the most celebrated Yi-hsing potter was Shih Ta-pin, who followed in the footsteps of the great Kung Ch´un, and eventually surpassed him. Brinkley's translation gives us very precise views of what the true form of the teapot should be. It should be small, so that the bouquet of the tea be not dispersed, and every guest should have a pot to himself. It should be shallow, with a cover which is convex inside; and it is very important that the spout should be straight. Crooked spouts were very liable to become obstructed by the tea leaves. "One drinks tea for pleasure, and one may justly feel irritated if the beverage declines to come out of the pot." The true form of teapot, we are told, began with Kung Ch´un, from which one infers that the tea bowls of the T´ang and Sung usage were in vogue up to his time. But the correct shape once established, the Yi-hsing potters soon began to take liberties with it, and to twist it into all manner of fanciful forms, such as fruits (persimmon, pomegranate, finger citron), the leaf or the seed-pod of the lotus, creature forms such as fish leaping from waves, a phœnix, and innumerable other quaint shapes, always skilfully modelled and often of high artistic merit. [Illustration: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Plate 50.--Yi-hsing Stoneware, sometimes called _Buccaro_. Figs. 1-4.--Teapots in the Dresden Collection, late seventeenth century. (1) Buff with dark patches. Height 5 inches. (2) Red ware with pierced outer casing. Diameter 5½ inches. (3) Black with gilt vine sprays. Height 4½ inches. (4) Red ware moulded with lion design. Height 4¾ inches. Fig. 5.--Peach-shaped water vessel, red ware. Diameter 4⅛ inches. _Dresden Collection._ Fig 6.--Red teapot, moulded design of trees, etc. Inscription containing the name of Ch´ien Lung. Diameter 4½ inches. _Hippisley Collection._]