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99
A short [[underlined]]Makimono[[/underlined]] in the style of North Sung, attributed to Li San, had a noble critical inscription attached which I was told was written by a famous Sung calligraphist, as well as another by the Emperor Ch'ien Lung. The subject was pine trees in winter.
A large winter landscape with snow-covered cottage was characteristic of Ma Yuan, whose seal and signature were on it.
[[underlined]]CHUN YAO[[/underlined]]
Of the pottery, the most interesting specimens 
where a pair of remarkable [[underlined]]Chun Yao[[/underlined]] bulb dishes of medium size 
both numbered 1. Of these, one piece showed a predominance of perfect blue with only small patches of the highly prized wine red. The other was almost entirely covered with reds,-- wine color, plum color, and purple. Each had three legs of darker and coarser clay than that used for the body. 
None of the gentlemen present could give a satisfactory explanation of the significance of the numbers on these and similar pieces. The theory that the numbers indicate gradations of sizes was discounted by our host in the light of the fact that he had seen number 10 on both the largest and the smallest sizes of [[underlined]]Chun Yao[[/underlined]]. On the whole he was inclined to believe that it was merely a method of marking the individual 
pieces of a set which were meant to be together, as he had seen bowls and saucers marked identically and other bowls and saucers of the same size marked with another number as though 
belonging to a different set. He did not believe that the numbers were equivalent to potters' seals or signatures, or to dates of manufacture.
[[underlined]]NANKING[[/underlined]]
On the way from Shanghai to Hankow I did not find