New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-07
, Memorable Exhibition of
Rare Pieces of Early
Oriental Pottery.
NEW LIGHT ON
AN OLD SUBJECT
The Golden Age of Chinese
Corean and Japanese
Craftsmen.
Nv ROYAL CoRTIssoZ.


There has not hitherto been held IN
York any exhibition Of ceramic art
\ ~" corparable 10 the one which has
bsen arranged AT the Knoedler Cal
under the auspices of the Japan So
80, Il Is dedicated 70 the earlier pot
- NJ China. Corca and Japan. and II
.ne "a more about them than We have
- been told before I'm Just this tangi-
illustrative way. Mr.. Charles H..
80 Mr.. Samuel r. Peters. Mr.. John
p.,, Mr.. Howard Mansfield and other
,.ro,e6 collectors have lent freely OF
- rarest treasures. with the result
-, The student is indicted into what is.
- ell rractical purposes. a veritable mu-
.,,o and one of unique character at
.,at From A certain point Of view one
..igbt almost wish that the contributors
= the show had not been quite so gen
.-ors More than three hundred pieces
ga shown. and i'm n room which is ordi-
| ,,riIy spacious enough they seem posi-
,ivslv mulutudinous. Forming rs they do
,bs material Of a rather difficult subject
,bAv might not unprofitably have been
rsauced in number. The fine specimen
rh,cb practically duplicates the lesson OF
Ne neighbor could sometimes ne spared
bv the layman. precious though II may
\. "a the heart Of the seasoned amateuy.
PA, 70 labor this point would be TO con-
dor 100 curiously the Japan Societys
splsrdid educational purpose. In making
iris exhibition II has done q work SUI
tentatively fine and. characteristically, IT
has spared no effort to achieve perfec-
tor. The catalogue is mastery pub
vostion Mrs Rose Sickler Williams
onsns il with a scholarly report on early
chinese lotteries. The Chinese and Co
RAN pieces are authenticated by Mr.. +. l.
Hobson. Of the British Museum, and the
Japanese by Mr.. Edwin 5. Morse. OF the
Museum of Fine Arts. in Boston. In the
stately edition de luxe of the book Uor
which Charles Scribner's Sons are the
agents. there are invaluable reproduc-
ions in color and i'm halftone. No enter
mise OF the sort was ever more literally
more usefully. organized.
From an old native document in the lit
,rature Of her subject Mrs. Williams
quotes a saying highly opposite 10 the
first stages of any Western inquiry into
the history of Oriental art. zone does
not see many Sung wares nowadays. The
broken shards that remain are worth
their weight IN sold and Jade one re-
slzes Immediately that one il in the pres
euce Of some OF the great achievements
Of the East. some Of the things TO which
the wise people Of that part OF the world
gave a particularly honorable place. The
, point is emphasized in another passage.
! wherein a certain Chinese connoisseur is
cited as referring TO four famous flower
pots which formerly belonged TO the late
Empress Dowager. These were so high
IS priced by her that she kept them al
ways upon the table before her throne or
chair Of state. filed with flowers appro-
pirate TO the season" Why did her
majesty so prize those ancient pots? Why
are such subjects Of the pOttels craft to-
DAY worth their weight and more, in
gold and Jade? We Of the present genera
ten in the United States are peculiarly
bound 10 ask these questions, for reasons
which, as 70 happens. carry us near TO the
core Of the problem. The ceramic art OF
China has fallen quite naturally into GER
tain great chronological divisions. and Il
Is from the third and fourth of these that
our collectors have drawn the porcelains
which have predominated in our public
exhibitions Those single color giazes like
sang-de-bGuf peach blow, TURQUOISE and
20 on, which everybody knows, are so
many souvenirs Of the K'ang Hsi. Yung
Chsng and CHEN Lung periods, which IL
TO say that they date. variously, from the
ssventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In
the long perspective OF our subject they
are late" work, and as such they FREE
guerty represent the art in the very
aower Of perfection. Here, however. we
are not concerned with any matter OF
critical evaluations. but with the inevita-
lie reaction upon the Western mind OF
special form Of experience. For more
than a generation we have been subtiy
Influenced by the performance Of a kind
Of porcelain which. whether decorated or
In single colors. has a charm essentially
sophisticated and YGGn,. All along we
have had. from time to time, some fugi-
I've chance 10 wash our eyes through
contemplation OF earlier examples, but on
TIE whole these have had 10 yield the
foreground % the more easily procurable
poFcelains % which We have just referred
Nov comes the Japan Society's exhibition
eonclusvely 70 redress the balance.
Il takes US back. past the compare
lively modern periods which have been
f2ned above past the Ming dynasty, 10
he Sung Primitives. who. If they did not
~ any means invent pottery. at all
events lilted 81 % the level Of an art.
1rS. Williams. abiding 10 the establish
men, Of this dynasty in $50 a. D.. speaks
~ the greet expansion Of the liberal arts
Witch went on despite portentous mill
Dfy collisions During the entire sway
q The Sung rulers. she says. every phase
u culture biossomed and bore fruit IN
~ the sunshine Of imperial patronage
no Dotentates Of China have always
poke1 with Jealous eye 70 the welfare
" me courtrys kilns. The best pieces
fere preserped-and marked-fOr them.
s'o their supreme prerogative even eX-
'thfed iut1 the realm OF raw material.
@ff Williams quotes from Chinese
'linority TIC statement that during
" reign y The Sung cmpcrors certain
mount - tribute clay was annually sent
TOO me vicinity Of ChinS-tc-chen 10 be
.''o in the imperial kilns. ana this was
''o'e4 ~ the manufacture % the cal
Pppa pots and bowls and other nne
'sifs for imperial use. whereas the
~fser articles ~ aha TAI ia sandy
'sie were made from the native clays.
p much for the stimulating atmosphere
lr HfI.I