It has been already observed that crackled blue and white porcelain of the steatitic kind is found with the date marks of Ming Emperors, and there can be little doubt that it was made from early Ming times, but as the style of painting seems to have known no change it will be always difficult to distinguish the early specimens. It is safe to assume that almost all the specimens in Western collections belong to the Ch’ing dynasty, a few to the K’ang Hsi period, but the bulk of the better examples to the reigns of Yung Chêng and Ch’ien Lung. Modern copies of the older wares also abound. [Illustration: Plate 91.--Blue and White K’ang Hsi Porcelain. Fig. 1.--Triple Gourd Vase, white in blue designs of archaic dragons and scrolls of season flowers. Height 36½ inches. _Dresden Collection._ Fig. 2.--Beaker, white magnolia design slightly raised, with blue background. Height 18 inches. _British Museum._ Fig. 3.--“Grenadier Vase,” panels with the Paragons of Filial Piety. Height 44 inches. _Dresden Collection._] [Illustration: Plate 92.--Blue and White K’ang Hsi Porcelain. Fig. 1.--Sprinkler with lotus design. Height 6¼ inches. _British Museum._ Fig. 2.--Bottle with biscuit handles, design of graceful ladies (_mei jen_). Height 11 inches. _Fitzwilliam Museum (formerly D. G. Rosetti Collection)_. Fig. 3.--Bottle with handles copied from Venetian glass. Height 6¼ inches. _British Museum._] [Illustration: Plate 93.--Blue and White Porcelain. Fig. 1.--Tazza with Sanskrit characters. Ch’ien Lung mark. Height 4¼ inches. _British Museum._ Fig. 2.--Water Pot, butterfly and flowers, steatitic porcelain. Wan Li mark. Height 1⅞ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ Fig. 3.--Bowl, steatitic porcelain. Immortals on a log raft. K’ang Hsi period. Diameter 5¾ inches. _British Museum._] [Illustration: Plate 94.--Porcelain decorated in enamels on the biscuit. Fig. 1.--Ewer in form of the character _Shou_ (Longevity); blue and white panel with figure designs. Early K’ang Hsi period. Height 8¾ inches. _Salting Collection._ Fig. 2.--Ink Palette, dated 31st year of K’ang Hsi (1692 A.D.). Length 5¼ inches. _British Museum._]