Page 185 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

specimens attributed to him there is scarcely one

into whose decorative design the plum does not enter

in some form or other. It is possible that the grace

and appropriateness of such a motive may have spe-

cially appealed to Japanese taste but inasmuch as
;

Japan sat humbly at China's feet in the matter of

keramics in the sixteenth century, and as many con-

siderations must have swayed Shonzui to faithful imi-

tation of his teachers' models, it seems a reasonable

inference that his free use of the meihwa reflected the

tendency of Chinese potters also in his time. This

part of the subject has so much interest for American

and European collectors that the portions of the

Tao-lu bearing on the subject may be appended in

full :

Porcelains decorated with blue sous couverte, whether

round, square, or angular in shape, are distinguished by the

epochs of their manufacture as, for example, porcelains of
;

Hsuan-te, of Cheng-hwa, of Chia-ching, and of Wan-li. For

the monochrome called Chia-ching, or blue of the sky after

rain, azure has also to be combined with the glazing matter.

The mineral is found in two districts of the province of

Che-kiang. Those who procure it go to the mountains and

dig for it. They wash it, by means of baskets, in the moun-

tain streams to remove the earthy matter adhering to it. It

is dark yellow in colour. Large round pieces are of the first

quality. They are distinguished by the names of the places
whence they come. Traders carry them to the porcelain
kilns, roast them there for three days, wash them carefully

and sell them to the potters. There is a species of blue

found in the mountains of Kiang-si and Kuan-tung, but it is
pale in colour and incapable of enduring the action of the

fire. It serves only for decorating common vases.

The same writer, quoting from an encyclopedia,

says :
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