blotches. This little
experiment taught him that he was contending with difficulties, in
firing his colors, which European makers had not thought it necessary to
meet. That he has succeeded is marked by the extension of his works,
which cover about an acre of ground, and give employment to about one
hundred and seventy people. All his porcelain is decorated by his own
artists. Mr. Karl Müller is the chief designer and modeller, and brings
a long experience as a sculptor to bear upon his studies in clay. He is
a German, whose art education was mainly acquired in Paris under the
tuition of the ablest artists of Europe. His predilection for the
potter’s art led him to associate himself with Mr. Smith. Before doing
so, in 1874, he modelled three terra-cotta figures of base-ball players,
in different attitudes suggestive of athletic activity.

[Illustration: Fig. 445.--“Kéramos” Vase. Greenpoint Porcelain.]

[Illustration: Fig. 446.--Greenpoint Biscuit Porcelain.]

The ingredients of Greenpoint porcelain are the kaolins of Cornwall,
Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Georgia; felspar from Maine and Connecticut;
and quartz, also from Connecticut. These are compounded according to the
purpose for which the paste is to be used. In that for table ware the
proportions are: kaolin, 37; felspar, 33; quartz, 30. For the glaze:
felspar, 15; lime, 15; kaolin, 12; quartz and broken porcelain, 58. The
paste made into hardware trimmings contains a greater proportion of
American kaolin than that for table ware. As to the merits of the latter
it is thus spoken of by M. Ch. de Bussy, from whose official report we
have already quoted: “The porcelain of Greenpoint is second to none in
quality of paste and hardness of glaze. Most of the articles are heavy,
and may be compared in form with that which in French commerce is known
as _limonade_: we have, however, seen thinner pieces, such as tea and
coffee cups, well made, and which would figure honorably among the
productions of Europe (bien fabriquées, et qui pourraient figurer
honorablement parmi les productions d’Europe).” Mr. Karl Müller’s first
work of art was a “Century Vase” (Fig. 444), designed by Mr. Smith for
the Centennial Exhibition. Bison heads form the handles; medallions
decorate the front and back, and below them is a belt of gold with small
bison, walrus, ram, and other animal heads arranged at intervals. The
base is surrounded by a series of medallions or panels, representing, in
white relief, Indians, a soldier of the Revolutionary era, the Tea Scene
in Boston Harbor, and other historical incidents. The body is painted in
blue, red, and gold. The artistic character of the vase can be
sufficiently studied in the engraving. The decoration, it will be
observed, consists in part of paintings on the flat, and in part of the
reliefs already mentioned, which give a meaning to the distinctive
title, “Century Vase,” chosen for the piece. It illustrates the
national progress of a century.

[Illustration: Fig. 447.--“Song of the Shirt.” Greenpoint Biscuit
Porcelain.]

When Mr. Longfellow wrote his poem “Kéramos,” it is hardly probable that
he contemplated the possibility of supplying a subject to the art of
which he sang. The poet wrote of the potter, and the potter has
illustrated his song. The poem had no sooner appeared than it was made
the groundwork of an illustrative vase (Fig. 445). As in the “Century
Vase” history is represented by periods and leading events, so in the
“Kéramos” vase the history of ceramic art is represented by the leading
contributions to its continuous progress. In panels on the base the
potters of all ages are seen at work--Egyptian, Greek, and modern. Above
these, on the body, are reliefs illustrative of the pottery of Peru,
Italy, France, Spain, England, and other countries. As we turn it round,
the advance of ceramic art is seen as in a diorama, and amidst the
various scenes appears in relief the bust of the poet whose song
inspired the work. The form of the vase is singular, simple, and severe,
but well suited to the artist’s treatment of his subject. Its rigidity
is considerably softened by the quaint, projecting feet and the figures
they support, and by the decoration surrounding the flaring top.

[Illustration: Fig. 448.--Greenpoint Porcelain.]

Among the other productions of Greenpoint is a series of statuettes,
groups, and animal figures, which were first made in a non-translucent
hard clay, of a light but warm brown or buff, and afterward in porcelain
biscuit. The material first used is dense and non-vitrifying, more
nearly resembling terra-cotta than parian. It is well suited to the
production of statuettes and groups, in the modelling of which
unmistakable talent and originality are displayed. We can in this
department, better perhaps than in any other, appreciate the spirit
permeating the designing-room at the Union Works. The rule appears to be
to study the antique, but instead of copying or reproducing the works of
the ancients, to follow their example in choosing subjects from the
every-day life of the artist’s own time. We nowhere see a copy of
ancient statuary or feel a breath of borrowed inspiration. Every subject
is taken from modern literature, or from life in America in the
nineteenth century. One piece (Fig. 447) has under it the words “Stitch!
stitch! stitch!” and presents us with a softened illustration of Hood’s
poem. We say “softened,” because the artist has preferred--wisely or not
we will not now determine--to tone down the unutterable misery of the
picture, in which the “woman sat in unwomanly rags, plying her needle
and thread.” The unspoken weariness and mingled longing and resignation
are here, but the squalor and wretched poverty are rather suggested by
the broken box upon which the needle-woman sits, than forced upon our
notice. If we accept what was evidently the artist’s working canon, that
the literal realization of human wretchedness has no place in art, then
we must also accept the work as a fitting counterpart to that of the
poet. In any case the conception is praiseworthy, and the execution
skilful. Another group was suggested by Poe’s “Raven:”

    “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
     Shall be lifted--_nevermore_!”

The bust of Pallas stands, with the raven on its shoulder, upon a
pedestal, in front of which lies a veiled figure. The piece is, we have
said, suggested by the poem, of which it is in no sense a literal
interpretation. A third group consists of a nude boy and dog, and tells
its little story truthfully and forcibly. The attitudes and modelling
are alike excellent.

[Illustration: Fig. 449.--Greenpoint Porcelain.]

[Illustration: Fig. 450.--Greenpoint Porcelain. (E. Bierstadt Coll.)]

Other pieces, such as a procession of frogs and turtles with shouldered
“pitcher-plants,” illustrate the humorous side of the artist’s genius
(Fig. 448). The subject appears to be a favorite one, as we find it
variously treated in porcelain also. The other statuettes particularly
deserving of notice are a stone-mason, two firemen--one of the old
_regime_ and one of the new--and a bust of Forrest as William Tell.
These specimens will suffice, with what was said above, to indicate the
direction in which this branch of art at Greenpoint is being extended.

[Illustration: Fig. 451.--Poets’ Pitcher. Greenpoint Biscuit Porcelain.]

There has yet to be considered the staple product of the Union Works,
viz., its household porcelain. The paste is, as we have seen, of good
quality, and the manufactured ware is strong and serviceable. One of the
great obstacles in the way of the success of other enterprises--the lack
of skilled artists--Mr. Smith has overcome, and now employs a number of
decorators whose work augurs well for the continued prosperity of the
establishment. We have seen one set (Fig. 449), composed of a circular
tray, sugar-bowl, milk-pitcher, and teacups, which is entirely
praiseworthy in both design and workmanship. The prevailing color is
lavender, into which are wrought, in the form of birds and flowers,
delicate tints of blue and yellow. The effect of the whole is soft and
pleasing, and is heightened by the graceful design of the pieces, and
the fine translucent body upon which the decoration is laid.

[Illustration: Fig. 452.--Greenpoint Porcelain.]

We cannot here point to any style as being particularly distinctive of
the workshop. The taste of the decorators is broad and catholic.

White reliefs are occasionally used with fine effect in the
ornamentation of pitchers and cups. One of the latter shows white
figures in relief upon pale grounds.

The cup is of a very graceful shape, and a miniature Columbia supported
by an eagle forms the handle. A pitcher in biscuit (Fig. 451) is
surrounded by heads of distinguished poets in relief. In this case also
the shape is excellent, and the mouldings, including the subsidiary
decoration, are admirably finished.

[Illustration: Fig. 453.--Greenpoint Porcelain. View of Memorial Hall.]

The painting upon some of the plates is deserving of particular notice.
They can only be referred to individually, as we have seen that no
leading style has been adopted under which they could be treated of
collectively. There is no uniformity either in the merit of the designs
or decorations. One has for centre-piece a view of Memorial Hall (Fig.
453), and, set in a rim of deep crimson, oval medallions with similar
views. The drawing is very careful, and the colors well assorted. On
another style a flower or a fern covers the bottom and falls upon the
rim, which has no other decoration. Others have views of a windmill
(Fig. 455), a cottage embowered in foliage painted in monochrome, or
fruit. In some we find delicacy, and in others the work of a brush
unaccustomed to search for subtleties of tint or the more refined
expression of which color is capable. Fortunately the latter are the
exception and the former the rule.

