Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-24
ASIATIC POTTERY.
Fronts Of the Industry Decline ms Its
Art Becomes Decadent.


From the London Times
In the last British consular report from
kiu-Kiang reference is made to the once
famous pottery of Kinte, in the Kiang-si
province, which has of late fallen into de-
cay. This leads a writer in the North China
Eerald of Shanghai to describe the history
and some of the former productions Of this
celebrated factory. 1t first became famous
about the commencement of the Sung dy-
nasty, in the tenth or eleventh century of
our era, and down to the present time has
furnished fOur-fifths OF the ware of China
It outstrpped its great rival Poshanhsien
in Shan-tung, which furnished in ancient
times the beautiful porcelain that went
overland through the GoDi desert to the
Bactrian cities and westward to Persia.
Even now some of the best porcelain used
in the emperors palaces is from Poshanh-
sien. The first era of great prosperity in
the history of the Kinte pottery was about
the end of the eleventh century. and the
most famous pieces OF porcelain, in the
eyes of Chinese collectors come from this
period and are known as Sung Yao. or the
work of the Sung kilnS, Sung being the
then reigning dynasty. The jars, flower
pets, vases, &c, produced at this time fetch
very high prices. There some
and statues of Buddhist saints now in the
palaces in Picking and Eho-park which are
valued at more than their weight in gold.
owing to the rarity of this class of ware.
The second period of fame Of Kinte was
during the Ming dynasty, and especially to-
ward the end of the fifteenth century. The
c,cisonne ware of this period tn
equaied by any produced before.
The few specimens in the Picking palaces
are carefully stored and taken out only
when the reigning sovereign wishes to adj
mire them or show them to the court, after
which they again carefully wrapped up
and stored away. The third era of the
glory of kinte was during the great reign
hi IL
cl;ned, and, though attempts were made in
the first half of the present century to
arouse the energies of the makers and the
old glory of the factories, they were not
successful and now the products are coarse
and mediocre, except few pieces sent once
every three years by the governor of
Kiang-si to the emperor. Agents are spe-
clally appointed to superintend the making
of these. Sometimes also wealthy Chinese
order special ware from Kinte, and the
work on this is frequently very fine still.
The flood of cheap Japanese ware, usually
in imitation of Chinese, which is entering
China, has affected the Chinese potter.
THE decadence which has been the curse
OF this empire generally has not spared the
art which formerly gained for China a
worldwide reputation. 1t is as If the we'll
known ceramic art establishments of Ores
den and Sevres had descended to supplying
the world with toilet sets and ordinary
household utensils, useful and cheap, per-
haps, but devoid of artistic merit. Unfor
tt nately this decadence not only affects
China from an aesthetic point of view, but
has a ruinous effect upon the material pros
perity of the district, for the kinte pot
teries now afford employment to but a 1.-THE
of the workmen who were engaged there
fifty years ago. There are immense possi-
b:lities for the future there have been
fer the past, and it only requires some en-
ergy and determination to arrest the down.
ward course and restore the Kinte potteries
to the honorable position and state of pros
perity which they held unchallenged in days
of yore.'