Page 282 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

for holding rouge. Western ctohlele"ctiomrpseruisaulalwlyarcelsas"s
pieces thus
decorated among

of the Ming dynasty, an appellation particularly un-

happy in this case, inasmuch as genuine specimens of

yellow and green porcelain dating from the Ming

dynasty may be said to have no existence outside

China. Such pieces as have left the country belong

to the Chien-lung or Kang-hsi era. The yellow of

the Ming dynasty appears to have been canary, or

straw colour, varying slightly in tone, but always

remarkable for shell-like softness and semi-transpar-

ency which even the Chien-lung experts evidently

found difficulty in reproducing. Their yellow, sur-

rounding either blue or green designs, is generally

an opaque and somewhat heavy colour, though the

decorative effect of the combination is undoubtedly

beautiful. Large quantities of yellow and green por-

celain were manufactured during the Taou-kwang

(18211851) and Hien-fung (18511862) periods,

and specimens of these dates are freely offered for sale

by Chinese dealers who confidently refer them to the

Chien-lung factories. Their comparatively hard col-

ours, lustreless glaze, and chalky pate should enable

collectors to distinguish them without much diffi-
Aculty.
rarer combination than any of these is that

of yellow and purple, the latter colour (of the garnet

type) being "reserved" amid the yellow ground.

To this category also belongs yellow decoration on a

red ground, of which some specimens dating from

the Chia-ching (15221567) and Wan-li (1573-
1620) eras are still to be found. The ground colour

is not, however, an enamel but rather a pigment in-

capable of resisting the effects of wear and tear, and

to be therefore classed with inferior orders of manu-

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