[Illustration: Fig. 454.--Greenpoint Porcelain.]

To examine the methods of the artists of Greenpoint, the plate (Fig.
452) may be referred to. The flowers forming its decoration may be
found by almost any country roadside. Gathered as they grew, they were
taken to the decorating-room, and were there transferred to porcelain.
Apart altogether from the artistic result, there is a principle in such
a manner of seeking designs deserving of attention. We have seen that in
Japan the secret of the infinite variety of art lies in the close
sympathy between the artist and nature. He turns to his promptress on
all occasions for inspiration and suggestion. It must be so everywhere.
The boundless wealth of form and color found in nature confers an
equally boundless variety upon the art in which it is reflected. The
conventional is limited by human ingenuity: the natural has no limit.

[Illustration: Fig. 455.--Greenpoint Porcelain. Painted by J. M.
Falconer.]

[Illustration: Fig. 456.--English Porcelain. Decorated by Mrs. Hoyt. (D.
Collamore.)]

As a final example of table ware let us instance a plate (Fig. 454)
decorated in gold, blue, red, green, yellow, and pink, so sparingly that
only a close examination brings out the real richness of the coloring.
In the first place, the decoration lies entirely upon the rim, with the
exception of two circles of gold and blue. The design consists of
crossed branches painted in blue and gold, with insects and brightly
feathered birds. The effect is exceedingly soft, the delicacy of the
colors being as pleasing to the eye as it is satisfactory in point of
taste. The mark of the Greenpoint porcelain is an eagle’s head with the
letter S--the manufacturer’s initial--through the beak.

Besides the manufacturers and the artists employed in their
establishments, many persons make a business of decorating earthen-ware
and porcelain, and within the past few years many more have been
attracted to this branch of art. It is regularly taught by two New York
institutions, the Decorative Art Society and the Ladies’ Art
Association, and has many devotees both in the East and West. Much of
the work executed by these artists is highly creditable; and there is a
great deal that never reaches the public eye, which is marked by both
delicacy and originality.

One of the regular professional establishments is that of Warrin &
Lycett, of New York. The example here given (Fig. 457) is Jersey City
earthen-ware, and was painted by Mr. Warrin, who has had an experience
of about fifteen years as a decorator. The colors are bright, and are
very happily blended. The ground is a shade of light green, and the
flowers are painted in their natural colors. At this workshop success
was reached some time ago in a very delicate operation, that of
transferring photographs to porcelain.

[Illustration: Fig. 457.--Jersey City Earthen-ware. Decorated by
Warrin.]

Mr. John Bennett, formerly the Director of the Faience Department of the
Doulton factory at Lambeth, has within the past year settled in New
York, and is now turning out decorated faience after the styles seen in
the English original. He uses imported Lambeth biscuit, and has erected
a kiln in connection with his studio for firing the decoration. It is
his intention, in course of time, to use American clays, in order to
obviate the necessity of importing biscuit, and at the same time to
obtain new shapes made after his own designs. Among his best ground
colors are pale yellow, pale blue, and a rich brown tinged with red.
The latter is very effectively used with leaves and flowers drawn over
the piece in shades of green and yellow. All Bennett’s pieces have an
even and brilliant glaze. After what has been said of Lambeth faience,
no attempt need here be made to characterize the art represented by this
ware. It will be, as indeed it deserves to be, admired; and America
ought to be congratulated upon the acquisition of so good a
representative of the Lambeth school of decorators.

[Illustration: Fig. 458.--Bennett Faience. (D. Collamore.)]

The tile-piece at the opening of the book devoted to America (page 391)
was painted by Mr. F. T. Vance, of New York. The drawing is excellent,
and the design is original and decidedly meritorious. The arrangement of
the figures gives a life to this and other pieces by the same artist
entirely lacking in the styles of tile-painting, which consist of a
repetition on each tile of the same design, or of varied but independent
designs.

[Illustration: Fig. 459.--Bennett Faience. (D. Collamore.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 460.--Lambeth Faience. Decorated by Bennett.]

[Illustration: Fig. 461.--Plate Painted by Mr. John M. Falconer.]

Mr. John M. Falconer, of Brooklyn, is an artist who has devoted himself
very successfully to ceramic decoration. Some of his designs on
Greenpoint porcelain (see Fig. 455) are very pleasing, and the coloring
is chaste and well handled. A more ambitious work is that given below
(Fig. 461), an appropriate wedding-gift to an artist’s daughter. The
distance toward which the bride and groom are walking is rose-hued, and
the church-spire and foliage partake of the effect. Roses are strewn
along the path. A heavy knotted white sash forms a curtain and encloses
the scene. Above, in a lunette of dark blue bordered with white pearls,
is a golden-haired Cupid holding a box of wedding-cake, with the names
of the lady and gentleman on the lid. The border of the plate is a deep
flat pink, with a narrow outer line of white. The plate is remarkable
both as a work of art and for the delicate manner in which, as a gift,
it conveys the congratulations and good wishes of the giver. Some of his
works, besides the one above alluded to, are in the possession of Mr. T.
C. Smith; and others, both in camaïeu and polychrome, are entitled and
owned as follows: “Independence Hall,” Rev. Morgan Dix, D.D.; “The Old
Clothing Store, Boston,” Mrs. C. F. Blake; “Albert Durer’s House,” and
“The Oldest House in St. Louis, Missouri,” Charles Brown, Troy, New
York; “Shakspeare’s House,” Edward Green, New York; “A Smoke Fancy,”
“Autumn, Montclair, New Jersey,” “Church at West Point,” “Moonlit
Lake,” Aaron Vail, Jr., Troy, New York; “Crescent Moon,” John Gale,
Esq.; “Killearn Manse, Scotland,” Hon. M. B. Macleay, New York; “The Old
Tower, Newport,” Mrs. S. P. Avery; “Across the Water,” F. A. Bridgman,
Paris; “At Montreal,” George H. Boughton, London; “At Wilmington, North
Carolina,” Mrs. J. P. Whitehead, Newark, New Jersey; “Old Castle,
Sunset,” Alfred Jones, Yonkers, New York; “The Philosopher,” Rev. L. L.
Noble, Annandale, New York; “Moonlight,” Charles Parsons, Montclair, New
Jersey; landscape, and a set of two blue and one yellow vases, Hon.
George B. Warren, Jr., Troy, New York. Mr. Falconer has the advantages
of a cultivated taste and well-trained skill to help him win such a
reputation as might induce him to substitute, even to a greater extent
than at present, porcelain or pottery for the more perishable canvas.

[Illustration: Fig. 462.--Limoges Porcelain and Silver. (Reed & Barton,
N. Y.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 463.--Copeland Porcelain and Silver. (Reed & Barton,
N. Y.)]

There remains to be noticed an artistic combination in which, although
it has long been practised in Europe, American workmen have recently
succeeded in producing exceptionally fine effects. Reference is made to
the combination of metal and porcelain. We have seen with pleasure
slender and exquisitely wrought stands of silver and gold, in which
delicately painted French porcelain dishes and basins are converted into
card-receivers, flower-stands, and fruit-dishes. A great deal of taste
can be displayed in the selection of colors to suit the metal, as well
as in the deeper harmony which reproduces in silver or gold the flower
stems on the porcelain. Chinese porcelain, in rich colors--green, pink,
and blue--is similarly treated. Pieces of the Green family are
tastefully set in silver and gold, the mouldings on the bands of metal
corresponding with the painted borders of the porcelain.

From such specimens of a double art we turn to others less rich, but
scarcely less attractive. Faience vases are mounted in bronze and
brightly burnished brass, and derive a new character from the
association. Works of this class show that, while it is possible to
define the limits of the field peculiar to ceramic art, its place in
household decoration cannot be specified with equal precision. Already
it has entered into effective alliances with the arts of the
silversmith, goldsmith, the workers in the baser metals, of the
enameller, the carver, and the cabinet-maker. In these several relations
it is not now intended to follow it farther. They would lead to the
consideration of many arts essentially distinct, and as foreign to each
other as to that whose history has led us from the sun-dried bricks of
Egypt to the porcelain of Greenpoint.

[Illustration: Fig. 464.--Worcester Porcelain and Silver. (J. W. Britton
Coll.)]




INDEX.


Abaquesne, Marreot, 281.

Abraham, Copeland’s director, 383.

Abubeker, 191.

Adam, director at Vincennes, 314.

Adobes, 396.

Africa, 213, 216, 217, 241.

Agapenor, 201.

“Agate” ware, 361.

Agostino, assistant of Luca della Robbia, 253, 263.

Agyllos, 241.

Ahriman, 190.

Ainos, 163.

Akai, 161.

Alabastros, 225.

Alambra, 203.

