Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/161

 Pallet Water Bottles with couchant dragons, jewel-bearing elephants and figure scenes.

Betel-nut Boxes with historical scenes, fragrant plants and lotus petals.

Hat Boxes with brocaded ground in round patterns and dragons coiling through the flowers of the four seasons.

Handkerchief Boxes with, outside, brocaded ground patterns, a pair of dragons supporting the inscription, "Ever preserving long life: tribute arriving from the four seas!"; historical scenes and the flowers of the season; inside, the fungus of longevity, the fir, bamboo, plum and orchids.

Garden Seats carved in openwork with dragons grasping pearls, flying dragons, lions, and sea-horses.

The mark of the Lung-ching era is Ta-Ming Lung-ching nien chi, and that of the Wan-li era, Ta-Ming Wan-li nien chi. The former occurs much more rarely than the latter, which is not only found on a tolerably numerous class of authentic specimens, but has also been extensively forged. Even at this time, when the markets of China have been so persistently and diligently exploited during a quarter of a century, the collector may still procure good examples of Wan-li blue-and-white. They are solid, and in many cases somewhat clumsy, but these defects are often relieved by brilliancy and decorative boldness, and choice specimens support comparison with the work of other eras. The glaze, too, is rich and lustrous, though lacking in purity of tone. From the factories of these eras—Lung-ching and Wan-li—came the comparatively small number of surviving Ming blue-and-white porcelains that attain any considerable dimensions. All the pieces that remain from preceding eras are small, the great majority not exceeding a few inches in height. This is absolutely true of soft-paste porcelain in respect of every reign in the dynasty.