CHINA
after its kind, become daily a commoner article of furniture. Even the genuine connoisseur is startled by these new specimens. Too essentially selfish—every enthusiastic collector is incapable of altruism—to be glad that the general public is gaining access to a species, however spurious, of the porcelains he loves, he trembles before the terrible contingency that all the ancient skill may be recovered one of these days, and that his much valued gems may be vulgarised by a crowd of cheap and universally accessible rivals. Probably the fear is chimerical, yet to say so with absolute confidence is difficult, seeing that even the celebrated "soft-paste" porcelain also is represented in modern imitations. It is a singular fact that until quite recently this beautiful variety of ware was almost completely neglected by foreign collectors. Of late years, however, there has been an awakening, especially on the part of American connoisseurs, and the resulting demand has not only drawn a number of fine specimens from Chinese private collections, but has also induced modern potters to apply all their care and skill to the work of reproduction. They have not succeeded quite so well as in the case of the ordinary hard-paste, for in the modern Kai-pien-yao it will be found almost invariably that the crackle has an accidental appearance, that the pâte is rough, that the decoration is weak and scratchy, and that the glaze is discoloured rather than mellow. Still the imitations are quite good enough to deceive ordinary eyes, and it is certain that a number of new specimens have gone to America, doubtless to find ready purchasers. As for other varieties of porcelain, the process of reproduction is equally active. The so-called "apple green"
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