1. Jar, Ming Dynasty. Chinese, with Persian Brass Cover. (_Frontispiece._)
3. Bowl, Period of Chia Ching, and Plate, Period of Yung Chêng. Chinese.
4. Ewer, Period of Wan Li. Chinese, with Augsburg Mount.
5. Vase, Chinese Celadon Ware with Louis XVI. Ormolu Mount.
6. Vase, Fuchien Porcelain, with Louis XIV. Silver-gilt Mount.
7. Jar, “Blue and White.” Chinese, Period of K’ang Hsi.
8. Vase, _famille verte_. Chinese, Period of K’ang Hsi.
9. Vase in Archaic Style. Chinese, Period of Yung Chêng.
10. Bottle, Medici Porcelain. Florentine.
11. Bowl, probably made at Pisa, dated 1638.
12. Toilette-pot, St. Cloud, with Ormolu Mount.
13. Toilette-pot, Chantilly, with Japanese Design.
15. Ewer and Basin, Sèvres, yellow ground.
16. Écuelle and Stand, Sèvres, Turquoise-blue, with Panels after Boucher.
19. Vase, Sèvres, _bleu de roi_, given by Gustavus III. to Catherine II.
25. Teapot, Chelsea, Claret-colour, with Figures after Watteau.
26. Vase, Chelsea-Derby, with Biscuit Handles.
27. Vase, Worcester, with Japanese Pattern.
It is the experience probably of most Western amateurs of porcelain to pass through three successive stages of development in their appreciation of an art which, even for the uninitiated,--for those who have no knowledge of its history and little understanding of its technical aspects,--is not lacking in charm and fascination. For, indeed, there is about most porcelain, of whatever kind, some quality of alluring grace, a daintiness of material, or a pleasing play of colour, which makes an appeal at first sight to the eye of all lovers of things beautiful. Mere casual pleasure in its superficial attractiveness will not fail to give place to an ever-deepening interest for those who will take the pains to learn its inner secrets, to discover in it, expressed in enduring form, the creative power of a craftsman’s soul, nay more, a reflection of the very spirit of humanity in its changing moods, varying in conformity with racial differences or environment of time and place. This wondrous product of human skill,--as it were a new stone of rare value added to those which nature has given us,--will assuredly kindle in the hearts of its admirers a desire to learn something of its story. They will find, in their endeavours to understand its mysteries, that their interest is aroused in the first place by the porcelain of their own country, reflecting as it does a culture in the midst of which they have themselves been born and bred.