Albany slip, 457.

Alcora, 239.

Alençon, 53, 317.

Alexander the Great, 190, 200.

Algeria, 216.

Alhambra, 235, 236, 247.

Ali, 191.

Alluaud, director at Limoges, 321.

Amasis, 200.

Amathus, 201, 204.

Amazon, tribes on, 417.

Ambrosio, son of Andrea della Robbia, 253.

America, 391-487
  (_see_ South America, Central America, Mound-builders,
    Indians, United States).

American china, 463.

American clays, 446, _et seq._

American Crockery Company, Trenton, 462.

American Pottery Company, 455.

Ameya, 160.

Ammon, 85.

Amphora,--æ, 24, 27, 90, 222, 224.

Amstel, 343.

Andrea della Robbia, 253.

Anglo-Roman pottery, 354.

Anglo-Saxon pottery, 355.

Anspach, faience, 330;
  porcelain, 341.

Antonio, artist at Ferrara and Faenza, 262.

Antwerp, majolica, 331.

Aphrodite, 201.

Apostle mugs, 336.

Apries, 200.

Apulia, 221, 265, 293, 295.

Arabesque, origin of, 213.

Arabs, 189, 190, 213, 214, 217, 218, 233, et seq., 273.

Araguaya Indians, 438.

Archaic Greek vases, 229.

Arequipa, 410.

Aretine ware, 246.

Arita, 161, 172, 176, 179.

Arizona, 429, _et seq._

Arsenal Pottery, Trenton, 462.

Artaxerxes, 190.

Articulated vase, 153.

Artificial porcelain, invented in Europe, 52;
  classification, 55, 56, and meaning of term 57;
  analysis, 61;
  difficulty of its manufacture, 81;
  Chinese, 122;
  Persian, 122, 196;
  Spanish, 238;
  Italian, 265, _et seq._;
  French, 312, _et seq._;
  English, 376, _et seq._;
  American, 457, 458, 471, 472.

Aryballos, 226.

Arystichos, 226.

Asia Minor, 211, 213, 214, 215.

Askos, 224.

Assyria, --n, 32, 63-65, 97-102, 198, _et seq._, 220, 426;
  porcelain, 100.

Astarte, 202, 204.

Astbury, English potter, 360;
  uses calcined flint, 361.

Astbury & Maddock, Trenton, 460.

Aster decoration, 130.

Athieno, 203.

Aubry, M., director at St. Clement, 311.

Aue, kaolin of, 53, 337.

Augustus II., director at Meissen, 338.

Augustus III., director at Meissen, 338.

Auteuil, Haviland’s workshop at, 287.

Avisseau of Tours, 277.

Awadji, 171.

Awata, 167, 171.

Aztecs, 423.

Azulejos, 216, 233, 236, 239;
  Minton’s, 366, 368.


Babel, 22, 101.

Babylon, 65, 97.

Babylonia, 64, 98.

Bacchus, 21, 22.

Baden, porcelain of, 340.

Bahia, 416.

Bagnall, 360.

Baireuth, 330; porcelain, 341.

Balboa, 418.

Balearic Islands, 236, 248
  (_see_ Majorca, Minorca, Iviça).

Baltimore, Maryland, 455.

Banko-yaki, 171.

Banks & Turner, 382.

Barberini Vase, 363.

Barbin of Mennecy, 313.

Barbizet of Paris, 277.

Barcelona, 234, 237.

Barlow, Arthur, 371.

Barlow, Hannah B., 371.

Barr, Martin, Worcester, 380.

Bartlem, potter in South Carolina, 454.

Basaltes, Wedgwood’s, 364.

Battersea, 380.

Battisto Franco, 257.

Battus, 216.

Beauvais, 273.

Becker, workman at Höxter, 341.

Belgium, 331;
  porcelain, 343.

Belleek, Ireland, porcelain of, 388, _et seq._

Benedetto, artist at Siena, 255.

Bengrath Oppal, director at Meissen, 338.

Bennett, John, New York, 483.

Bennington, Vermont, 457;
  porcelain, 472.

Benten, 162.

Berlin, 338, 341, 342.

Bernardo Buontalenti, inventor of Medicean porcelain, 268.

Bernart, Jehan, 279.

Beverly, Massachusetts, 468.

Beyerlé, Baron de, 310.

Biagio, artist at Faenza and Ferrara, 262.

Bikos, 223.

Billingsley, or Beely, 387.

Bingley, Thomas, 376.

Binns, R. W., director at Worcester, 380.

Birkenhead, 375.

Biscuit, meaning of, 53.

Bis-ja-mon, 162, 163.

Bissen, Danish sculptor, 349, 351.

Bleu fouetté, 132.

Blois faience, 308.

Bloor, Ott & Booth, Trenton, 462.

Bloor, Robert, 379.

Bloor, Trenton potter, 460.

Blue-and-white porcelain of China, 123, _et seq._;
  of Japan, 126, 175.

Blue of the sky after rain, 122, 131.

Blunger, 67.

Boccaro, 119.

Boileau, director at Sèvres, 314.

Bone, enameller (Plymouth), 377.

Bordeaux, 312;
  porcelain, 320.

Böttcher, 52, 336, 337, 452.

Bourg-la-Reine, 288, 302, 303, 304.

Bow china, 377, 379, 471.

Boyle, John, partner of Minton, 366.

Bracquemond, M. and Mme., 288, 291, 295, 322.

Bradwell stone-ware, 360.

Bramelds of Swinton, 386.

Bramfield, J. and W., 376.

Brazil, 413, 414-417.

Breslau, 329.

Brewer, J. Hart, Trenton, 462, 465.

Brichard, Eloi, director at Vincennes, 314.

Bricks, 88, 89, 98, 101, 106, 220, etc.

Brick stamp, 88, 101.

Bristol pottery, 373;
  porcelain, 376, 386.

Britain, Great, and Ireland, 352-390.

Brongniart, director at Sèvres, his classification, 54, 55, 315, 316, 318.

Broome, Isaac, Trenton artist, 464, _et seq._

Brosely pottery, 375.

Brown, Westhead, Moore & Company, 388.

Brühl, Count, 338, 339.

Brussels, 331;
  porcelain, 343.

Buddha, 110, 111.

Buddhism, 111, 161.

Buen Retiro, 238.

Bunsen, 85, 241.

Burroughs, G. S., Trenton, 462.

Burslem, 360;
  Wedgwood at, 362.

Butler, Frank A., 371.

Byzantium, --ine, 241, 248.


Caballito, Peruvian, 409.

Cabuahuil, 421.

Cairo, 214.

Caistor ware, 354.

Caldas, 239.

Caldwell & Wood, 364.

Callimachus and the Corinthian order, 301.

Caltagirone, 247.

Camaïeu, 123, 282, 333.

Cambrian Pottery, 387.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 468.

Cambyses, 29, 200.

Camillo, artist at Ferrara, 262.

Campania, 241.

Campbell, Colin Minton, 360, 368.

Capo di Monte, 268, 269, 270.

Carolina, clays, 440, 447;
  works in, 454.

Carr, James, New York, 458, 463.

Cartalege, Charles, Greenpoint, 472.

Casa Pirota, 261.

Castel-Durante, 257.

Castellani collection, 185, 243, 247, 252, 261, 262, 266.

Castelli, 264.

Catto, artist at Faenza and Ferrara, 262.

Caughley, 387.

Céladon, 116, 131, 150, 161, 179, 195, 197.

Celts, --ic, 274;
  Irish, 353.

Central America, 418-424.

Ceramic art, its origin, 19, _et seq._;
  etymology of “ceramic,” 22, 49;
  general view of, _see_ Introduction;
  its struggles in America, 444, _et seq._

Cesnola, General L. P., 199, 202, _et seq._

Chaffagiolo, 255.

Chaffers, Richard, 374, 471.

Chamberlains of Worcester, 380.

Chambrette, Jacques, Luneville, 310.

Champion, Richard, 376, 386.

Chang-ti, 110, 111.

Chanon, Commissioner at Sèvres, 315.

Cha-no-yu, 160.

Chantilly, porcelain of, 313.

Chapelle of Sceaux, 311.

Chaplet, artist, 288, 302.

Chelsea-Derby, 379.

Chelsea (England) porcelain, 377, _et seq._

Chelsea (Massachusetts), 459, 468, _et seq._

Cheou-lao, 111, 162.

Cherokee, clay, 447.

Cheroulion, 223.

Cherpentier, François, 279.

Chertsey, tiles, 355.

Chicanneau, 52, 312.

Chichimecs, 422, 426.

Chili, --ans, 402, 408.

Chimu, --s, 399, 400, 408, 409.

