PORCELAIN [Illustration: _PLATE I._ JAPANESE IMARI WARE] PORCELAIN BY EDWARD DILLON, M.A. [Illustration: The Connoisseur’s Library] METHUEN AND CO. 36 ESSEX STREET LONDON _First published in 1904._ PREFACE How extensive is the literature that has grown up of late years round the subject of porcelain may be judged from the length of our ‘selected’ list of books dealing with this material. Apart from the not inconsiderable number of general works on the potter’s art in French, German, and English, there is scarcely to be found a kiln where pottery of one kind or another has been manufactured which has not been made the subject of a separate study. And yet, as far as I know, the very definite subdivision of ceramics, which includes the porcelain of the Far East and of Europe, has never been made the basis of an independent work in England. It has been the aim of the writer to dwell more especially on the nature of the paste, on the glaze, and on the decoration of the various wares, and above all to accentuate any points that throw light upon the relations with one another--especially the historical relations--of the different centres where porcelain has been made. Less attention has been given to the question of marks. In the author’s opinion, the exaggerated importance that has been given to these marks, both by collectors and by the writers that have catered to them, has more than anything else tended to degrade the study of the subject, and to turn off the attention from more essential points. This has been above all the case in England, where the technical side has been strangely neglected. In fact, we must turn to French works for any thorough information on this head.