Page 166 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

the bottom of the oven was strewn before the stov-

ing. This technical accident, although from its na-

ture likely to occur in the case of inferior wares alone,

is not uncommonly seen in pieces upon which great
pains were evidently lavished. One peculiarity,

which, though not confined to wares of the Cheng-

hwa era, is perhaps more noticeable in them than in

any other Chinese porcelains, is that within the cir-

cular base of the piece a number of hair lines radiate
towards the centre, as though the glazing material
had been laid on with a paint brush. Such, indeed,

was probably the case. The base of a piece was

always the last part which a Chinese potter finished.
After the decoration and glaze had been applied to
the body, the specimen was replaced on the wheel
for the purpose of removing the superfluous clay
which, adhering to the base, had hitherto served as
a means of supporting the piece during the various

processes of manufacture. The glazing of the base

was then effected, and a brush would have been a

convenient method of performing the operation.

Why, however, evidences of such a process should be

particularly visible in pieces manufactured during the

first cycle of the Ming dynasty, and especially during

the Cheng-hwa era, there is nothing to indicate, and
perhaps it would be misleading to regard them as
distinctive of such pieces, whatever some connoisseurs

may allege.
The next year-period after Cheng-hwa was Hung-

chih (14881506). It was not remarkable for blue-

and-white porcelains. The supply of fine cobalt,

from native and foreign sources alike, is said to have
failed, and the manufacture of ware decorated with

that mineral under the glaze consequently received a

1 20