Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-11-10
'In what respects did the Satsuma faience of
former tirpea veal an siopaIIv9,s

l FORMER times excel so Signally?"
| In beauty OF pate. Its exquisitely mellow,
ivory-like surface, with crackle almost irnper-
| cepubly hne but perfectly regular, and luster
| rich yet sufficiently subdued to suggest a rest
full air Of solidity, offered an ideal ground for
the delightful harmonies in gold, silver red
green ana blue SO cieverly chosen by the Sat-
suma potter. 1t is not impossible now to re-
produce the same delicacy, wealth, and chaste-
| ness OF decoration. but the incompatible pate
Is seen no more. 1t is probably understood by
| very few Western collectors"
| Yet old Satsuma' has always been a sort Of
craze in Europe"
strangely enough, it has. say strangely
because the great majority of its devotees can
| not have any practical acquaintance with the
ware They must have simply followed the
| fashion. Genuine examples OF old Satsuma
have always been as choice diamonds.
| During the past ten years the average number
| of pieces coming into the market has not ex-
| ceeded ten or twelve. Thousands, however,
| have been sent TO Europe. Stained with chem
! icals and otherwise disfgured to simulate age,
! they have educated very false idea of Sdtsts-
| n,dydIi among average connoisseurs. Inex-
| perienced collectors would do well to remem-
| Der that there are no large. highly decorated
| specimens OF genuine old Satsuma in existence
| Big vases, censers and jars, bediZened with
armies of saints, peacocks and historical scenes,
| are attractive ornaments in their way. but they
have nothing in common with old Satsuma."
| MANUFACTURING ANTIQUE.
| ''Then the art of manufacturing ancient
specimens is not unknown to the JapaneseS"
''They are masters of it. All the familiar
devices of burying in the ground exposing on
the roof, sleeping in tea or decoctions of yasha,
| beginning with fumes of incense and so forth
! are now thrown into the shade by Yokohama
| artist, and great potter at that, who actually
Stimulates marks of age in manufacturing
piece, and fixes them in the furnace. Such
tricks will flourish so long the folly of coll
Loot ind H..
sake 1t is difficult to understand the motive
| of such infatuation. OF course in the products
| of every country there specimens which,
/ though not pleasing from either an artistic or
decorative point OF view, possess interest as
| links in the historical chain Of industrial
| development. But this is a question quite
/ outside the ordinary collectors domain
The points Of attraction for him are
practically limited to beauties of skilled
technique or artistic conception. He ought,
therefore, to recognize that marks of age are
emphatically blemish, and that. so far from
angmenting, they seriously diminish, the value
OF heramlc specimen. japanese virtuosi
! have always understood this. They preserve
choice vases and censers wrapped in silk or
| brocades and enclosed in nests of boxes.
Every scratch. every stain, they regard as a
defect, and by periodical washings thew keen
their treasures pure and bright. As a rule
there Is period of greatest excellence for each
class OF ware. Sometimes it is a remote period:
sometimes a more modern. Thus, while an
example of 'Famille yerte' of the Kanghsi
tio6i-IIZ2) era Is inner, In many respects than
a similar piece of the Lungchng or Wan-i
time (1567-162O), the converse is true of yellow
monochromes; and while Dwarf blue-and-
white dating from the middle of this century
lar excels its predecessors of the same factory
one must go much further back to find choice
examples of the same style in Imari porce-
lam. Apart from the place occupied by "a par
ticular epoch in respect of artistic or technical
excellence, there is not the smallest reason to
look for age in keramic specimen. and if col
iectors would make up their minds to regard
marks of antiquity tokens to awaken dis
trust rather than to excite admiration they
would at once close the path to a multitude of
deceptions.'
HOW ABOUT OTHER ART MANUFACTURED"
speaking generally they in condition
OF high development. China, in her palmiest
days, never produced cloisonne enamels COM
parable with those now made in Japan No
country. indeed ever manufactured ANYTHING
showing such combination of wonderful
manual dexterity and decorative instinct
Moreover, this industry is virtually new de-
parture. MIR. Audsley. in his stupendous work
on The Ornamental Arts of Japan has been
betrayed into singular errors as to the history
OF Japanese clOisonne. In feudal times the
productions of japanese workers in enamel
were insignificant and unattractive. The art
had no recognized status and its outcome vaa
1 ~
| the opening of Japan to foreign trade the
prices commanded by old Chinese enameIs in
Western markets led enterprising Japanese
artists to turn their attention in this
foreign spectators, and the result
was that between 1866 and 1872 quite a large
number OF imposing vases. plaques. censers
and so forth, found their way to Europe They
were somber pieces. defective in color, but
showing elaborate workmanship, and their
manufacturers did not hesitate to employ what
ever decorative designs were likely to increase
the yiearious dignity Of piece. The sixteen
petalled chrysanthemum and the five-foil Paw
lown1a figured profusely on vessels innocent of
the remotest relation to the imperial family.
MODERN ENAMELs.
You speak enthusiastically of modern Jana
nese enamels. Do you think that they have
reached their acme of development?"
In one direction, yes. It is impossible to
conceive higher efforts of technical skill
and elaborate accuracy than the enamels of
hy0to. But in Tokyo a new departure was
made q few years ago. The artists conceived
the idea of producing pictures in enamel. In
these enamels the clOsons are hidden. as far as
possible. You have a wide field of delicate
color-generally relieved by gradations of
tint-forning the ground for landscapes floral
decoration, Snow scenes. and so forth, effects
OF aerial perspective and chiaroscurO being
obtained with marvellous skill. Whether the
N'hciA9 VI Htc ar ODSerNcdln such
work may be a question. The results achieved
are certainly most beautiful. but the best de-
slgners are not employed and higher stage is
evidently attainable. Belonging to the same
category as these wonderful enamels are some
OF the modern embrOideries of Kyotos In that
city you find experts who paint with their nee
dies. Their best works are scarcely distinguish
able from pictures on canvas or silk There
seems to be no limit to the capacity of the jan
anese art artisan. If his genius can survive or
ganization a wide vista of industrial triumpbs
hes before him.
In other branches also, giyptic art and
metal work for example. does he give similar
promise of success?'
METAL WORK AND CARVING.
Undoubtedly his modern bronzes and his
iron inlaid with gold and silver are remarka-
BILE accomplishments. As in pictorial art. so
also in metal work, certain epochs we're happy
In the possession of great masters. From the
time when his sword and his armor ceased In
be the first objects of a Japanese gentlemau's
concern the field for workers in metal was i'm
mensely narrowed. We shall never. PERTAINS. see
again those extraordinary miniatures in metal
that are found on the sword furniture of for
mer times. But the ability that conceived and
executed these marvels is not lost; it has only
been diverted. You see unmistakabIe evi.
dences of Its existence and full exercise in the
metal work of to-day. So too of carving in
wood and ivory. There are glyptic artists of
the utmost excellence. None Of the MASTER
pieces of their DredacaasorS ma IL