Page 147 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

mented with dragons, belong to this category. From

insignificant specimens preserved in Japan none

are known to exist in China it would appear that

the pate of the blue-and-white Hung-yao was dense

and heavy ; that the glaze was of medium lustre,

permeated by a bluish tinge, and that the colour of

the decoration, though superior to that of the Yuan

and Sung wares, altogether lacked the brilliancy and

depth of subsequent manufactures. But in truth the

student possesses little knowledge about the ware.

It was evidently unworthy to be mentioned in writ-

ten records or remembered in tradition. The year-

mark is Hung-wu-nien-chi.

The next period calling' for attention is that of

Tung-lo (14031425). Remarkable for great prog-

ress in the technical processes of porcelain manu-

facture, it did not apparently contribute much to the

art of decoration with blue sous-couverte. Premising

that very scanty materials exist for forming an opin-

ion, it may be asserted that the blue of the Tung-lo

epoch is somewhat clearer and more brilliant than

that of the preceding reign ; that the overlying glaze

is particularly lustrous and of velvet-like texture and
;

that the pate is close-grained, of fine timbre, and
The " History
loifghCtheirntgh-atne-tchhaetnofKeHruanmgi-cwsu" pieces.
speaks of Tung-lo cups

decorated with flowers in blue of a very deep colour,

and says that they were refined and artistic. Bowls

of Tung-lo blue-and-white, with landscapes or figure

subjects on one side and a mass of ideographs on the

other, are prized by Japanese virtuosi, who call them
" Seki-heki" that being the Japanese name of the

sonnet generally represented by the ideographs.

Remembering the reverence in which writing has

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