Mr. George James, of Nahant, has a very fine porcelain figure which is finished with lacquer.
“Cloisonné” work applied to porcelain has been made in Japan. How the delicate metal lines can be fastened to the surface of the porcelain, and how the vitrifiable colors can be melted into the spaces with such perfection, can never fail to surprise. To see such perfect and delicate workmanship is a satisfaction: what pleasure must the artist himself not enjoy!
The “mandarin china” ([Fig. 121]), as it is termed, was made in Japan rather than in China. This term is applied to such vases and pieces as bear the figures of mandarins wearing the toque or cap topped with the button which marks their grade. It appears that the Thsing conquerors, when they overcame the Ming dynasty in China, attempted to efface the old customs and dress, and among other things they ordered was the adoption of the toque or cap. Hence, to protest against their conquerors, no such designs appear on the old Chinese porcelain; but only on the Japanese, which was carried to China and sold.[13]
This variety is not to be confounded with a gayly-colored kind of heavy porcelain made in China, which often goes under the name of mandarin.
On this Japanese mandarin-ware, gilding is likely to be found, and indeed the Japanese were much more inclined to its use than the Chinese.
European and Christian subjects were sometimes painted upon the Japanese porcelain to meet the wants of the Dutch exporters. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York are some of these pieces belonging to Mr. Avery’s collection: one has a portrait of Luther; another has the baptism of Christ, another a Dutch landscape with figures. They are most curious, and upon the Scripture subjects hangs a tale:
