Page 274 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

i62 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

often decided on the purity and brilliance of this colour alone. There
is, however, something in the nature of the enamel which seems to
affect the surrounding glaze ; at any rate, it is often ringed about
by a kind of halo of dull lustre, reflecting faint rainbow tints to a
distance of perhaps an inch from the edge of the blue. It is as
though an exhalation from the blue enamel deposited a thin film
of lustre on the glaze, and it is a very frequent occurrence, though
not always in the same conspicuous degree. Collectors who are
ever looking for a sign have been tempted to hail its presence as
a sure proof of antiquity. But it is by no means constant on the
old famille verte, and it has yet to be proved that the same enamel
will not produce a similar effect on the modern glaze.

In view of the appreciation o^ famille verte porcelain at the present
day a contemporary criticism will be of interest. D'Entrecolles
in his first letter,^ referring to " porcelain painted with landscapes
in a medley of almost all the colours heightened with gilding," says :
" They are very beautiful, if one pays a high price, but the ordinary
wares of this kind are not to be compared with blue and white.'

And again, '^ following an exact description of painting with enamel

colours on the finished glaze and of the subsequent refiring of the
ware, we read : " Sometimes the painting is intentionally reserved
for the second firing ; at other times they only use the second
firing to conceal defects in the porcelain, applying the colours to

the faulty places. This porcelain, which is loaded w^ith colour,

is not to the taste of a good many people. As a rule one can

feel inequalities on the surface of this kind of porcelain, whether
due to the clumsiness of the workmen, to the exigencies of light
and shade in the painting, or to the desire to conceal defects
in the body of the ware."

The tenor of these criticisms will not be endorsed by the modern
collector of K'ang Hsi porcelain. Famille verte porcelain is enthu-
siastically sought, and even indifferent specimens command a high
price, while the really choice examples can only be purchased by
the wealthy. As to the inequalities on the surface, the second
of the three reasons hazarded by d'Entrecolles is nearest the truth.
The enamels used by the Chinese porcelain painter contain a remark-
ably small percentage of colouring oxide, and one of the characteristics
o£ famille verte colours is their transparency. To obtain full tones
and the contrast between light and shade (even to the limited extent

^ Bushell, op. cit., p. 193. ^ Loc. cit., p. 195.