Peaceful Fight Reviewed

Books/Video : Art

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For those of you who are unfamiliar with David Battie, he rose to fame within the UK as being the Oriental art expert on the "Antiques Roadshow" TV program. This boded well for this Encyclopaedia (bit of a pompous title really, the book only has ~200 pages but is beautifully printed and bound) and the oriental art leanings are clear to see. The book has various original (ie not commonly reproduced elsewhere) pieces of top quality Chinese ceramics and gives a concise history of the development of the art within China. It also details most of the other common porcelain producing nations of the past (ie England, Germany France etc.). A very good and easy read as a starting point within Oriental porcelain.

This is a big (and heavy) book and gives various examples of porcelain form each of the ages within Chinese history. It also gives very detailed description of each piece to aid identification of authentic items / fakes / copies etc. However, for the casual observer, this isn't really a book to read but better to flick through and look at the pictures. one of the problems with the book is that the size makes it a bit unwieldy. Possibly for the serious collector (with serious money to invest) only.

If you were ever in two minds about the technical skill and artistry which existed (and still exists) in the Far East, then you need to read this book. It catalogues a number of awe-inspiring pieces of Japanese ceramic from (nominally) the Satsuma region. If this doesn't get you interesting in Oriental art, nothing will. Be aware that this book varies massively in price (from £50 - £400 !) so shop around.

I might keep going on about how fine Japanese art can be but the pieces within this exhibition are truly stunning and you are left wondering "how did they do that ?" on more than one occasion. The book is a record of an exhibition at the 1st USA Riverfront Arts Center in Delaware 1999 and covers lacquer, ceramics. metalware and textiles. Luckily for you, its on line as well. Go to splendorsofmeiji.com to see the best collection of on-line Japanese art on the Net.

For those of you (like me) running for the dictionary to find what a rebus is, it's best described as pictorial pun, a play on words driven by the similarity of the sound of many Chinese words. For example, a picture of golden fish in a pond is "Jin Yue Mang Tang" (Translated as "Gold Fish pond") but is a rebus which wishes the recipient wealth and long life. This is because in another form "Jin Yue Mang Tang" can be translated as Good and Jade (Jin Yue), Full House (Mang Tang). Thus, seeing the picture means more than just being a nice image. This book is great for unravelling the meanings behind Chinese art and also shows that many contemporary snuff bottles are exceptionally good quality.

This is one of those "primer" type books which try to cover a wide and diverse subject in a very short text. Sometimes this works, but in this case it didn't do it for me. Even after a few attempts to get into it, the text became another one on my "started but never finished" list. The text didn't engage me at all. Maybe it was a "subject too far" in my education and better left to someone else to consider !

Published in 1946, I hoped this series of sketches might give a detailed picture of Japan at that time. Sadly, the sketches are poor (think I could have done better) and so very little can be gained from this book.

Surely one of the most important books on dating and interpreting marks on Chinese ceramics in the World. If you are serious about understanding the dating and attribution of Chinese ceramics you need this book ! It goes though the development of marks an how they build up from a (comparatively) small number of characters. I've use this book on numerous occasions for pieces with unusual or "difficult" marks and have always been satisfied with its ease of use and detailed explanations.

The kilns at Hirado Island, Japan produced one of the most distinctive porcelains for over 300 years. Specialising in blue and white wares, the porcelain is especially smooth and fine which gives it a very distinctive character. This book (by the same author as "Satsuma" given above) has numerous colour plates that truly capture the innovation and skill involved with the development of this centre of porcelain manufacture. Bearing in mind the quality of this porcelain, it is surprising that there are very few books available on the subject. Lawrence has once again made a masterpiece for present and future generations to enjoy.

This book has some quite fantastic plates of miniature Indian art and you have to marvel at how the artisans of this type of artwork had the patience and skill to achieve such perfect works. In some ways, British miniature portraiture art was more "true to life" with the art being a direct reflection of what was being seen. However, the stylised Indian versions seem to have more life, dynamism and detail within them. This might just be down to the exotic nature of the west's view of the East (ie we all see interest in things that are unfamiliar) but this book certainly gives a good cross section of the different styles that have developed over the past 1000+ years. My main criticism of the book is that the plates are not referenced in the text. This makes it difficult to cross reference and consider the various artistic traits that the author is trying to describe. Thankfully though, the art often speaks for itself.