[Illustration: Fig. 282.--Minton Porcelain. Pate-sur-pate, by Solon. (Wales Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)] The name of M. Solon recalls at once the peculiar style of decoration called “_Pate-sur-pate_,” or paste upon paste. The process has been long known in China, and was first attempted in Europe by M. Ebelman at Sèvres about thirty years ago. The experiments were successful, and some very fine works were issued. The process was taken to England from Sèvres by M. Solon, who was engaged a few years ago by the Messrs. Minton (Fig. 282). In Mr. A. B. Daniells’s collection at the Centennial Exhibition, some examples of _pate-sur-pate_ by M. Solon attracted general attention. There were two pairs of vases of a pure Greek shape, with a body of a rich bronze or chocolate color. On this, in white relief, were figures symbolizing Fire and Water, and a group of the Graces accompanied by Cupid in a race. The forms were exquisitely drawn, and were half revealed by the semi-transparent drapery. More usual grounds are a dark green and a grayish tint, either of which has a soft effect. A second specimen is given at Fig. 352. This method of treatment consists in applying to the surface to be decorated white liquid porcelain as a pigment. The application is repeated until the necessary relief is obtained, when the figures are finished by carving or scraping. Repeated firings are necessary before glazing, and the decoration, which is opaque while wet, becomes more or less transparent, according to the thickness of the pigment. The process is one of the nicest and most difficult in the entire range of ceramic art, as a mistake once made cannot be remedied, and the glaze has a tendency to destroy the fine outlines of the figures. CHAPTER VI. GERMANY AND CENTRAL EUROPE. Early Pottery.--Lake Dwellers.--Early German.--Peculiar Shapes.--How Peasants Account for Relics.--Roman Epoch.--Tin Enamel.--Leipsic.--Breslau.--Nuremberg.--The Hirschvogels.--Villengen.--Höchst.--Marburg.--Bavaria.--Switzerland. --Belgium.--Delft.