Page 151 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

sometimes even for a year, until they acquired suffi-
cient consistency to be manipulated. This seemingly
superfluous labour was well repaid by the ultimate

appearance of the glaze, differing palpably as it did

from the comparatively weak, lustreless covering ob-

tained by the easier process of application after pre-
Aliminary stoving.
second drying was of course

necessary after the coating of steatite or kaolin had

been given. The decorative design was then traced

in cobalt, and finally the whole was covered with per-

fectly colourless, translucid glaze, which, expanding

more slowly than the body of the piece under the in-
fluence of heat, became covered with a net-work of

crackle that imparted an aspect of indescribable soft-

ness. From this crackle the ware derives the name

Kai-pien, or open edges, by which it is known in

China. By some connoisseurs it is also called Wei-

tsu, a term possessing no distinctive significance, as
tlhiteer"alblmueea-nanidn-gwhisitseimepglgy-s"heblalk"ed
its porcelain." It
is col-
of Western

lectors, who, however, apply the same appellation to

another and not less remarkable species of ware simi-

larly decorated, namely, hard porcelain as thin as

paper, manufactured in the ordinary manner and

without crackle.

Among all the blue-and-white wares of the Ming

epoch, that of the Hsuan-te reign ranks highest in

China. But its superiority to some of the later pro-

ducts of the same dynasty is not marked. The only

appreciable difference lies in the quality of the blue,

concerning which it is not possible to give any written

description other than that it is deep, brilliant, and
clear, and that it seems to be actually inlaid in the

pate, so intimately are the two associated. Undoubt-

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