Page 154 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

For while the former, in the vast majority of cases,

unless its decoration be of purely conventional or

geometrical type, is disfigured by an aspect of patch-

work crudeness, the designs on the latter are invaria-

bly the work of one hand, and leave little to be

desired in respect of conception or execution. Every

stroke is firm and distinct, and not infrequently the

motive is treated with boldness and fidelity that recall

the genius of the Japanese keramist. There are

exceptions of course, especially when the painter

attempts to depict some mythical animal, as the Dog

of Fo or a bushy-tailed tortoise. But the rule, as

between the two classes of porcelain, may be accepted

in the sense herein indicated. It also holds, though

to a less marked extent, with regard to the second
class This
of " "
egg-shell blue-and-white porcelain.

is nothing more than hard-paste porcelain of exceed-

ing thinness. Often it is scarcely thicker than a sheet

of paper, and so translucid that there is difficulty in

conceiving the existence of any pate at all between

the inner and outer coats of glaze. To obtain a pure,

brilliant tone of blue in the decoration of such ware

is quite beyond the capacity of any but the most

skilled expert. The Chinaman, however, succeeded

perfectly. Moreover, he was able to stove his cups
and bowls on their inferior (and therefore narrow)
rims without suffering them to shrivel or warp under

the influence of the high temperature necessary to

develop the colour of the blue a feat demanding
wonderfully skilled manipulation. These pieces, gen-

erally insignificant as to dimensions tiny cups, rice-
bowls, and so forth are always decorated with
minute care. In this respect they rank almost on
an equal plane with the beautiful Kai-pien-yao, though

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