Chinese Ceramics de Neave-Hill, W.B.R.; Garner, Harry Sir (foreword) - 1975

John Bartholomew & Son Limited, Edinburgh&London, 1975 Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. English text; Hardcover (cloth with dust jacket); 21.8 x 30.6 cm; 0.876 Kg; 176 pages with black and white and colour illustrations.; Used book in good condition with signs of wear in the dust jacket, minor signs of wear in text and the author signature glued to the copyright page. Dust jacket now protected with a clearcover. INCLUDES LOOSE LETTER HANDWRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR DATED FROM 1975; In Chinese Ceramics the author has summarised the main features of Chinese Ceramic development from the Neolithic pottery of 2000 B.C. to the enamelled porcelain of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. If there is any special emphasis, it lies in the very full treatment of the beautiful monochrome wares of the Sung Dynasty, a subject which the author has specially studied. The Sung dynasty is rightly regarded as the classical age of Chinese ceramics, and the Sung Wares, often undecorated and relying entirely on form, colour, and texture for their appeal, are supreme achievements of the potter's art. But the earlier less sophisticated and the later highly decorative wares all have their masterpieces, many of which are described and illustrated in this book. Throughout Chinese history foreign influence has had a decisive effect on the arts. Sometimes this influence has been a by-product of Chinese imperialism, sometimes a result of foreign incursion; but in neither case have the influences engulfed the native Chinese Art. To understand these influences some knowledge of Chinese is desirable. The author, as a professional historian, is well able to deal with this problem and a valuable feature of the book is the setting of the ceramics of each period against their historical background..