PLATE LIY.
The interesting object we now present to our readers, at once transports us to the mysterious regionin which so many of the useful and ornamental arts first had their origin. The country in which the art ofprinting, the use of gunpowder, and of the mariner’s compass, the manufactures of silk and porcelain, havebeen prevalent from the earliest ages, must ever command our respect and excite our curiosity.
Except from the vague reports of Marco Polo, Purchas , and some few other travellers being for themost part Jesuit missionaries, and from the minor productions which occasionally reached Europe , little wasknown, until the present century, respecting Chinese art and industry. The celebrated architect of SomersetHouse, Sir William Chambers, it is true, on his return from China , more than a hundred years ago,endeavoured to reproduce in England the architectural forms which had made a strong impression on hisfancy, during his residence as a young man in that country. In 1757 he published a folio volume of“ Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, &c., engraved by the best hands,” from his own sketchesand measurements. The Pagoda in Kew Gardens was erected from his designs in 1762, and in the followingyear he published another folio volume of “ Plans, Elevations, Sections, and Perspective Views of the Gardensand Buildings at Kew.” Sir William’s knowledge of Chinese art was, however, very limited; and by adoptingtoo readily the information given to him by others, he incurred not only severe lampooning by anonymous writers,but the graver reprobation of Lord Macartney; whose embassy to China tended more than any previous event toenlarge our acquaintance with the productions of that extraordinary empire. That expedition led to thepublication of the valuable works of Sir George Staunton and Mr. Barrow; and the restrictions which so longexcluded Europeans from all intercourse with the Chinese having at last been removed, much valuableinformation has been diffused by the works of Mr. Clarke Abel, Mr. Davis, Dr. Gutzlaff , and many others.
In examining the characteristics of Chinese ornamental art, it is difficult to discover what classes ofnatural objects have been selected, as suggestive of the conventional treatment adopted by the designers;since, in almost every article produced, the leading outline rarely recalls anything more refined or elevatedthan the rare fat Josses, and singular monsters of the old dragon china. The highest effort of the artistsappears to have been directed to the accumulation of eccentric and bulbous scrolls and nodules, together withintricate and elaborate geometrical patterns. In this latter variety of design, they display considerableingenuity and dexterity. Proverbial for their skill in direct imitation, and minute and careful copying, theChinese are eminently successful in the representation in colour of fishes, birds, insects, flowers, foliage, andsimilar objects; and the taste with which they apply such ornaments to variously-moulded surfaces indicatesgreat refinement of perception, if not fertility of imagination. Mr. Barrow observes, that “their works ofsculpture are defective in form, attitude, and proportion. They have, indeed, the art of cutting stone, wood,and ivory, remarkably sharp and clean; but their productions are sometimes distorted and unnatural.” Asthe probable cause of the deformity of their representations of the human figure, the same writer dwellsupon that aversion to the practice of anatomy, which the Chinese carry to a remarkable extent.
Within the last ten years the artistic productions of China have been rendered familiar to us by thecollections which have been brought to England, and in the Great Exhibition of 1851 they were presented to