Page 261 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

K'ang Hsi Polychrome Porcelains 159

rubbing with sand or grit are not difficult for the experienced eye
to detect.

As already noted, the black of the precious black-ground vases,
the famille noire as they are sometimes called, is formed by overlayino-
a dull black pigment with washes of transparent green enamel.
The result is a rich greenish black, the enamel imparting life and
fire to the dull pigment ; and as the green is fluxed with lead it tends
to become iridescent, giving an additional green reflet to the black
surface. The modern potters have learnt to impart an iridescence

to their enamels, and one often sees a strong lustre on specimens
which are clearly " hot from the kiln " ; but these enamels have

a sticky appearance differing widely from the mellow lustre which

partial decay has spread over the K'ang Hsi colours. It will be

found, besides, that the shapes of the modern copies are wanting

in the grace and feeling of the originals.

This type of porcelain enamelled on the biscuit is particularly

well suited to statuettes and ornamental objects of complex form.

The details of the biscuit remain sharp and clear, and there is no

thick white glaze to soften the projections and fill up the cavities,

for the washes of transparent enamel are too slight to obscure the

modelling. Consequently we find in this style of ware all the familiar

Chinese figures, the Buddhist and Taoist deities, demigods, and sages,

which, like our own madonnas and saints, mostly conform to well

established conventions, differing mainly in their size, the quality of

their finish, the form of their bases or pedestals, and the details of

the surface colouring. Of these the figures of Kuan-yin ^ are the

most frequent and the most attractive, the compassionate goddess

with sweet pensive face, mounted on a lotus pedestal or a rocky

throne and sometimes canopied with a cloak which serves as a hood

and a covering for her back and shoulders. She has moreover a long

flowing robe open at the neck, and displaying a jewelled necklace

on her bare bosom. There are, besides, the god of Longevity the
:

Eight Immortals : Tung-fang So with his stolen peaches : the star-
gods of Longevity, Rank, and Happiness : the twin genii of Mirth

and Harmony : Kuan-ti, the god of War, on a throne or on horse-
back : Lao-tzu on his ox: the demon-like Kuei Hsing, and the

dignified Wen Ch'ang, gods of Literature; and all the throng.

There are a few animal forms such as the horse, the ox, the elephant,

the mythical ch'i-lin, and most common of all the Buddhist Uons

1 See p. 110.