China, --ese, general history, 109-153;
  legend, 20, 110;
  porcelain in Egypt, 25;
  customs, 28, 292;
  in Persia, 191, 196, 197;
  general reference, 37, 107, 163, 164, et passim, to 188,
  213, 268, 270, 281, 283, 306, 313, 322, 324, 338, 377, 385, 408.

Christ, 22.

Christiania, faience of, 347.

“Christian” porcelain, 164, 184.

Chrysanthemo-Pæonian family, 138, 176, 177.

Chulula, 424.

Chytrai, 225.

Cincinnati, 463.

Citium, 201, 202.

City Pottery, Trenton, 461.

Clark, Shaw & Co., of Montereau, 307.

Classification, 54, _et seq._

Clay, composition of, 61.

Clays, American, 446, _et seq._

Clerissy family at Moustiers, 283.

Clignancourt, 320.

Cloisonné, enamel, 108, 181, 182;
  Minton’s, 367.

Coast pottery of Peru, 400.

Cobalt, blue, 123.

Cockscomb, 124.

Coke, John, Pinxton, 387.

Colebrookdale Pottery, 375, 387.

Colhuas, 422.

Colinot of Paris, 306.

Colombia, 417, 437.

Colorado, 429, _et seq._

Color, its place in Greek art, 36;
  in Oriental art, 37, _et seq._;
  how obtained, 65, 81.

Composition of wares and glazes, 59.

Concealed color, porcelain of, 123.

Cones, Egyptian, 30, 89.

Confucius, 111.

Connecticut felspar, 449;
  stone-ware made in, 454.

Conrade Brothers, artists at Nevers, 282.

Constantine, 241.

Convent of Gratitude, 118.

Cookworthy, William, 376, 386, 447.

Copan, 423.

Copeland parian, 366;
  sketch of, 382, _et seq._;
  porcelain and silver, 486.

Copenhagen faience, 347;
  porcelain, 351.

Cordova, 217.

Corea, 154, 155, 159, 161, 163, 313.

Corean, 158, 160, 161, 164.

Corinth, 241, 242.

Cornwall kaolin, preparation of, 61;
  analyses, 450;
  used at Greenpoint, 449, 475.

Coroados of Brazil, 415.

Corrugated ware, from Colombia, 417;
  from the West, 433, 437, 438, 439.

Cortez, 423, 424.

Costa Rica, 419.

Coxon & Co., Trenton, 462.

Coxside porcelain, 376.

Cozzi, Geminiano, 269.

Crackle, 116, 120, 148, 161, 168.

Crauden’s chapel tiles, 356.

Cream-colored ware, Wedgwood’s, 363;
  American, 456, _et seq._

Creil faience, 306;
  porcelain, 307.

Creussen stone-ware, 336.

“Crouch-ware,” 360.

Crown-Derby, 379.

Crusaders, 214, 247, 356, 357.

Cuarto Real, 236.

Cup of Tantalus, 152, 153.

Cup of the learned, 125.

Curium, 201, 204, 206, 207, 208.

Custine, Count, 310.

Customs illustrated by pottery, 26, _et seq._
  (_see_ also different countries--Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, etc.).

Cutts of Pinxton, 387.

Cuzco, 400, 412.

Cyfflé, Paul Louis, Luneville and Niederviller, 310.

Cyprus, 199, 220.

Cypselus, 241.

Cyrene, 216.

Cyrus, 190.


Daikokou, 162.

Dali, 202, 206, 208, 209.

Damascus, 214, 215.

Damousse, artist, 288.

Danaus, 21.

Darmstadt, porcelain of, 341.

Darnet, Mme., 53, 317.

Davis, Isaac, Trenton, 460.

Deck, faience of, 304;
  porcelain, 324, 325.

Decoration, best styles of, 44, 80, 81.

Decorative Art Society, 483.

Delaplanche, artist, 288, 292.

Delaware, Indian pottery, 438;
  Kaolin, 449.

Delft, 136;
  French, 311, 331, 333;
  English, 358, 373, 454.

Della Robbia ware, imitation, 265, 268, 366
  (_see_ Luca, Andrea).

Demaratus, 241, 242.

Denmark, 347-351.

Dennis, S., Connecticut potter, 454.

Derby porcelain, 378, 379.

Deruta, 263.

Desima, 176, 186.

De St. Criq & Company, at Creil, 307; at Montereau, 307.

Difficult ware, 168.

Dillwyn, Swansea, 387.

Dinos, 225.

Diogenes, 26, 27, 222.

Diskos, 226.

District of Columbia, Indian pottery, 438.

Doccia, La, 268.

Dog of Fo, 113, 157, 163.

Dossi Brothers, artists at Ferrara, 262.

Doulton ware, 370, _et seq._;
  sketch of John Doulton, 370;
  artists, 371;
  terra cotta, 372;
  imitation, 469.

Dragons, Chinese, 112;
  Japanese, 163.

Dresden, 52, 336, _et seq._;
  ware imitated, 381, 475.

Dubarry, or Pompadour Rose, 315, 387.

Dubois Brothers, 313.

Duesbury family, 378, 379.

Du Liege, porcelain painter, 324.

Dunkirk, 311.

Durantino, Francesco, 259.

Dutch in Japan, 164.

Dynastic colors of China, 115.

Dwight, Dr., first English porcelain, 52.

Dwight, John, potter at Fulham, 373.


East Boston, 463.

East Liverpool, 451, 452, 463.

East Trenton Pottery Company, 462.

Ebelman, director at Sèvres, 315, 316, 326.

Ecouen, château of, 281.

Egg pottery, 171.

Egg-shell porcelain, 133, 140;
  French, 322.

Egypt, --ian, 20, legend, 21;
  Chinese porcelain in, 25;
  customs illustrated by pottery, 29-31, 89, _et seq._;
  porcelain, 48, 62, 92, _et seq._;
  glaze, 63-65, 91, 92;
  symbols, 85, _et seq._;
  in Cyprus, 198, _et seq._;
  in Etruria, 243;
  processes, 71, 74;
  history and general reference, 82-96, 97, 98, 99, 101,
  102, 103, 104, 220, 242.

Elers Brothers, 360.

“El Frate,” artist at Ferrara, 263.

El Moro, 431.

Ely tiles, 357.

Enamel, 63-65.
  (_See_ Stanniferous.)

Encaustic tiles, 366.

England, first porcelain made in, 52, 242, 352, _et seq._;
  tiles, 355;
  lead-glazed pottery, 357;
  Delft, 358;
  porcelain, 376;
  her debt to America, 447.

English marks in America, 445.

English porcelain, composition, 61;
  history, 376, _et seq._

Eraku, 179.

Etruria, 241, _et seq._;
  Wedgwood’s, 364.

Etruria Pottery Company, Trenton, 462, _et seq._

Etruscan, 240, _et seq._;
  black, red, and yellow ware, 243.

Ettlinger, commissioner at Sèvres, 315.

Europe, 198.

European art, its fountains, 198.

Evagoras, 200.


Faenza, 261, 262, 265, 424.

Faience defined, 49;
  à niellure, 280;
  à la corne, 282.

Falconer, John M., artist, 484, 485.

Families of Chinese porcelain, 138.

Fauquez family, St. Amand, 311;
  of Valenciennes, 320.

Ferrara, 262.

“Fine style,” Greek, 230.

Flanders, faience of, 311.
  (_See_ Grès de Flandre.)

Flashed glaze, 133.

Flights of Worcester, 380.

Florence, porcelain invented at, 52;
  its majolica, 255;
  porcelain, 265.

“Florid style,” Greek, 230.

Florida, Indian pottery, 438;
  clay, 446.

Flushing, Long Island, 463.

Fo, 110, 113.

Fogen, 159.

Fong-hoang, 114, 163.

Fontana family, 258.

Fontenoy vase, 23.

Forli, 262.

Fou-hi, 110.

Fouque, Joseph, 284.

Fournier, 351.

Fourniera of Limoges, 320.

France, 271-326;
  ancient, 271-273;
  porcelain, composition of, 60;
  history, 312, _et seq._

Francesco Durantino, 259.

Francesco Maria, 255.

Francesco Vezzi, 269.

Francesco Xanto, 258.

Francis I., 266.

Frankenthal, 317, 341.

Frye, Thomas, artist at Bow, 377.

Fulham settled by Dutch, 358;
  stone-ware, 359, 373.

Furnaces, 74, _et seq._

Fürstenburg, porcelain of, 340, 351.


Gallienus, 25.

Galloway & Graiff, Philadelphia, 455.

Garducci, artist at Urbino, 258.

Garrett, partner of Copeland, 383.

Gaul, 272.

Gelanor, 21.

Geminiano Cozzi, 269.

Genghis Khan, 190.

Georgia, Indian pottery, 438;
  clay, 446;
  kaolin, 451.

Gérault Daraubert, 317.

Germany, pottery of, 327-330;
  stone-ware, 333-336;
  porcelain, composition of, 60, 336-342.

Gien faience, 309.

Ginori, Marquis Carlo, 268.

Gioanetti, Dr., founds factory at Vineuf, 270.

Giorgio Andreoli, imitator of Luca della Robbia, 253;
  artist at Gubbio, 259, _et seq._

Giovanni, son of Andrea della Robbia, 253.

Girolamo, son of Andrea della Robbia, 253.

Giyoki, or Gyoguy, 73, 159, 160.

Glasgow Pottery Company, 460, 462.

Glaze, porcelain, 60;
  artificial porcelain, 61;
  pottery, 63;
  history of, 64, 80, 81.

Glazing, 80, 81.

Glot of Sceaux, 311.

Göggingen, 330.

Golgoi, 203.

Goodwin, John, Trenton, 460.

Gosai, 176, 177.

Goths, 217.

Græco-Egyptian, 91.

Graffiti, 249;
  Minton’s, 367.

“Grains of rice” work, 152, 197.

Granada, 216, 218, 233, 236.

Granite-ware, 456, _et seq._

Gravant, director at Vincennes, 314.

Graybeards stone-ware, 335.

Greatbatch, D., modeller, at Jersey City, 456.

Greece,--eek, legend as to origin of pottery, 21, 22;
  conquests defined, 24;
  customs illustrated by pottery, 26-28, 227;
  painting, 32-34, 36, 37, 221, 222, 228-232;
  forms, 35, 41, 223, _et seq._, 264, 326;
  whence derived, 90, 209-212, 219, _et seq._;
  glaze, 65, 222, 223, 273;
  moulding and modelling, 68;
  wheel, 72, 73;
  furnaces, 74-76;
  in Cyprus, 199, _et seq._;
  origin of Greek art, 198-212;
  general history, 219-232;
  sun-dried pottery, 220;
  terra-cotta, 220;
  styles, 228, _et seq._;
  influence in Italy, 240, _et seq._, 264;
    in France, 292, 295;
    in Denmark, 347-350;
    in Brazil, 414;
    in United States, 455, _et seq._ _passim_, 467, 470;
  general reference, 20, 49, 84, 95, 110, 190, 191, 192,
  198, 240, 273, 299, 392, 404, 477.

Green family, China, 130, 139.

Greenpoint porcelain, 443;
  imported kaolin, 449;
  kilns, 463;
  history, 472, _et seq._;
  ingredients, 475, 476;
  biscuit, 478.

Greenwood Pottery Company, 462.

Grellet Brothers of Limoges, 320.

Grès de Flandre, 336;
  revived by Doulton, 370.

Gros-Caillou, 311.

Grosso, artist at Ferrara, 263.

Guatemala, 420.

Gubbio, 259.

Gueguetenango, 420, 421.

Guettard, chemist at Bagnolet, 317.

Guidobaldo II., 257, 259, 261.

Guik-mon, 161.


Hague, the, 343.

Haguenau, 286.

Haji, 158, 159.

Halm Art Pottery Company, New York, 468.

Hancock, R., engraver, 381.

Handley, A., artist at Worcester, 381.

Hanford, Isaac, potter at Hartford, 454.

Hangest, Hélène de, 279.

Hannong, Charles François, potter at Strasburg, 286;
  family, 286, 312, 316, 320, 341.

Hard porcelain. (_See_ Natural.)

Harrison, partner of Wedgwood, 362.

Hartford, Connecticut, 454.

Harvey & Adamson, Philadelphia, 455.

Hattersley, Charles, Trenton, 461.

Haviland, Charles Field, 325.

Havilands, of New York and Limoges, 287;
  their faience and process, 287, 288;
  their artists, 288;
  examples, 291, _et seq._;
  mark, 304; porcelain, 321, _et seq._;
  faience imitated, 469.

Hawthorn pattern, Chinese, 128; black, 129.

Helstone china clay, 376.

Hemphill, Judge, Philadelphia, 472.

Henderson & Co., D., Jersey City, 455, 472.

Henri Deux ware, 63, 279;
  Minton’s, 367.

Herbertsville, New Jersey, 455.

Herculaneum pottery, 375.

Hermann, 24.

Hesdin, 273.

Hesse-Cassel, porcelain of, 341.

Hide-yoshi, 160.

Hindoos, 105.

Hirschvogel, 329.

Hispano-Moresque, 217, 233, _et seq._, 240.

History illustrated by pottery, 23, 139.

Hizen, 160, 161, 175, _et seq._, 179.

Hoang-ti, 20, 110, 113, 116.

Höchst, faience, 330; porcelain, 340.

Holland, faience, 331-333;
  porcelain, 343.

Holmos, 225.

Holdship, Josiah, Worcester, 381.

Hollins, Michael Daintry, 366, 368.

Homer, 75.

Ho-nan, 121.

Honduras, 423.

Honorific marks, 123.

Horoldt, director at Meissen, 337, 338.

Hotei, 162.

Houdayer, John F., Trenton, 460.

Höxter, 341.

Hudson River Pottery, New York, 457.

Hulaku, Khan, 191, 193.

Hydria, 224.

Hyrche, 223.


Iberian peninsula, 233-239.

Ibis mummy pots, 90.

Idalium, 202, 203.

Illinois, ancient, 431, 438;
  kaolin, 449.

Imari, 175.

Inachus, 21.

Incas of Peru, 395.

India, 105-108, 138.

“Indian” porcelain, 187.

Indiana kaolin, 449.

Indians, North American, 425, 429-441.

Inland pottery of Peru, 400.

Ipsen, Mme., 347.

Ireland, ancient, 353.

Iron-stone china, 458.

Irving, 24.

Ise, 160, 172.

Israelites, 31, 88.

Italy: potter’s wheel, 73;
  furnaces, 76, 217;
  history, 240-270;
  general character of its art, 264;
  porcelain, 265, _et seq._;
  influence in France, 273.

Iviça, 236.

“Ivory porcelain,” 463.


Jacqueline, Countess, 333.

Jacques, manufacturer at Bourg-la-Reine, 304.

Jade, 146, _et seq._, 149, 150.

Jade-colored porcelain, 123, 146, 147.

Jasper-ware, Wedgwood’s, 364, 365.

Jeffords & Co., Philadelphia, 455.

Jehan de Voleur, 273.

Jehovah, 21.

Jerichau, Danish sculptor, 351.

Jersey City, New Jersey, 455, 472;
  decorated earthen-ware, 483.

Jewelled porcelain, Sèvres, 315;
  Copeland’s, 384.

Jinmu, 158.

Joubert & Cancate, makers of porcelain, Limoges, 321.

Jou-yao, 122.

Judæa, 103, 104.

Jullien, manufacturer at Bourg-la-Reine, 304.

Jupiter, 21.


Kados, 224.

Kaga, 170, 175, 179, _et seq._

Kagoshima, 167.

Kalpis, 225.

Kami,--ism, 20, 161.

Kandler, artist at Meissen, 337-339.

Kanoun, 226.

Kantharos, 226.

Kaolin, 51;
  discovered in Saxony, 52, 337;
  in France, 53;
  St. Yrieix, 316;
  Alençon, 317;
  etymology, 59;
  composition, 59;
  how prepared, 59, _et seq._;
  American, 447, _et seq._

Karatsu, 172.

Kato Shirozayemon, 144, 159, 160.

Kato-siro-ouye-mon, _ibid._

Kean, Michael, partner of Duesbury, 379.

Keironan, 216.

Kelebe, 225.

Keller & Guérin, Luneville, 310.

Keramos, 22, 49.

Kiel, 347.

Kien-long, 134, 135, 138.

Kilns, 71, 74, _et seq._;
  in America, 463.

King-teh-chin, 112, 122, 123, 126, 133, 135, 137, 142, 150.

Kioto, 167, 171, 175, 179.

Kiri-mon, 161.

Kiusiu, 167, 172.

Korzec, porcelain of, 345.

Kothon, 225.

Kotylos, 226.

Kouan-yao, 122, 123, 127.

Kouei, 124.

Kouen-ou, 20, 116.

Koung-tseu, 111.

Koutsi fakata, 159.

Krater, 225.

Kraut, Hans, 330.

Krossos, 225.

Kuan-in, 111.

Kutani, 170.

Kyathos, 226.

Kylin, 113, 163.

Kylix, 27, 209, 226.


La China, 239.

Lacquer, 165, 181.

Ladies’ Art Association, 483.

Lafond, artist, 288, 302.

Lagynos, 224.

