Fools say, “Trade is a blessing;” wise men, “It is oftener a curse.” Honest, faithful production is a blessing; juggling, barter, is always a curse.
In the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia the Japanese had the largest and the finest exhibit of porcelain. We were told by the officials that there are at Hizen some five factories of fictile wares; at Kioto, ten; at Owari, three; at Kaga, five; at Satsuma, one; at Banko, one; and at Tokio (Yedo), forty-three. This last statement was a surprise, but it was reiterated.
The porcelains of Hizen rank first, and the exhibit from there was the largest. The two great vases, some eight feet high, of lacquer or porcelain, were the largest pieces of potter’s work we had ever seen, and they seemed cheap at twenty-five hundred dollars. In the middle part of the two great cases were two small tea-sets of some five pieces each, which were the finest of porcelain in all particulars, and yet no one bought them at one hundred and thirty dollars each; not even the Philadelphia Museum, which showed a marvelous skill in selecting the best. There were also quite a number of excellent pots and vases, from which Mr. Brown secured a very desirable pair, sage-green with white bands containing grotesque designs.
It was to be expected that the Chinese and the Japanese, if they made an exhibit at all, would take the places of honor. This they have done for quantity, and the Japanese do so for quality also.
The Owari porcelain is mostly the blue. The body or paste seemed clear, but there was a want of good form and superiority of coloring and decoration. Some excellent and striking pieces could be found here. But, so far as one visit could reveal, there was nothing equal to the old six-mark blue.
The Kioto is a faience of a weaker body than the Satsuma, and running more to a lemon-yellow. Its decoration is marked by a certain delicacy which in small articles is good, but which in large ones lacks strength. Shimzi, of Kioto, had a case of good pieces.
Meyagama, of Yokohama, had some delightful porcelain vases, decorated in relief with butterflies, plants, etc., which, it is satisfactory to know, were bought by our New York friends.
The case of old wares shown by Kiriu Kosho Kuwaisha, from Tokio, contained a collection which had a kind of mysterious fascination even to us “outside barbarians,” which we suppose might have become an intense desire to possess, could we have known anything about them.
CHAPTER XII.
THE PORCELAINS OF CENTRAL EUROPE—DRESDEN, BERLIN, HÖCHST, ETC.
Dresden China.—Porcelain in Europe.—The Alchemists.—Augustus II.—Böttger.—Tschirnhaus.—Experiments.—Kaolin discovered.—Höroldt and Kändler.—Fine Art, or Decorative Art.—Lindenir.—Angelica Kauffmann.—Rococo-Work.—Collectors.—Marcolini.—Prices.—Marks.—Berlin.—The Seven Years’ War.—Frederick the Great.—Prices.—Marks.—Vienna.—Stenzel.—Maria Theresa.—Lamprecht.—Prices.—Marks.—Hungary.—Herend.—Fischer.—Marks.—Höchst, or Mayence.—Ringler.—Marks.—Frankenthal, or Bavarian.—Carl Theodor.—Melchior.—Prices.—Marks.—Fürstenburg, or Brunswick.—Von Lang.—Prices.—Marks.—Nymphenburg.—Heintzmann and Lindemann.—Prices.—Marks.—Ludwigsburg, or Kronenburg.—Fulda.—Hesse-Cassel.—Switzerland.—Marks.