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Show 1 WK W I ! WHAT A ip A MAVE I)0NE IN 1 1 HI If THE- 3MlK AkKjk CERAMfiC ARTS'!! iVI Jj TF all signs do not fail, Japan bids eHvtX fair to gain for herself as high a jj rank among the great political 4 3k powers of the world as she now fr j holds in the realm of decorative h arts. This oriental Island has long for-jB for-jB mulatcd to continental people an lm-t lm-t portant phase of lesthctlc beauty. At the present moment, when, these plucky Jf, little Japanese are making, such a name Rf for themselves as lighters, it is lnter- - estlng to recall some of their victories H in peaceful arts which will always be l ) no less renowned than those of war, jj l Most of u.s are familiar In layman ( fashion with the exquisite porcelains, K textile fabrics, lacquer, metal work, 5 bronze and Ivories wrought in this fas-X fas-X cinatlng oriental country, and to the student of ceramics Japanese pottery. I with Its wealth of color, exquisite In- lays and grace of symbolic treatment, I offers a wonderful field for interesting I research. Where every dash of the bruBh on a simple fan and every design H on a gown Is emblematic of rank or 3 sentiment, a study of Japanese art Is really a study of their history. The ceramic art in tho land of the mikado owes Its existence to the hu- inane Instincts of the wife of un an- !clent ruler. In the early history of this island It was the custom to encircle tho mound where illustrious dead were laid w'lth human victims burled in a circle up to their necks, there to remain until un-til starvation mercifully came to their release. The dying groans of those victims at the obsequies of a royal prince so touched the tender heart of the mikado's wife that when the time came for this" respect to be paid to his I royal spouse the emperor ordered a ' '"hundred workers in clay to be sent from Korea to make terra cotta figures fig-ures of horses, men and other things to take tho place of human victims. So from the potters wheel introduced In this grewsome fashion sprang the ceramic ce-ramic arts In the seventh century. Palence, or common earthenware, was the only kind made for Dvo centuries, pure Japanese porcelain being unknown un-known until the reign of the great III-deyoshl. III-deyoshl. Sf. Tho Japanese admit the influence of sfetrtV' Cb(na and Korea in their artistic edu- KLti caVfon. and during the reign of HIJo Hraj men went to China to learn working in RSgJ cUiy and the use of pigments, several jyBl workers coming back to their native jM country to set up kilns of their own. ' fflll The moat Important kilns were at Seto 'IM! d owarl. Seto mono ("seto," china. jiaH d "mono," thing) la the Japanese these days pieces of porcelain were only made for princes and nobles for their own use and aH gifts to be presented pre-sented to other dalmios. The ceramic art nas now aecccnueu to ii iraae, out in those days the artisan was an artist, and each great house had its special potter, who considered it honor enough to make his mark with his finger nail on a tea bowl or an ornament lor his master's "tokonoma," or nook, without a thought of wages beyond a few bronze cash a day to live on. The Japanese war of 1SGS opened up the decorative arts of this country to west- KmB 11"" w1 equivalent for china and Is used as a generic term for household crockery. Real porcelain was. first made by the captives the Japanese brought from Korea. These captives settled at Busen, Hlzen and Satsuma, which places are the oldest seats of the ceramic ce-ramic art. The kilns near Tokyo, Yokohama Yo-kohama and Kaga one now hears so much about are of recent date. Porcelains reached their greatest perfection per-fection during the thirty years when Japan was shut to foreign Influence, a peace time In which the arts became more sumptuous than ever before. In EXAMP JAPANESE CERAMIC WAIIE I crn nations, as valuable collections were sold to Europe and the United States to ralflc money for war expenses. .erven at vnc present time the nnest specimens of faience and porcelain which are world famous are made In the most primitive way. The force of an establishment Is often merely father and son and hardly ever consists of more than a few men. Tho potters sit in their dingy reed or thatch cottages under paper windows, laying on colors with the skill of magicians. The kilns In a vlllace where norcelaln making 1b the principal Industry are built on the hills and are the common property of the workers, each taking a turn in the firing. New designs are made from a pattern, but the most common ones arc perfectly remembered. The biscuit, or foundation, Is often made in one plp.ee and the glaze put on In another. Large factories have been established during the last ten years, which have Improved the fortunes of the workman, but the art has suffered. In these factories labor is specialized, one man making spouts, another bodies and others handles and ears. The Japanese have Introduced Into common utility some alloys unknown to Europe, and In lacquers their Inventions In-ventions are wonderful and beautiful. An authority says: "There is as much difference between kinds and qualities of 'lac' as there is in marquetry. The most highly prized Is the lacquer on gold ground which is usually found in little boxes, the luminous effect of the lac' being heightened by the Introduction Introduc-tion of sliver foliage on a minute scale or tiny landscape work and figures charmingly treated with gold, highly burnished." Satsuma Is ono of the most celebrated of the Japanese porcelains, and the old specimens, which date from 1624, have no colored decoration. The handsomest pieces made at the beginning of tho eighteenth century are rich In gliding, glid-ing, and the general decoration is In gold and bright tints. The body of Satsuma Is usually cream, white or buff, although red, green and blue colorings col-orings are sometimes seen In this ware. rwost or it nas a crackle iounaatlon, called hiblkl, or snake porcelain, the cracks Imitating a serpent's skin. Old Hisen is a very valuable ware, and the modern examples are certainly sufllolently beautiful to please the most exacting critic. Arlta and Karatsu are the chief places of its manufacture. The patterns aro traced in under the glaze and the colored enamels laid on over them, the entlro decoration being fused at one firing. A few miles from the town of Teral are the clay beds of KutanI, which furnish fur-nish the clay for the making of exquisitely exqui-sitely lovely specimens of Kaga. The characteristic color of this pottery is red, produced by oxide of iron, with figure designs, lines and bands of gold. Owarl Is noted for Its cloisonne work both on copper and porcelain, although the finest work of this kind Is done in China, The shimmering gold and silver sil-ver effect of cloisonne Is obtained by applying transparent enamel on silver, copper and bronze bodies. The enamels are worked out in wire, which form a cell-like net over the metal foundation, which Is then filled with colored porcelains. The firing is done with a lava stone under the water until the tones of a finished specimen rival a jewel In brilliance. Egg pottery, which Is delicately lovely, love-ly, Is a product of Kioto. It somewhat resembles Satsuma, but Is of a yellower yellow-er tint and crackled. Its decoration Is almost Invariably that of grasses or sprays of flowers. Tho vases standing many feet high, having a dull red glaze and being pictured pic-tured over with flgures of warriors and mythological heroes In gold Inlay, are the characteristic wares 6f Eraku. In their bronze work the Japaneso show an Indian treatment, the result of Buddhist influence, but In their modeling of the nude is introduced the Greek art, Impress coming through the ame country. The lotus flower is a i favorlto design of tho- Japaneso artist and Is the emblem of eternal calm. The lotus springs from tho mud Is tho Asiatic Asi-atic answer to him who teaches that the human heart Is corrupt. Pictures of Nirvana Buddha sitting on a lotus flower are tho symbol of poetic and religious re-ligious truth. Tho Ivories alone carved by these Ingenious and artistic people are exquisite enough to give the Japanese Japa-nese an enviable position In the art world. Although commercialism has doubtless doubt-less crept in and ruined the Individual and personal Influences aeon in the older old-er specimens of Japanese ceramics, still the modern spirit Is beautiful and satisfying. sat-isfying. GRACE GRISCOM. |