Lake dwellers, 327, 395.

Lambeth settled by Dutch, 358;
  stone-ware, 359;
  faience, 370;
  school of art, 371;
  artists, 371;
  American, 458, 483.

Lambrequin decoration, 124.

Lamoninary, Valenciennes, 320.

Lancelle, 127.

Lang lizen, 125.

Land of Great Peace, 163.

Lanfranco Brothers, 257.

Lanfrey, François, manager at Niederviller, 310.

Lao-tseu, 111.

Lapis-lazuli blue, 132.

Larnaca, 202, 205.

Lathrop, Charles, potter at Norwich, 454.

Laughlin, Mr., East Liverpool, 451, 452.

Lauragais, Count de Brancas, 317.

Laurin, artist, 288, 302, 303, 304.

Learned, cup of the, 125.

Lebœuf and Thebaut, 307.

Lebœuf, Milliet & Co., of Creil, 307.

Leeds pottery, 374.

Leipsic, 329.

Lekythos, 225.

Lelong, Nicholas, founds Nancy, 311.

Lemire, artist at Niederviller, 310.

Levigating mills, 452.

Licou-li, 118.

Lille faience, 311;
  porcelain, 313, 320.
Limoges faience, 286;
  porcelain, 320;
  imitated, 469;
  with metal, 486.

Lindeneher, artist, 288.

Lindenir, painter at Meissen, 338.

Literature enriched by figures, 31.

Liverpool delft, 358, 374, 380.

Locker & Co., Derby, 379.

Longevity, god of, 111;
  symbols, 114, 124, 163.

Longwy faience, 307.

Loosdrecht, 343.

Lotus as a symbol, 85.

Louisiana, ancient, 431, 439.

Lowe, Alexander, director at Vienna, 340.

Lowestoft pottery, 375;
  porcelain, 376.

Luca della Robbia, 247;
  sketch of his life, 250, _et seq._;
  his works, 251;
  the younger Luca, 253;
  successors and imitators, 253, 263, 329.

Lucumon, 242.

Ludwigsburg, 341.

Luneville, 310.

Luson, Herolin, 375.

Lyman, Fenton & Co., 457, 472.

Lynch, J. and T., Trenton, 461.


Macquoid & Co., W. A., New York, 457.

Madrid, 238, 239.

Magistrates’ porcelain, 122, 123.

Magna Græcia, 241, 244, 245, 246, 265, 295.

Maine felspar, 449.

Majolica, defined, 49-51;
  how painted, 80, 193;
  imported into Italy, 249, 254;
  earliest Italian, 255;
  Wedgwood, 365;
  Minton, 366, 368;
  Carr, 459.

Majorca, 234, 236, 248, 249, 250.

Malaga, 234, 235.

Malmesbury tiles, 355.

Malpass, William, 376.

Malvern tiles, 355.

Mancos, 433.

Mandan Indians, 430.

Mandarin vases, 135.

Manhattan Pottery, 457.

Manises, 234.

Manor-house, York, pottery, 376.

Manufacture, 66, _et seq._

Marburg, 330.

Marcolini, Count, director at Meissen, 338.

Marieberg, faience of, 346, 347.

Marreot Abaquesne, 281.

Marseilles, founded by Phœnicians, 273;
  faience, 285;
  porcelain, 317.

Maryland Indians, 440;
  felspar and quartz, 449.

Massie, Sieur, potter at Limoges, 286, 320.

Mayer, Joseph, Trenton, 462.

Mazarine blue, 132.

Mecca, Temple of, 213.

Medicean porcelain, 52, 185, 265, _et seq._

Meissen, 52, 53, 337, _et seq._, 475.

Melchiorre, Fra, 262.

Mennecy, porcelain of, 313.

Mercer Pottery, Trenton, 462.

Mercury, 21.

Mesopotamia, 211.

Metallic lustre, 50, 65;
  how applied, 80, 193, 195, 217, 233, _et seq._, 240, 247, 249, 254.

Mexico, 418, 421, _et seq._

Meyer, commissioner at Sèvres, 315.

Mezza-majolica, 50, 249, 254.

Mikado, 158, 161, 163.

Miles, Thomas, stone-ware maker, 360.

Millham Pottery, Trenton, 462.

Millington, Mr., Trenton, 460, 461.

Ming dynasty, porcelain of, 123, 133, _et passim._

Mino, 175.

Minorca, 236.

Minton & Co., Henri Deux ware, 281;
  pate-sur-pate, 326;
  sketch of firm, 365, _et seq._;
  porcelain, 382.

Minton, Herbert, 366, et seq.

Minton, Hollins & Co., 368.

Minton, Thomas, 365, 366.

Mississippi, 425, 426, 427, 430, 439.

Missouri, ancient pottery, 425, 426, 427;
  Indian, 430;
  kaolin, 449, 450.

Mitla, 423, 424.

Moguls in Persia, 191, 195.

Mohammed, 190, 191; tomb of, 214, 247.

Mohammed-ben-Alhamar, 235.

Moore, Joseph H., Trenton, 462.

Moncloa, 239.

“Monkey,” Brazilian, 416.

Montereau faience, 307.

Montesinos, Spanish historian, 394.

Montezuma, 423.

Moorhead & Wilson, Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, 455.

Moors,--ish, 216, 218, 233, _et seq._, 241.

Moquis, 436, 438.

Moreau, Marie, porcelain-maker, Paris, 313.

Moresque, 189, 234.

Moringues, 416.

Morocco, 216.

Moscow, porcelain of, 345.

Moses, James, Trenton, 462.

Moses, John, & Co., Trenton, 462.

Moulding, 68.

Mound-builders, 425-428, 438, 439, 440.

Moustiers, 283.

Muller, Danish minister, 351.

Müller, Karl, Greenpoint, 475, 476.

Mummy figures, 93.

Murviedro, 233.

Mylitta, 202.


Nagasaki, 176, 184.

Nagoya, 181.

Nancy faience, 311.

Nankin blue, 123, 175.

Nankin, tower of, 118.

Nantes, 312.

Nantgarrow, 387.

Naples, 238;
  majolica, 264.

Natchez Indians, 430.

Natural porcelain, its ingredients, 51;
  invented in Europe, 52;
  classification, 55, 56;
  meaning of term, 57;
  analysis, 60;
  Egyptian, 62, 92;
  Assyrian, 99, 100;
  Indian, 107;
  Chinese, 121, _et seq._;
  Corean, 154, 155;
  Japanese, 159-161, 164, 174, _et seq._;
  Persian, 191, 195, _et seq._;
  Spanish, 239;
  Portuguese, 239;
  Italian, 270;
  French, 316, _et seq._;
  German, 336, _et seq._;
  Dutch, 343;
  Russian, 344, 345;
  Danish, 351;
  English, 376, 377;
  Irish, 388, 389;
  American, 443, 455, 459, _et seq._, 471, _et seq._

Neo-Paphos, 201, 204.

Neudeck-Nymphenburg, 341.

Neuhaus, 340.

Nevers, 282.

New England Pottery Co., 463.

Newhall china, 386.

New Jersey, Indian pottery, 437, 440;
  clays, 448, _et seq._;
  analyzed, 450, 451.

New Mexico, 429, _et seq._

New York, 457-459.

Nicaragua, 419, 421, 424, 438.

Nicola da Urbino, 259.

Nicoloso Francesco, artist of Robbia school, 253.

Niederviller faience, 310;
  porcelain, 320.

Nile, 21, 83, 89, 216.

Nishikide, 161, 176, 177.

Nisser, Danish, 350.

Noel, artist, 288.

Nomino-Soukoune, 158.

Normans in England, 355.

North American Indians. (_See_ Indians, North American.)

Northamptonshire, ancient, 354.

Northcomb, Huart de, 307.

“Northern faience,” 346.

Norwalk, Connecticut, 455.

Norwich, Connecticut, 454.

Nottingham, 375.

Nove, Le, porcelain, 268, 269.

Num, 21.

Numa Pompilius, 244.

Nuremberg, 329, 330.

Nyon, porcelain of, 343.


Oanamuchi-no-mikoto, 20, 158.

Oinochoe, 225.

Oiron, faienced, 279.

Old Bridge, New Jersey, 455.

“Old style,” Greek, 229.

Olery, Joseph, artist at Moustiers, 283.

Olpe, 226.

Omar, 191.

Ometepec Island, 419, 420, 421.

Onyx-ware, Wedgwood’s, 364.

Oosei-tsumi, 20, 158.

Opium-pipes, 119.

Oporto, 239.

Oppal, Bengrath, 338.

Oriental art, its leading features, 37;
  use of color, 37, 38;
  conventional forms, 38.

Orinoco, tribes of the, 438.

