Porcelain - 90 Ninety Works of Art in Full Colour [Hardcover] Tait, Hugh

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SPRING ART BOOKS
PORCELAIN
The hinese were the fst to make
porcelain and for centuries guarded the
secret with the utmost rigour
The first pieces to leave China in the
Middle Ages (some were peobably
brought back by Marco Polo) were
highly prized at the princely courts of
Europe. Later, however, the supply of
porcelain increased and, with it, the
endeavours of the European potters to
discover the secret of making it. Many
attempts were made, with only limited
success, until in 1709 the first true
European porcelain was produced at
Meissen near Dresden Ten years later
Meissen's secret was pirated, and gradu
ally the knowledge spread throughout
Europe
Hugh Tait, F.S.A, Asistant Keeper
of the British and Medieval Antiquities
at the British Museum, gives a vivid
account of the rivalry between the facto-
ries, deals with the various techniques
used to achieve purity of colour and
describes some of the finest picces,
including some which have not survived.
He has also written the Notes on the
fifty-five magnificent illustrations, all in
full colour, and all specially photo-
graphed for this book Pictures of
thirty-seven of the ninety splendid pieces
have never before been published, and
a further thirty-cight are here illustrated
in colour for the first time. Thus a wide
selection of some of the finest porcelain
ever produced may now be enjoyed with
the help of Mr Tait's authoritative
comment’s ,