The Later Ceramic Wares of China; Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, etc., of the K'ang Hsi, Yung Chêng, Chi'en Lung and Other Periods of the Ch'ing Dynasty.
London: Ernest Been Ltd., 1925. 4to; 11 x 8 7/8 inches (280 x 223 mm). xxix, 156 pp + 26 color plates (including frontispiece and 8 folding) and 50 halftone plates. Illustrations are printed on glossy paper, each item is identified and captioned on the facing tissue guard. Publishers green-grey cloth with gilt motif on front cover and gilt title. Light wear on the edges and extremities of the spine; binding firm and square, hinges intact; text pages clean and evenly toned, plates clean and bright.
A lavishly illustrated guide to Qing dynasty ceramics, published at a time when Chinese porcelain was not fully understood by art historians, remains a standard reference work and a tribute to the impact of its author on 20th-century sinology. Robert Lockhart Hobson (1872-1941) spent his entire professional career, 1897 to 1938, at the British Museum becoming Keeper of Ceramics and Ethnography in 1921 and Keeper of Oriental Antiquities in 1934. During this time, he was part of a group of curators who galvanized the study of Chinese art and material culture both within the museum and beyond. In addition to the present work and its prequel, Wares of the Ming Dynasty (1923) [our inventory no. 1660], Hobson published numerous works on English and Far Eastern ceramics, including a catalogue of the Chinese ceramics collection of Sir Percival David, like Hobson an authority on the subject.
A very nice copy of the scarce, beautifully produced first edition.
Condition: Very good+.
Item number: 1661
Price: $800.00
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