Orleans faience, 312;
  porcelain, 317.

Ormuzd, 190.

Osiris, 21.

Osman, 191.

Ostrakinon, 227.

Ott & Brewer, Trenton, 462, _et seq._

Ottaviano, assistant of Luca della Robbia, 253.

Ouan-lou-hoang, 139.

Outang, 124.

Owari, 159, 175, 179, 181.

Oxides, 65.

Oxybaphon, 225.


Pachacamac, 396.

Pa-kwa, 110.

Palenque, 423.

Palermo, 247.

Palestine, 70, 71.

Palissy, Bernard, 42, 63, 179;
  imitation ware, 239;
  sketch of his life, 273;
  imitators, 277;
  works, 277, 329, 346, 366.

Pallandre, flower-painter, 324.

Pallas Athene, 222.

Palmer’s pottery, 360.

Pandora, 21.

Paphos, 201, 204.

Parent, director at Sèvres, 315.

Parian, 61;
  Minton’s, 366;
  Copeland’s, 385;
  American, 457, 459, 464, _et seq._

Paris faience, 311
  (_see_ also Deck, Colinot, Parville, Barbizet, Pull, Haviland);
  porcelain, 313, 320.

Parville of Paris, 308.

Pasquale, Antonibon, 269.

Pate changeante, 326, 367.

Pate dure, 51, 55.
  (_See_ Natural porcelain.)

Pate-sur-pate, 326, 381.

Pate tendre, 52, 55, 81.
  (_See_ Artificial porcelain.)

Paullownia imperialis, 161.

Paulson, Joseph, 365.

Pearl, 124.

Pectoral tablets, 93.

Pelasgi, 241, 242.

Pennington, Liverpool potter, 374.

Pennsylvania, Indian pottery, 437;
  kaolin, 449, 451;
  china works in, 454, 458, 462.

Pensacola clay, 447.

Perrin, Mme., Marseilles, 286.

Perrine & Co., Baltimore, 455.

Persia,--n, 38, 106, 107, 130, 189-197;
  in China, 130;
  in Spain, 218, 238;
  influence of, 198, _et seq._, 241, 247, 249, 254, 257,
  283 (fig. 240), 297, 304, 325, 367.

Perspective in Chinese art, 150.

Perth Amboy clay, 448;
  analyzed, 450;
  fire-brick factory, 455.

Peru, 393, _et seq._;
  its history, 394;
  pottery, 395, _et seq._;
  religion, 398;
  forms, 400;
  decoration, 407;
  colors, 408;
  customs, 409;
  processes, 413, 418, 428, 430, 438.

Perugia, 263.

Pesaro, 249, 255, 256, 257.

Peterynck of Lille at Tournay, 331.

Petuntse, 51;
  its composition, 59, 60.

Phiale, 223, 226.

Philadelphia stone-ware, etc., 455;
  terra-cotta, 467;
  porcelain, 471, 472.

Phœnicia,--ns, 199, _et seq._, 210, 220, 242, 243;
  in Gaul, 273.

Piccolpasso, 50, 68, 76.

Pinax, 226.

Pinxton, 387.

Pirota, Casa, 261.

Pisa, --ns, 218, 234, 248;
  majolica, 255.

Pithakne, 223.

Pithos, 27, 222, 223, 228, 243.

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 463.

Pizarro, 395, 418.

Place, Francis, 376.

Plumbiferous glaze, 64, 65.

Plymouth, porcelain of, 376.

Poa-en-ssi, 118.

Poirel, Nicolas, 281.

Poitevin, artist, 324.

Poitou, old pottery, 273.

Poland, 345.

Pompadour, Madame de, 314; Rose, 315, 387.

Porcelain, word misapplied, 48;
  definition and etymology, 51;
  invented in China, 51, 121;
  introduction into Europe, 51;
  invention in Europe, 52;
  composition, 59, _et seq._;
  Egyptian, 92;
  Assyrian, 100;
  Indian, 107;
  Chinese 121;
  without embryo, 140;
  invented in Japan, 160, 174;
  Persian, 195, etc;
  porcelain and metal, 486;
  (_see_ also artificial, natural, and different countries).

Porous ware, 459, 469.

Portland vase, 363.

Portugal, --uese, 164, 239.

Poterat, Edme, 281;
  his son Louis, 281, 312.

Potters’ Association, 463.

Potter’s wheel, 70, et seq.

Pottery, etymology and meaning, 49;
  composition of different kinds, 62.

Pou-tai, 112, 118.

Prices, potters in New Jersey, 455.

Printing on faience at Creil, 307;
  at Liverpool, 374;
  on porcelain at Worcester, 380;
  at Battersea, 380, 381.

Prochoos, 225.

Prometheus, 21.

Psykter, 225.

Ptolemy Claudius, 210.

Ptolemy Lagus, or Soter, 200.

Pueblo Indians, 430, 431, _et seq._

Pug-mill, 67.

Pull of Paris, 277.


Quamon, 162.

Queen’s-ware, Wedgwood’s, 363;
  made in Connecticut, 454.

Quintilius Varus, 24.

Quirigua, 423.


Raffaelle Del Borgo, 257.

Raku, 160.

Ramey, R. C., Philadelphia, 455.

Rato, 239.

Ravenna, 262.

Réaumur makes “porcelain,” 313.

Reed, Bristol potter, 373.

Reflet métallique. (_See_ Metallic lustre.)

Regnault, director at Sèvres, 315, 325.

Regnier, director at Sèvres, 315.

Religion and art, 28, 31, 83, 234, 398 (_see_ under each country).

Renard, M., modeller at Sèvres, 294.

Reticulated porcelain, Chinese, 152;
  Copeland’s, 385.

Revel, 344.

Réverend, Claude, made “counterfeit porcelain,” 312.

Rhages, 193.

Rhodes, 211, 213, 214, 215.

Rhodes, William, potter at Jersey City, 456;
  at Vermont, 461;
  at Trenton, 461.
Rhodes & Yates, Trenton, 461.

Rhyton, 27, 222, 225.

Ridgway, Job, potter at Shelton, 388.

Rimini, 262.

Ringler, workman at Vienna, 340, _et seq._

Robert, director at Sèvres, 315.

Robert, Joseph Gaspard, artist at Marseilles, 286, 317.

Robertsons of Chelsea, Massachusetts, 459, 468, _et seq._

Robinson, Liverpool, artist, 374.

Rockingham ware, 376, 386, 458, 459, 462.

Rome, 24, 240, _et seq._

Roman, --s, 233, 240, _et seq._;
  unglazed ware, 245;
  in Gaul, 272;
  in Germany, 327, 328;
  in England, 354.

Romulus, 244.

Rorstrand faience, 346.

Rose-back decoration, 140.

Rose family (Chinese and Japanese), 140, 141, 142, 176, 182, _et seq._

Roses of Colebrookdale, 375, 387.

Rouen, 125, 281, 311, 312, 330.

Roundabout, New Jersey, 455.

Rouse & Turner, Jersey City, 456, 457.

Ruminhauy, Peruvian cacique, 405, 414.

Russia, 344, 345.

Rustiques figulines, 42, 276, 346.


Sacred axe, 124.

Sacred horse, 114.

“Sacred things,” 124.

Sadler, John, 374.

Saguntum, 233.

St. Amand faience, 311.

St. Clement faience, 311.

St. Cloud, 52;
  faience, 311;
  porcelain, 312.

St. Denis faience, 311.

St. John, Knights of, 215.

St. Petersburg, 344, 345.

St. Yrieix, 53, 286, 316, 317.

Saki or Sake, 170.

Salamis, 201, 204.

Salmon, commissioner at Sèvres, 315.

Salt glaze, 81;
  discovered in England, 359;
  used at Lambeth, 370.

Samian ware, 104, 233, 245;
  in England, 354.

Sandwich, delft pottery of, 359.

Sandy Hill, New York, 468.

San Felipe, 233.

Sans, Thomas, 359.

Santa Cruz del Quiche, 420, 421.

Saracens,--ic, 189, 214, 215, _et seq._, 233, _et seq._, 240, 241, 247, 248.

Sargon, 200.

Sarreguemines faience, 309;
  porcelain, 309.

Sassanian dynasty, 190.

Satsuma, 161, 167-170.

Sauvage, Charles, Niederviller, artist, 310.

Savy, Honoré, potter at Marseilles, 285.

Saxons, 354.

Sayreville, New Jersey, 455.

Scandinavians, ancient, 344.

Scarabæus, 85;
  as signet, 92, 93.

Sceaux faience, 311.

Schaffhausen, 330.

Schelestadt, 329.

Schiites, 191.

Schist, 95.

Schnorr, John, 52.

Scotland, ancient remains, 353.

