Page 304 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

178 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

The colour in the peach bloom glaze, as in the sang de boeuf,
is sometimes fired out and fades into white or leaves a pale olive
green surface with only a few spots of brown or pink to bear wit-
ness to the original intention of the potter. The glaze is some-
times crackled and occasionally it runs down in a thick crystalline
mass at the base of the vessel.

Needless to say this costly porcelain has claimed the earnest

attention of the modern imitator. The first real success was achieved

by a Japanese potter at the end of the last century. He was able
to make admirable copies of the colour, but failed to reproduce
adequately the paste and glaze of the originals. I am told that he

was persuaded to transfer his secret to China, and with the Chinese
body his imitations were completely successful. The latter part
of the story is based on hearsay, and is given as such ; but it is
certain that there are exceedingly clever modern copies of the old
peach blooms in the market ; otherwise how could an inexpert
collector in China bring home half a dozen peach blooms bought

at bargain prices ?

The copper red used in painting underglaze designs ^ will some-
times develop a peach bloom colour, and there is a vase in the
British Museum with parti-coloured glaze in large patches of blue^
celadon, and a copper red which has broken into the characteristic
tints of the peach bloom vases.

Another red of copper origin allied to the sang de bceuf and
the peach bloom, and at times verging on both, is the maroon red,
which ranges from crimson to a deep liver colour. There are wine
cups of this colour whose glaze clouded with deep crimson recalls
the " dawn red " of the wine cups made by Hao Shih-chiu.^ Some-
times the red covers part only of the surface, shading off into the white
glaze. The fmer specimens have either a crimson or a pinkish tinge,^
but far more often the glaze has issued from the kiln with a dull

liver tint.

Naturally the value of the specimens varies widely with the
beauty of the colour. The pinker shades approach within measur-
able distance of the pink of the peach bloom, and they are often
classed with the latter by their proud owners ; but the colour is
usually uniform, and lacks the bursts of russet brown and green
which variegate the true peach bloom, and the basis of the maroon
is a pure white glaze without the celadon tints which seem to underlie

1 See p. 146. * See p. 64.