James George Joseph Penderel-Brodhurst

“ Every variety of the lacquer of the Far East was imitated and often improved upon by the Martins—the black with raised gold ornaments, the red, and finally in the wonderful green ground, powdered with gold, they reached the high-water mark of their delightful art. This delicate work, poudre and wavy-lined with gold or semi with flowers overlaid with transparent enamel, is seen at its best on small boxes, fans, needle-cases and such-like. Of the larger specimens from the Martins' factories a vast quantity has disappeared, or been cut up into decorative panels. ”

“ It is the fate of all the great artists of the past to have had their names attached, by popular rumour or interested artifice, to a multitude of works which they never saw, and the Martins have suffered considerably in this respect. That the quality of their production varied between very wide limits is established by existing and undoubted examples; but it is extremely improbable that even their three factories could have turned out the infinite quantity of examples that has been attributed to them. ”

“ Their method and work must have come rapidly into vogue, for in 1730 Guillaume and Simon Etienne Martin were granted by letters patent a twenty years' monopoly, subsequently renewed, of making "toutes sortes d'ouvrages en relief de la Chine et du Japon." At the height of their fame the brothers directed at least three factories in Paris, and in 1748 they were all classed together as a "Manufacture nationale." ”