Seggars, 76.

Seidji, 179.

Seleucus Nicanor, 190.

Semi-china, 458, _et seq._, 463.

Seto, 159, 181.

Seville, 236, 237.

Sèvres: old paste analyzed, 61;
  how porcelain is made, 67, 239, 294;
  faience, 311;
  Royal factory at, 314, _et seq._;
  copied at Strasburg, 317;
  value of, 319;
  pate changeante, pate-sur-pate, 326;
  imitated in Switzerland, 343;
  artists in Russia, 345;
  imitated in Chelsea, 378;
  Coalport, 387;
  copied in America, 443.

Sforza family, 255, 256.

Sgraffiato, 249;
   Minton’s, 367.

Shelton, stone-ware, 360;
  porcelain, 386, 388.

Shintoism, 161.

Shiogun, 160.

Shiou-ro, 162, 170.

Shonsui, 144, 160, 176, 179, 185.

Shropshire, 375, 387.

Siam, 108.

Sicily, 217, 218, 241, 242, 247.

Siculo-Moresque, 247.

Sidon, 200, 211.

Siena, 255.

Silicious glaze, 64.

Simpson, William, English potter, 358.

Skyphos, 226.

Smith, T. C., of Greenpoint, 443, 451;
  sketch of, 473, _et seq._

Soft porcelain. (_See_ artificial.)

Soli, 204.

Solon, M., 325, 326, 381.

Sometsuki, 161;
  blue Sometsuki, 175, 179, 186.

Sonorous stone, 124.

Soufflé, 132, 152.

South Amboy, New Jersey, clay, 448, 455.

South America, 391.

Spain, 216, 217, 218, 233-239, 241, 242, 249.

Spaniards in Peru, 395.

Sparkes, Mrs., Lambeth artist, 371, 372.

Spode, Josiah, 382.

Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, 455.

Staffordshire, Delft, 358;
  stone-ware, 359;
  general history, 359, _et seq._

Stamnos, 223, 224.

Stamps for bricks, 88, 101.

Stanniferous enamel, 50, 54, 56, 64, 65, 95,
  100, 101, 102, 106, 217, 240, 247, 248, _et seq._, 253;
  résumé of history, 254;
  in France, 273;
  in Germany, 329.

States, Adam, potter at Stonington, 454.

Stephenson & Hancock, 379.

Stewart & Co., New York, 457.

Stoke-upon-Trent, 359, 365, 382.

Stone china, Copeland’s, 387;
  Carr’s, 458.

Stonington, Connecticut, early pottery of, 454.

Stone-ware, 81, 118;
  German, 333;
  English, 358;
  American, 454, _et seq._

Strasburg, faience, 286, 311;
  porcelain, 316.

Stratford-le-Bow, 377, 471.

Strehla, 329.

Sultaneah, mosque of, 39, 195.

Suma, 173.

Sun as a symbol, 86.

Sun-dried clay, 74;
  Egyptian, 88;
  Assyrian, 98, 101;
  Greek, 220;
  Peruvian, 396;
  Mound-builders', 427; Pueblo, 431.

Sunnites, 191.

Surprise hydraulique, 152.

Swansea, 387.

Sweden, 345, _et seq._

Swinton, 376, 386.

Switzerland, 327, 330, 331;
  porcelain, 343.


Tablet of honor, 124.

Tai-thsing, 134, 135, 137, 185.

Talhas, 416.

Tamerlane, 190.

Tao-te-king, 111.

Tarquinii, 241.

Tarquinius Priscus, 242, 244.

Tarsus, 211.

Taylor & Speeler, Trenton, 459, 460.

Taylor, William & James, potters, Jersey City, 456;
  at Trenton, 459.

Tch’aï, 122, 131.

Tchang, 122.

Tcheou, 134.

Tcheou blue, 122, 123, 131.

Tchini, 196, 197.

Tchoui, 116.

Tea-parties, 160.

Technology, 48.

Tegua, 436, _et seq._

Tellwrights of Staffordshire, 359.

Tennessee Indians, 440.

Terra-cotta, 64;
  Egyptian, 88;
  Assyrian and Babylonian, 100-102;
  Indian, 107;
  Phœnician, Greek, etc., Book III., Cap. I., _passim_;
  Greek, 220, _et seq._;
  Roman, 246;
  Danish, 347, _et seq._;
  Doulton’s, 372;
  American, ancient, 426; modern, 455, 457, 467, _et seq._

Tervueren, 331.

Teucer, 201.

Teylingen, 334.

Thang-kong, 130, 134, 137.

Tho-tai-khi, 140.

Thoth, 21.

Thothmes III., 200, 206.

Thorvaldsen, 348, _et seq._

Throwing, 70.

Thuringia, 341.

Thursfield, Richard, 375.

Tin enamel. (_See_ Stanniferous.)

Ting-yao, 122, 134.

Tinworth, George, Lambeth artist, 371;
  plaques by, 373.

Tlascalans, 423, 424.

Toft, T. and R., English potters, 359.

Tokio, 181.

Toltecs, 422, 425, 426, 429.

Tortoise-shell ware, 361.

Tossi-toku, 162, 170.

Tournay, faience of, 331.

Transmutation, 133.

“Treasures of writing,” 124.

Trenton, New Jersey, 459-467.

Trenton Pottery Works, 460.

Tripous, 225.

Trou, Henry, of St. Cloud, 312.

Truité, 120.

Tucker, Thomas, Philadelphia, 472.

Tucker, William E., Philadelphia, 471.

Tunisia, 216.

Tunstall porcelain, 386.

Tupinambas, 413.

Turner, Thomas, Caughley, 387.

Turquoise blue, how made, 123, 131;
  French, 323, 324;
  Minton’s, 367.

Tuscany, 255.

Tycoon, 160, 161, 163.

“Tygs,” 359.

Tyre, 211.

Tyrians, 200.

Tyrrheno-Pelasgians, 242, 243.


Ulysse of Blois, 309.

Unbaked pottery. (_See_ Sun-dried clay.)

United States, 442-487;
  materials, 446-452;
  pottery, 453-470;
  porcelain, etc., 455, 457, 458, 459, 461-463, 471-487.

Univalve shell, 124.

Urbino, 255, 256, 257, 258.

Utah, 432, 437.

Utzchneider & Co., 309.


Valencia, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238.

Valenciennes, 311, 320.

Vance, F. T., artist, 391, 484.

Van Wickle, stone-ware manufacturer, 455.

Varus, 24.

Venice, 247;
  majolica, 262;
  porcelain, 52, 268, 269.

Venus, temple of, 203.

Vezzi, Francesco, 269.

Vienna porcelain, 53, 340.

Villingen, 330.

Vincennes faience, 311;
  porcelain, 313, 314, 320.

Vineuf, 270.

Violet, Chinese, 149.

Virginia clay, 447.

Vista Allegre, 239.

Voleur, Jehan de, 273.

Von Lang, workman at Copenhagen, 351.

Vulcan, 21.

Vulci, 241, 242, 243.


Wackenfield, potter at Strasburg, 286, 316.

Wagenaar, 186.

Walker & Beely, 387.

Walker, Brown, Aldred & Rickman, 375.

Wall, Dr., 380.

Wandelein, director at La Doccia, 268.

Warrin & Lycett, decorators, 483.

Washington, 24, 108, 293;
  his Sèvres, 319.

Water-vessels, Peruvian, 401, _et seq._

Watson, J. R., 455.

Watts, John, partner of Doulton, 370.

Wedgwood, imitation jasper-ware of, 309;
  cameos of, 330;
  life of, 361, 367, 374, 382;
  using American clays, 446;
  his fear of America, 454.

Weesp, porcelain factory, 343.

Wendrich & Son’s terra-cotta, 348.

Wheildon, T., partner of Wedgwood, 362.

Whistling jars, Peruvian, 409, 410.

White, Chinese, 145, _et seq._, 147, 148.

Willow-ware, 382, 387.

Winterthur, 330.

Wood, Enoch, 364.

Woodbridge, New Jersey, clay, 448.

Worcester porcelain, 379;
  and silver, 487.
Wrede, Bristol potter, 373.


Xanto, Francesco, 258, 260.

Xativa, 233.


Yang, 110.

Yarmouth, 375.

Yebis, 162.

Yeddo, 181.

Yellow, imperial, 150.

Yn, 110.

Ynca, 236.

Young, William, Nantgarrow, 387.

Young, William, & Sons, Trenton, 460, 461.

Yu, 147.

Yucatan, 423, 424.


Zaffarino, artist at Ferrara, 263.

Zoroaster, 190.

Zuni, 431, 436, _et seq._

Zürich, 330; porcelain, 343.

THE END.


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