Customer Reviews

Chinese Export Porcelain, Standard Patterns and Forms, 1780-1880: Standard Patterns and Forms

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own several recent Nancy Schiffer books on Japanese porcelain that are of the highest quality in every regard; layout, printing, very clear close-up color photos, and with informative captions relative to the piece being illustrated.

Based on this experience I purchased this earlier book and now regret it.

The cover of this book is very misleading as to the contents.

The pictures are mostly black and white, taken at a distance, out of focus, and poorly printed.

This book is of little help when learning Chinese porcelain because the main attributes that educate are the subtle color variations used in the enamels and the base form which is not shown at all in this book.

Also, the captions of the photos do not provide specific information such as dates, kilns, etc.

The majority of this book is devoted to Rose Medallion when there are countless other decorations the Chinese produced during the era this book covers.

Finally, the type face and printing used in this book is most primative, amateur, and unpleasant.

I highly recommend you do not buy this book unless you have low expectations and are mainly interested in Rose Medallion dinnerware.

I have to say that for my appraisal library that Schiffer publications are some of my favorites. This one actually by Herbert Peter and Nancy Schiffer is an excellent source of information.

Beautifully done with easy to read text and loaded with b/w photos and a smallish section of color images. The writings are smooth and though done with a scholars hand never come off as pretentious or diffucult to understand. I wouldn't recommend this to someone if they were looking for lengthy text about the social, geographic or dynasty history of 18th -19th century China. Its a good guide for those who need relevant information and need it now. Highly recommended for the beginner as well as the more advanced collector or dealer.

I have used this book as an initial guide in my collecting of Rose Medallion and other Chinese Export Porcelain. Very good basic source.