Page 280 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

ing to be desired the enamels, pure and brilliant, are
;

worked out in the most careful manner, and owing

to the thinness of the pate the fine tint of the body

colour shows faintly through the pearl-like glaze,

producing an effect of charming delicacy. Many of

the best specimens bear the mark of the Tung-ching

era in blue sous couverte.

To the same class (kwan-yao} as the variety just de-

scribed belong specimens having a rich black, or very

dark green, ground, to which decoration in verifiable
enamels is applied. These porcelains, like the Kuan-
yao mentioned above, are rare, and examples are, for
the most part, confined to bowls, cups and small plates.

The black, or dark green, ground is sometimes finely

chagrined, or covered with microscopic scrolls, and
the enamels are of the highest quality. In some speci-
mens the enamel design is reserved, in others it is

superposed, but in either case the technique is perfect,

indicating an extreme exercise of the workman's

skill. The Chinese connoisseur values these porce-

lains highly. They nearly always bear a year-mark,
the name of a factory, or ideographs indicating es-

teem.

More frequently found than either of the above

varieties are specimens covered on the outer surface

with red glaze generally jujube or coral red

among which arabesques and scrolls are reserved in
white. These porcelains often show admirable tech-
nique, but their decoration does not demand any very
exceptional exercise of skill, and many of them give

indications of having been manufactured for ordinary

use. The best pieces may be identified by the lustre

and richness of the body glaze, by the delicate tracing
of the decorative design, by the care shown in pick-

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