Page 243 - Chinese Porcelain Vol II, Galland

FAMILLE VERTE. 363

bottles with long necks, 8 inches high. They are covered
with a and not
bright mazarine blue enamel, which is opaque
like the powder blue, though the colour much resembles the
more brilliant specimens of this class. There are three leaf-
shaped reserves in white on each bottle surrounded by a
narrow dull red line forming the leaf. In each panel is a
dog in peach bloom with a good deal of verdigris marking,
each dog being different. I have seen two or three bottles
somewhat similar in decoration, but the blue grounds have
been dull, and the dogs of a smoky dark red almost claret
colour, not at all like the rich luscious colouring of the peach
bloom in these, nor could the blue in
ground any way compare
to them. I look upon them as a very rare pair of bottles, and,
though not marked, they undoubtedly belong to the Kang-he
era, 1661-1722."
Famille Verte with Blue Enamel.
We are now getting to the end of this reign, when this
class shows more careful painting than in the earlier specimens.
No. 624. In sending the photograph reproduced here, Mr.
Winthrop wrote as follows :
"
The most brilliant of famille verte I know is the
piece
vase that on the left. The are
cylindrical appears greens very
dark and blackish, the ground of the vase being a red floral
diaper, the red being merely filled in and the white the natural
porcelain. Large pale green chrysanthemums break this
ground at intervals; the green of transparent enamel, and
'
the shoulder of the vase has a ' border of
typical Ming
very full colours extremely carefully executed with use of
some transparent enamels. It is to be noticed that the black
used in decorating the panels is not flat or mat, but bossed up
so as to give an intense effect. The decoration of the neck
consists of depending foliage somewhat resembling oats, but
the blossoms of the bamboo. Instead of an there
really eagle
is a crab on the other side. The two round
upper panels
crabs and and the two lower ones
depict shrimps respectively,
On each of the is a leaf and sort of
plants. large panels
seal in red on gilt ground, as shown in the drawing on the
actual size. One of the four round is
photograph, panels
signed with the square mark only. I have never met with