The San Francisco call., 1903-01-04

DIS OF emma OF porcelain. Five
hundred dollars for tiny cup Of
old ware that almost shivers at the
merest breath
well, what OF it? What are the odds
if the millionaire values a fragment in
art In that tiny exquisite form as he
does famous paintngf Who dares to
tell him Or anybody else what to like or
dislike2 Who dares TO put a money value
on art or antiquity
1t certainly IS not the fact that china
and pottery are more destructible than
painted canvas. or sculpture. or even
bronzesa Ca. no.
china end pottery always have been
and always will be one Of the arts that
really count. Even now II is believed
leat there are about Is 900 Grecian and
Etruscaa vases scattered about through
European collections, and there is not
one oil these which does not, either In
design cr painted surface, TlvidIy illus
trate soJae peculiar phase OF the old, he
roic Greek historical or domestic life.
And the strange part OF this is that
Geese vases. OF nearly all Of them, are
nearly as perfece as they were the day the
clay left the hands OF its maker. In these
shrined the spirit that the bronzes Of
Monte Catini and the marbles OF the
Peutelicus have not been able to pre-
serve. The temples and galleries Of old
Greece are in wrecks and ruins. The
Parthenon and the Acropolis, the Temple
Of the Winds, the Elgin marbles. and
the stately Coliseum itself are but rep
resented by mutilated columns. broken
walls or fragments Of sculptured human
forms.
Apelles and Phidias and Praxiteles. the
noblest artists OF all antiquity, are but
the shadows OF grand names. They are
but known to US through the poets. the
historians. the critics Of their ages. They
i've in memory alone, but not in their
own works.
The humble work Of the potter still
remains just as IL was. The gorgeous
'colOring OF Titan has faded and is
fading. Tie brilliant carmine which Rey-
nolds so frequently substituted upon his
palette for vernilion is entirely passing
away from some Of his most brilliant
works. Empires and Kingdoms even have
fallen and risen. but through It all the
potters' art has remained. Babylon and
Assyria are no more, but under the ruins
Of these great cities are little pieces Of
pottery that seem almost Imperishable.
She srt OF making beautiful pottery
was lost In, Europe for years, and the
CiSnese were the only people who were
a. all successful. For years the other
Lotions eagerly tried to obtain their Sc
Ct Z but the willy Chinese refused TO d.
yulge IL Their chinaware. they said, was
lns2de Of eggshell and seasands, mixed in
celtain proportions and buried for a hun
dfed years.
Furthermore II required the blood of
martyr. Pauza had been ordered to pro-
c9nSc certain chtnaWare for the Emperor,
and being unable 10 comply with his de-
nsdnc. leapeo into the fiery furnace. I'm
mediateiy the clay absorbed his blood and
became plastic and clear. and the work
"@s nobiy finished by his sons.
Finally, however. European skill, intel
leence and endurance triumphed In the
tNefth century the Pisans, after their
sA2edition with the Moors, brought back
specimens Of maJolica, which in all sue
cecciug ages has been highly priced Such
artists as Raphael designed in the six
teenth century. and but a single plate, cup
pr dish is valued at from $1,000 TO $1,000 in
goes on.
About this time faience and the Palissy
HHre were commenced in France Now
Trey are very IRE and are worth their
weight = gold; even at that it is almost
impossible 10 obtain one
A. time went on Dresden, Sevres. CheI-
lS-a an@ Worcester, not 20 mention Derby
came 70 be fully recognized as beautiful
Eare- Ihe discovery of Dresden and the
SeNr0s was the result OF an accident. In
Germany d barber named Schnorr had
io-E- used a particular powdered clay for
the hair One Of the great chemists Of
the cay analyzed il and found it to be the
kfeln Of the Chinese. and the beautiful
Dresden china is the result
louis XIV watched over his chinaware
with an interest equal to that which he
bestowed on his army, and a piece of
L us 'Suinze is now worth fabulous
'om- one day when the Earl of Coventry
vas roaming about his mansion in quest
ei amusement he chanced into room
nat ha1 not been used for a long time.
mere were number OF pretty things
nat caught his eye, and he idly won.
aereo Why they had not been brought out