BUSHELL, Stephen Wootton.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Chinese Porcelain Before the Present Dynasty. A scarce offprint of this study by the physician at the British Legation in Beijing, here attractively bound with the original wrappers retained.As the author writes, "the main purpose of my paper is to bring before the notice of the Society an illustrated manuscript catalogue, in four volumes, by a collector of the sixteenth century of our era, who has drawn in colour and described eighty two examples of the different kinds of porcelain that were appreciated three hundred years ago. This catalogue comes from the collection of the hereditary Princes of Yi, the dispersion of whose treasures has occupied many of the curio-men of Peking during the last ten years" (p. 2).Bushell (1844-1908) was stationed at the British Legation between 1868 and 1900, during which time he established an extraordinary collection of Chinese art and antiquities. Following his death, the majority of the collection was acquired from his widow by the British Museum.

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