MARKS AND SEALS
is thus represented by cycles, and if each cycle were accompanied by a number representing its place in the long series, the correpsonding date could be fixed certainly. But there is no such aid in the case of porcelain marks. What the cyclical indication shows is merely the year of the cycle itself. Thus, when a date is given, as "elder earth of tiger year," or "younger water of bird year," nothing can be inferred except that the reference is to the 15th and 10th years respectively of a certain sixty-year period. Cyclical dates occur very rarely on porcelain, and when they do occur, their intelligibility depends on collateral indications furnished by the ware itself. The following two examples are taken from the "Catalogue" of the late Mr. Franks:—
1. Wo-shin nien Liang-ki sho = painted by Liang-ki in the year of the "elder earth of the hare"; i.e., the 5th year of a cycle, which from the quality of the piece, Mr. Franks identifies as the 75th cycle. Taking 2637 B.C. as the basic year, the 75th sexagenary cycle began in the year 1803, and its fifth year corresponds with 1808.
2. Yu sin-chou nien chih = made in the year of the recurring younger metal of the ox: i.e., the 38th year of the cycle. The qualifier "recurring" is arbitrarily in reference to the fact that this year occurred twice in the long reign of Kang-hsi. Hence it can be fixed as the year 1721.
YEAR-PERIOD MARKS.
Sung Dynasty (960—1279 A. D.).
3. Ta-Sung Ching-tê nien chih = made in the Ching-tê period of the Great Sung (1004—1007). The first use of a year-mark on porcelain is attributed to the Emperor Chin-tsung, in whose reign the Ching-tê-chên factory was established. The mark here given is the seal-character form, which was seldom used by any potters before the seventeenth century. Consequently, this mark, No. 3, must be regarded as a mere ornament.
4. Ordinary form of No. 3. This mark is found on some old specimens of blue-and-white porcelain in Japanese collections, but it must be regarded as a forgery.
5. Ta-Sung Yuan-fung nien chih = made in the Yuan-fung period of the Great Sung (1078—1086 A.D.). This mark, like No. 4, is found on some archaic specimens of blue-and-white porcelain in Japanese collections.
Ming Dynasty (1368—1644 A.D.).
6. Hung-wu nien chih = made in the Hung-wu era (1368—1398). This era belongs to the Ming dynasty, but the mark is not found with the prefatory ideographs Ta-Ming.
7. Yung-lo nien chih = made in the Yung-lo era (1403—1425). This era also is seldom found in conjunction with the mark of the dynasty (Ta-Ming).
8. Another form of No. 7. This form is nearly always found in relief.
9. Ta-Ming Hsuan-te nien chih = made in the Hsuan-te era of the Great Ming (1426—1435).
10. The seal form of No. 9. The use of the seal character in the Hsuan-te era was exceptional.
11. Ta-Ming Cheng-hwa nien chih = made in Cheng-hwa era of the Great Ming (1465—1487).
12. Cheng-hwa nien chih = same as No. 6, without the ideographs Ta-Ming.
13. The seal form of No. 12. This form is seldom genuine.
14. Ta-Ming Hung-chih nien chih = made in the Hung-chih era of the Great Ming (1488—1505).
15. Ta-Ming Chêng-te nien chih = made in the Chêng-te era of the Great Ming (1502—1521).
16. Ta-Ming Chia-tsing nien chih = made in the Chia-tsing era of the Great Ming (1522—1566).
17. Ta-Ming Lung-ching nien chih = made in the Lung-ching era of the Great Ming (1567—1572).
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