Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/145

 Shonzui, the originator of porcelain manufacture in his country. In his day the "Hawthorn" design was certainly employed by Chinese decorators, for it figured conspicuously on his own pieces, though not as a principal motive.

The high reputation enjoyed by the Chêng-hwa ware led to its extensive imitation in later times. No mark, perhaps, has been more forged than that of Ta-Ming Chêng-hwa nien-chi. Even the potters of the Kanghsi era (1661-1722), whose productions were well worthy to stand on their own merits, did not hesitate to manufacture imitations of the celebrated Ming wares. Reproductions by such experts were little, if at all, inferior to their originals. But the case is different in the present modern times, when a hopelessly deteriorated art endeavours to conceal its palpable shortcomings behind the cachet of famous periods. It may be well, therefore, to warn collectors against the delusion that large vases, big bowls, and imposing jars which bear the Chêng-hwa mark, really date from that era, or reproduce the fine qualities of its manufactures. The rare examples of genuine early Ming blue-and-white hard-paste porcelain that come into the market, are small pieces, not at all likely to strike the eye of an ordinary connoisseur, and generally commanding prices out of apparent proportion to their merits. On the other hand, it is difficult to furnish any written data whereon to base an accurate estimate of the period of a hard-paste specimen. The pâte of the Chêng-hwa porcelain, like that of all the Ming wares, is hard, heavy, and close grained, and the timbre remarkably sharp and clear. Occasionally one finds clinging to the bases of bowls and plates, fragments of the sand with which