Chats on Oriental China — Part 90

=Rose.=--This flower was as great a favourite with the Chinese as with all other nations. Many species and varieties were natives of this country. Like the jasmine, it was used by the women for personal adornment.

=Tobacco.=--This plant was grown almost everywhere in China, but its strength varied according to soil and climate. In the north it was of a pale colour, while further south it is said to owe its reddish colour to being steeped in a solution of opium.

There was no regular method employed in either China or Japan for indicating either the time or place at which the porcelain was made. Neither was there any mark by which the workman or artist could be identified. Where marks are used they indicate the period in a dynasty; still it must be constantly borne in mind that the old marks were continually copied in reproductions of a later period made by the Chinese themselves, and other reproductions produced with much fidelity in Paris and elsewhere. So that the collector has to be very careful, especially in buying fine specimens. There seems to be scarcely nothing worth copying that has not received full attention at the hands of the forger. Of course, when these copies are simply offered as reproductions of old pieces, the purchaser, even if he pays a large price, has not much to complain of, but the trouble arises when they are foisted on the public as genuine. The work is so cleverly done, the imitation is so accurate that only the specialist is able to detect the fraud. The texture of the porcelain is closely imitated, and every care is taken to reproduce the scratches and even the dirt. More than that, old pieces that have been damaged are restored so as to appear perfectly genuine throughout, whilst real old pieces, that were originally plain, have been enamelled with the finest "_famille verte_" or "_famille rose_" decoration so as to deceive all but the most skilful expert. Such a case occurred within the author's own experience. An old dish, early Keen-lung, was so decorated with the finest rose decoration, and only the most careful examination revealed the fact that both decoration and glaze had been applied in comparatively recent times--in fact, within a very few years. The owner was indignant when he was informed of this. However, he afterwards came back with the information that he had sold the dish for £20, but he forgot that if the dish had been really old it would have been worth not £20 but £120! Too much dependence, therefore, must not be placed upon the marks or upon the decoration; it is upon the education of the eye, the _tout ensemble_, really upon the merits of the specimens themselves, that dealers and collectors must rely. No training is as good as the handling of fine old pieces, in which the grain of the porcelain, the colours of both the porcelain and the decoration can be studied, and the knowledge thus gained becomes the experience which is, above everything else, the necessary equipment to any one who collects old china.