Page 246 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

branches twining round melon-shaped or chrysanthe-

mum-shaped vases. These pieces are examples of
highly refined taste and excellent technique. They
show that the fame of the Cheng-hwa potters was not

undeserved. H'siang says that the designs supplied
to Ching-te-chen for imperial porcelains were

" drawn in the palace by celebrated artists," and
that " the different colours were laid on and shaded

with perfect skill."
In the Cheng-hwa era, as well as in the Hsuan-te,

comparatively coarse varieties of enamelled porcelain

were manufactured. Doubtless many of these, did

they survive, would be attractive objects in the eyes
of Western collectors. But they are virtually non-ex-
istent. Chinese connoisseurs did not think them

worth preserving, and the rare specimens found in
Japan cannot be confidently regarded as genuine.

During the next three periods of the Ming dynasty

Hung-chih (1488-1505), Chen-te (1506-1521), and
Chia-ching (1522 1566) the manufacture of enam-
elled porcelains appears to have been continued pretty

much on the lines of the Cheng-hwa experts. In

the Hung-chih era, special skill was developed in
the production of yellow monochromes, and this
colour occupied a prominent place in the choicest
works of the time. In the Cheng-te era, renewed

supplies of the much prized Mohammedan blue

having been obtained, pieces decorated with blue

sous couverte came again into fashion, and were
preferred to enamelled wares, though excellent
specimens of the latter were no doubt made at

Ching-te-chen. The same remark applies to the

next era, Chia-ching. In the Tao-lu it is stated that
only vases decorated with blue under the glaze were

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