Page 257 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

pendants, and the crape head-dress of ancient times

are replaced by the full-sleeved surcoat, the round cap
with button and plume, and the queue of the Tartar

epoch, it is possible to be sure that there is no ques-

tion of Ming ware. In Oriental art the soft folds

and flowing curves of drapery take the place occupied

in the West by the graceful contours of the human

figure. So soon as the Chinese keramist found that

his palette enabled him to depict luxuriantly appar-

elled damsels and richly robed officials, such subjects

seemed to him not less natural than nude nymphs

and muscular heroes have always seemed to the pot-

ters of Europe and America. Moreover, in China

the bright colours of official uniforms and private

apparel offer a marked contrast to the generally som-

bre scenery of the country and the ungraceful archi-

tecture of the cities. An artist applying polychrome

decoration to porcelain, and seeking to travel beyond

the range of dragons, phoenixes, and supernatural

beings, could scarcely have hesitated to derive inspi-

ration from what may be said to have been the only

gay objects amid his surroundings. Accordingly the

prevalence of figure subjects sovereigns, officials,

ladies, and children is a striking feature of Kang-

hsi enamelled porcelain.

With respect to enamels, the colours of the Ming

potters were still employed, but there was often added

to them a blue enamel varying from brilliant blue

to lavender the presence of which is alone suffi-

cient to mark a piece as belonging to a period later

than the Ming dynasty, since before the Kang-hsi era

blue, if used, invariably appears, not as an enamel, but

as a pigment under the glaze. The enamels them-

selves cannot be said to have been purer or more bril-

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