Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-07
Sallp's China Cup

Once when | was in Boston saw at tho
Loan Collection, then on exhibition, round
ed vase OF pale-green ware. Two slender,
yermllion-colored lizards formed the handles.
III was shaped exactly like a peach, which is
one one OF the Chinese emblems of q long lie:
Inc me colors were exquisite, and the curves OF
tne lizards were very graceful. ] stood long
Gime before It, and thought it the most beau
tliul thing l had ever seen. And then L
W~eit went on to case containing tea service,
Wnch seemed made out of rose leaves and
gold, and l thought that was the most beautt-
1ul', but short time after l saw vase,
made at kioto-a clouded blue one, with q
spray OF white flowers upon it-and | thought
Ihat Il was superior to anything in porcelain |
had ever seen. After that l went to Paris,
ana saw plates and cups and vases made at
Sevres on which the painting was like the
WORK on fine miniature, and | thought
Rerlin Iar meyer seen anything so beautiful. At
coveted, and in England | saw specimens that
set me to covetng again.
grandpa"
NO, dear. The grand things were all in
museums, and articles in any degree like them
cost more money than | could afford. L
brought home that and grandpa pointed to
plate hanging on maroon velvet panel. 1t
was mllk-white, and on it graceful blue
maiden In blue gown was watering q blue
rose out of blue watering-pot. 'And l
brought home two cups and two saucers,
painted with yiolets. Your grandmother and
used to drink tea out of them"
ana when did they begin to make china
in Europe?'
About 1715." said grandpa 'It was a
chemist who began it. In those days, chem
Ists were suspected Of evil doings, and even of
learning secrets of Satan; and sometimes they
had very hard time of it.
a certain John friedrich Bottcher, living
IN Berlin, was accused of some crime because
ne was chemist and to save his life, fed
to SaXony.
ct was then believed that lead iron and
silver might be changed into gold, if only
somebody could find the right kind of liquid
to pour on them, and Frederick Augustus I,
tlector OF Saxony and King of Poland, anx
ious for gold, put Bottcher into laboratory,
which is chemists workshop.
One day, Bottcher noticed that the white
powder he put on his hair, after the fashion
OF the time; was very, heavy, In his expert
ments he had already produced something
sensible man, was delighted.
| "Bottcher now tried the hair-powder. and,
to his great joy, found he had exactly the
material to make white porcelain. The white
up into hair powder. A porcelain manufac::
tory was established, in ITO. at Messen, and
Bottcher was made director of it, and five
years later he made perfect porcelain.
! From this factory, though the secrets were
carefully guarded, knowledge of the meth
ods used IN manufacturing porcelain spread to
Vienna and Berlin, and thence to France,
| Italy and England t..
The factory at sevres was established
some time in the last century-in 1756, |
think-and first made what is called soft por.
celain-that is, there was more petuntse in
the mixture, and very hot fire was not
needed.
''This soft porcelain is sometimes called
pate tendre, which is simply French for soft
paste. Only flowers and gems have the per-
feet colors of these old Sevres porcelains-
least, it seems so to me. Only hard porcelain
is made there now"
Just. then the supper-bell rang and Sally
slipped from grandpas knee.
Were going to eat off porcelain plates, and
to drink out of porcelain cups" she said,
smiling. "But Nora will pass the gingernuts
on an earthenware plate-the majolica one
with the blackberres on it. You told me the
quite understand all you said, grandpa, but
Pm going to think about it till do"