Page 240 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

the glaze was not practised by Chinese potters even at
Heso late a period as the Hsuan-te era.
bases this

conclusion on the hypothesis that red was the only

colour then known, capable of being used for such

a purpose. He is further guided by the term Ten-

pai-ki, which, according to the " History of Ching-
te-chen Keramics," designated vases having a white

surface intended to be covered with painted decora-

tion. In the case of such pieces, he says, the decora-

tion was applied directly to the surface of the biscuit,

and glaze was not used at all. It is impossible to en-

dorse this conclusion. 'Ten-pai-ki was simply a tech-

nical appellation for pieces of white-glazed porcelain

destined to be decorated with surface colours. It

was, in fact, the " common " ware spoken of above.

Even though no other evidence were forthcoming,
the " Illustrated "
of H'siang alone would
Catalogue

suffice to upset M. du Sartel's theory as to the date of

the first use of enamel decoration over the glaze. In

Japan specimens of this inferior ware are to be met

with at rare intervals. Their enamels are brilliant
;

their colours rich and full. But their technique in-

dicates a certain want of care on the potter's part ; a

feature entirely consistent with the rule formulated

above, that in most of the choice enamelled porce-

lains of the early Ming eras the enamels were an

accessory, not a principal, element of the decorative

design.

It was during t\\QCheng-h<wa era (14651487) that

the art of enamelled decoration received its most

remarkable development. The " of Ching-
History

te-chen Keramics," speaking of the wares of the

Cheng-hwa period, says: "Thin porcelain was most

esteemed, and pieces decorated with enamels were

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