Page 300 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

CHAPTER XI

K*ANG HSI MONOCHROMES

IN passing to the K'ang Hsi monochromes we enter a large field
with boundaries ill defined. Many of the colours are legacies
from the Ming potters, and most of them were handed on to

after generations ; some indeed have enjoyed an unbroken descent
to the present day. Consequently there are few things more difficult
in the study of Chinese porcelain than the dating of single-colour

wares.

In some cases the origin of a particular glaze has been recorded,
and within certain limits the style of the piece will guide us in
assessing its age ; but how often must we be content with some such
non-committal phrase as " early eighteenth century," which em-
braces the late K'ang Hsi, the Yung Cheng and the early Ch'ien Lung

periods ? On the other hand, the careful student observes certain

points of style and finish, certain slight peculiarities of form which
are distinctive of the different periods, and on these indefinite
signs he is able to classify the doubtful specimens. To the inexpert

his methods may seem arbitrary and mysterious, but his principles,

though not easy to enunciate, are sound nevertheless.

We have already had occasion to discuss a few of the K'ang Hsi

monochromes in dealing with the question of lang yao. But besides
the sang de hceuf there is another rare and costly red to which the
Americans have given the expressive name of " peach bloom."
Since their first acquaintance with this colour in the last half of the
nineteenth century, ^ American collectors have been enamoured
of it, and as they have never hesitated to pay vast sums for good
specimens, most of the fine " peach blooms " have found their way
to the United States, and choice examples are rare in England.

"The prevailing shade," to quote from Bushell's description, " is

1 The first specimens (according to Bushell, 0. C. A., p. 309) to reach America came
from the collection of the Prince of Yi, whose line was founded by the tliirtcenth son
of the Emperor K'ang Hsi.

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