Page 406 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

244 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

cussed among T'ang's innovations. The finer Ch'ien Lung porce-
lains, and especially those enamelled with brocade designs, are
frequently finished off with a coating of opaque bluish green enamel
inside the mouth and under the base, a square panel being reserved

for the mark. Needless to say, with all this weight of enamelling
little or nothing is seen of the porcelain itself, the fine quality of
which is only indicated by the neatness of the form and the elegance

of the finish.

The green black which was discussed earlier in the chapter is
used with striking effect, both in company with famille rose colours

(as on Fig. 2 of Plate 131) and without them. An effective

decoration of the latter kind is shown on a beautiful bottle-
shaped vase with wide, spreading mouth in the Salting Collection,
which is covered with close floral scrolls reserved in a ground of
black pigment, the whole surface being washed over with trans-
parent green. The result is a peculiarly soft and rich decoration
of green scrolls in a green black ground.

—Nor was the iron red a colour much employed in monochromes
—at this time neglected in the painted wares. Indeed, it occurs

as the sole pigment on many pieces, and on others it forms a solid

brick red or stippled souffle ground for floral reserves, medallions
and panels oi famille rose enamelling.

Among the opaque enamels a few shades of blue are similarlj'-

used, while the others, as already mentioned, form plain or engraved
backgrounds for floral reserves and panel decoration as on Fig. 2
of Plate 125, and on the Peking bowls. The latter are so named
not because they were made at Peking, but because the specimens
acquired by Western collectors have been chiefly obtained from

that source. Many of them have the Ch'ien Lung mark, and their

ground colours comprise a variety of pinks, yellow, green, French
grey, dark blue, slaty blue, amaranth, lavender, bluish green,
delicate greenish white and coral red. The medallions on the bowls

— —usually four in number are commonly decorated with growing

flowers, such as the flowers of the four seasons in polychrome
enamels, while others have figure subjects, frequently European
figures in landscape setting and with Chinese attributes, such as
a ju-i or ling-chih fungus. The finish of these bowls is extremely

^ This green enamel is sometimes netted over with lines suggesting crackle studded
with prunus blossoms. Possibly this is intended to recall both in colour and pattern
the " plum blossom " crackle of the Sung Kuan yao ; see vol. i., p. 61.