Page 48 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

the glazing material is applied by absorption to ware

that has already been fired, a uniform surface is easy

to obtain. But when the glazing is effected while

the paste is still raw, globules or "tears" are not un-

likely to make their appearance. That such a feature

should have been esteemed by connoisseurs was doubt-

less because, in the first place, it pointed to times when

technical excellence had not yet been attained and
;

in the second, the tear-marks would naturally occur

upon ware of such exceptionally thin pate that manipu-

lation before stoving was difficult. Another point to

be noted with reference to the manufacture of this

early Ting ware -was that the cups and bowls were

stoved in an inverted position, the consequence being
that the upper rims remained without glaze, whereas

the bottoms were often completely covered. To cor-

rect the unfinished appearance of such pieces, a thin
slip of silver or copper was usually applied to their

rims.

In the Illustrated Catalogue of H'siang, mentioned

above, forty-two specimens of Sung ware are depicted.

Twelve of these specimens belong to the Ting-yao

class, six being white of the rest five are purple, or
;

the colour of ripe grapes ; and one is black. From

the pictures of these pieces and from the descriptions

given by H'siang himself, as translated by Dr. Bushell,

it is seen at once that there is question of keramic

productions exhibiting an advanced condition of ex-

pert skill. If the Sung Ting-yao has been spoken of

above as semi-porcelain, it is rather because of the

softness and comparative opacity of the pate than with

any reference to the rank which the ware ought to

occupy. It is probable that the manufacture of hard

porcelain was within the competence of the Pechili

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