Page 284 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

surrounding light purple (garnet) designs generally
dragons. Such porcelains are exceedingly rare. Chi-

nese experts refer their origin to the Cheng-hwa era

of the Ming dynasty, but there are no specimens to

be seen dating from so distant a period. Green of
less transparent character was also used as a field for
arabesques, floral scrolls, and so forth, in gold. This
fashion seems to have originated in the i8th century.

Chocolate glaze with floral designs in coloured
enamels is another chaste and beautiful variety. This
glaze, the fond lacque of French collectors, will be
spoken of in a subsequent chapter. It does not
appear to have been used as a field for enamel decora-
tion before the close of the Kang-hsi era, for the

Fenamels applied to it are always of the amilie Rose

type.

The reader will have noticed that the potters of

the Sung dynasty almost invariably took ancient
bronzes as models for their choicest pieces, in respect
of shape and decoration alike. This fashion was fol-
lowed in a peculiarly realistic manner by the Tung-

ching (17231736) experts, who conceived the idea

of reproducing not only the shapes and designs of
fine bronzes, but also their surface. In the early years

of the Ming dynasty there had been manufactured in

China an exceedingly beautiful bronze, pervaded by
a golden hue and having its surface dappled with

gold. The Tung-eking potters set themselves to imi-
tate this and succeeded admirably. They produced

solid tea-green fields, speckled with yellow so finely
and uniformly that the latter colour seemed to per-
vade the whole, except where it was interrupted by

golden flecks floating in the glaze. Round these

pieces ran bands of diaper, arabesques, or floral scrolls

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