Contents. (etext transcriber's note) |
P O R C E L A I N
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PLATE I. JAPANESE IMARI WARE
P O R C E L A I N
BY
E D W A R D D I L L O N, M.A.
M E T H U E N A N D CO.
36 ESSEX STREET
LONDON
First published in 1904.{v}
PREFACE
HOW extensive is the literature that has grown up of late years roundthe subject of porcelain may be judged from the length of our ‘selected’list of books dealing with this material. Apart from the notinconsiderable number of general works on the potter’s art in French,German, and English, there is scarcely to be found a kiln where potteryof one kind or another has been manufactured which has not been made thesubject of a separate study. And yet, as far as I know, the verydefinite subdivision of ceramics, which includes the porcelain of theFar East and of Europe, has never been made the basis of an independentwork in England.
It has been the aim of the writer to dwell more especially on the natureof the paste, on the glaze, and on the decoration of the various wares,and above all to accentuate any points that throw light upon therelations with one another—especially the historical relations—of thedifferent centres where porcelain has been made. Less attention has beengiven to the question of marks. In the author’s opinion, the exaggeratedimportance that has been given to these marks, both by collectors and bythe writers that have catered to them, has more than anything elsetended to degrade the study of the subject, and to turn off theattention from more essential points. This has been above all the casein England, where the technical side has been strangely neglected. Infact, we must turn {vi}to French works for any thorough information on thishead.
In the bibliographical list it has been impossible to distinguish therelative value of the books included. I think that something of valuemay be found in nearly every one of these works, but in many, whateverthere is of original information might be summed up in a few pages. Infact, the books really essential to the student are few in number. ForOriental china we have the Franks catalogue, M. Vogt’s little book, LaPorcelaine, and above all the great work of Dr. Bushell, which isunfortunately not very accessible. For Continental porcelain there is no‘up-to-date’ work in English, but the brief notes in the catalogueprepared shortly before his death by Sir A. W. Franks have the advantageof being absolutely trustworthy. The best account of German porcelain isperhaps to be found in Dr. Brinckm