XIANG, Yuanbian.

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Noted Porcelains of Successive Dynasties with Comments and Illustrations. First edition, an outstanding example of colour lithography, pleasingly with the publisher's prospectus. Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590) was the greatest Chinese art collector of the 16th century. The text and intricate illustrations reproduce the contents of a manuscript descriptive catalogue of Xiang's collection that was rediscovered in the 1880s.A pawnbroker by trade, Xiang Yuanbian's wealth allowed him to bridge the gulf between connoisseurs and parvenus. At his legendary Tienlai Studio, he gathered some of the true rarities of Chinese painting, calligraphy, and porcelain. Today, items with his ownership seals are found in the most important art collections around the world. His catalogue was first translated by the diplomat and ceramics expert Stephen Bushell, who published the fruits of his labours in 1908. For the present edition, Kuo Pao-Ch'ang and John C. Ferguson (both art historians) collated the 1880s manuscript against another surviving version, correcting errors in transcription and artistic fact.Copies were offered at the staggering sum of 300 Mexican silver dollars, the price reflecting the quality of the production. The colour lithographs represent the pinnacle of the artform, while the text was printed on paper made from young shoots of bamboo, in emulation of a papermaking technique from the Southern Tang period (10th century CE). The type used to print the English text was specially cast

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