The Baur Collection, Geneva, Chinese Ceramics Volume Four: Painted and Polychrome Porcelains of the Ch'ing Dynasty

English and French text; Hardcover (cloth with dust jacket); 24 x 29 cm; 1.8 kg; Introduction of 22 pages followed by an extensive catalogue with black and white and colour illustrations, each with caption.; OUT OF PRINT. LIMITED EDITION OF 1100 COPIES, 50 DELUXE COPIES IN LEATHER NUMBERED FROM I to L; 1000 STANDARD COPIES IN CLOTH NUMBERED FROM 1 to 1000 AND 50 COPIES RESERVED TO EMPLOYEES, OF WHICH THIS IS NUMBER 879.; Used with signs of wear on the exterior and interior. The slipcase shows yellowing and wear marks throughout, the edges show minor bumps and signs of wear, the top left side has a tear. The dust jacket shows wear marks, edge wear, scuffs and scratches, wear mark on the top right side of the front cover (likely on the laminated layer. The outside text block shows some yellowing. Interior with minor yellowing.; When the Baur Collection museum opened in 1964, few people were aware that this private museum housed one of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics in Europe.; "The last volume provided an apt demonstration of the new levels of refined workmanship achieved in the porcelain factories of Ching-tê- chên under the Ch'ing dynasty, as a result of the substantial reorganisation put in hand in the time of the K'ang Hsi Emperor (1662-1722). In the perfection of the white porcelain material, the smooth, clear lustre of its glaze and the close attention paid to every aspect of the throwing, finishing and firing of the ware the better products of this time leave nothing to be desired, and these standards were ably maintained down to the end of the 18th century, under the reigns of Yung Chêng (1723-35) and Ch'ien Lung (1736-95). As regards technical proficiency indeed the output of this time is superior to all but the highest levels of the Ming, whatever our preference may be in the matter of design. An outstanding feature of its production was the greatly-expanded range of single- colour glazes, and as we have seen, these are among the especial strengths of the Baur Collection. Yet despite the glorious achievement they represent we should not lose sight of the fact that just as under the Ming, wares with various types of painted decoration remained much the more numerous. The superior quality of the porcelain itself gave added encouragement to the talents of the painter, and whether the decoration was applied by the underglaze or overglaze technique the result was the same: fresh subtleties were elicited both in tonality, and in the varied exploitation of a given palette. The variety of these Ch'ing painted wares is indeed greater than anything we have met with before: this arises both from a diversification of styles, and from the fact that production was raised to unprecedented levels, in order to fulfil the demands of a vast and profitable export trade: thus the collector is faced with a very wide field of choice. In this instance the standard established over previous volumes is well maintained and the proportion of wares presumably made in the Imperial factory is again high, while at the same time most of the significant types of the period, including export wares, will be found represented. Prominent among them are the blue-and-white porcelains and of course those two celebrated families the famille verte and famille rose convenient terms still in wide use, the origin of which we owe to the writings of Albert Jacquemart in the mid-nineteenth century. They embrace a very much wider progeny than their titles at first sight suggest. These major groups are joined by those of the san-ts'ai, the tou-ts'ai, and other more novel combinations of existing ingredients especially as regards enamels, that were sometimes put to quite untraditional uses. Indeed it was in this direction perhaps that the genius of the Ch'ing dynasty flowed most freely and naturally in its search for characteristic expression." excerpt from the introduction by John Ayers, Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1974.…