The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-17
muslin and the spent grounds are
thrown away after each filtering.
LESE-MAJESTE BY
AN AMERICAN WOMAN
Mrs. Townsend of New York Com
mits This Crime Against the En-
peror of Japan, by Importing I'm
perial Porcelain.

LII the apartment Oh MIS-. w. II.
Townsend, an American lady who has
recently returned from an extended
visit to Japan, there was exhibited a
few days since certain Japanese art
treasures that for their extreme rarity
and value are probably not surpassed
in any private collection. The major
ity of people have for some time been
made increasingly familiar with the ex-
quisite embroidery of the Japanese but
! of Japanese tapestry, except in small
| and unimportant pieces, little has been
| brought to the United States. In Mrs.
! Townsend'S collection there is a Budd-
! hist priests robe of silken tapestry,
seven feet long by four feet wide, re-
| puted to have come from Nara, and
| to be 800 years old
! 1t would seem that as a rule the
| priests robes in Japan are made in
| pieces stitched together, the number of
| pieces denoting the priestly rank: but
this particular robe has the popularity
| of being woven entire; thus strangely
! reSem bling the ancient Gobelin tapes
| try of Europe, the rank of the wearer
! being denoted by cords introduced to
| give the same effect as if the robe were
made up of the usual separate ssfuares.
To the robe there is. also attached a
stole five feet in length by twelve
| inches in breadth, a part of the gar
ment that is usually missing. OF the
general design and coloring of this an
cient piece of tapestry one can scarcely
| find words to express sufficient admi-
ia ton. The action expressed in the
fight of the birds, the running water,
and in the clouds, at once arrests the
attention, while the harmonious blend
ing of the various shades of green,
blue, pink and brown, subdued by age.
could scarcely fail to appeal to the
seVerest modern art critic. 1
AS all designs executed by the JapH
anese are supposed to be symbolical.
the one of this robe may possibly rep
resent a lovers contest, the two Ho Ho
birds fighting in the air for the favor
of the lady bird who watches from
rock in the foreground. BY an expert
this robe has been priced at $4,000, but
as probably its match is not to be
found, It's real value is considerably
greater.
The Emperor's Own Pattern.
Almost equally interesting in this col
lection are the pieces of imperial Jap
anese porcelain, procured by Mrs.
| Townsend with the greatest difficulty,
as it is an offense of iese majestic to
possess the same without permission.
far more to offer any for sale.
This imperial porcelain, a delicate
blue and white ware of extremely hard
| substance, yet taking on the softeSt
of enamel polish, is manufactured in
the Arita district, near Nagasaki. I'M
der the direction of an official, whose
duty it is to examine each piece as it
comes from the kiln with a magnifyirg
glass, so that no imperfect specimens
may be sent to disgrace the table of
the emperor. All rejected pieces are
then smashed, in order that none may
find their way into the market.
Every cup and bowl of this porcelain
! bears the imperial crest, a sixteen
petaled chrysanthemum, which it is a
high crime for any subject to make use
of in Japan-that is to say, exactly the
same design as that of the emperor
| 1t is true that q chrysanthemum OF
sixteen petals may occasionally be met
| with upon a piece of china even in a
| Japanese curio store in New York. and
perhaps offered for sale to the .uTl-
| initiated as japanese porcelain; but on
close examination it will be observed
| that there is some slight difference in
| the design sufficient to escape the eff
feet of the autocratic law of the ORR
| emit: for either there will be fewer or
more petals. the interior circle viii be
shaded instead of open, or the outer
rim will be a complete circle instead of
the little curves which in this royal
flower are noticeable.