Page 305 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

these, the results hitherto obtained with cobalt blue or cop-
per red, applied sous couverte, are so imperfect that there is

no danger of confounding them even with the commonest
porcelains of China and Japan.

The reader will observe that no detailed note has

been taken of enamelled porcelains manufactured dur-

ing the ninteenth century. The fact is that, with the

exception of pieces dating from the early part of the
century, the collector will find few specimens possess-

ing decorative or artistic merit. The products of the

Chia-tsing era (1796-1821) are often scarcely distin-
guishable in technique and style from those of the
Chien-lung workshops. But from the close of this era

and the commencement of the Taou-kwang period

(1821-1851), a steady deterioration set in, marked,
as might be expected, by the profuse use of pigments
and easily applied enamels. Thenceforth a prevailing
trick of the decorator was to cover large portions of
the surface frequently the whole interior of a piece
was thus treated with a thick coat of lustreless

green or pink, generally roughened, more or less

irregularly, like the skin of an orange. Much gilding

and unsparing application of ill-assorted half-toned
pigments became the fashion, and it apparently ceased
to be possible to produce a pure white, lustrous porce-

lain. The greenish or bluish tinge pervading the

glaze of these modern wares, the chalky appearance
of their pdtey the irregularity of their surface and the

generally clumsy nature of their manufacture, are
tests which the amateur should have no difficulty in
applying. In proportion, too, as the merits of former
potters ceased to be imitable, the transparent device
of employing false year-marks came into vogue, so

that these periods of decadence may be ascribed a

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