Page 333 - Chinese Porcelain Vol II, Galland

MINIATURE VERTE. 395

Miniature Verte.
About this time were produced those beautiful specimens
of Chinese art decorated with the most delicately painted
scenes and figures, generally in green enamel of the finest
Sometimes rose shades were introduced with
quality. along
the other colours employed, while at others sepia entered
into the As in all classes, some are better
largely composition.
than others ; but in the following, examples from the Davies
and Bennett collections the reader has pieces of unsurpassed
excellence. Nos. 682 to 684 belong to the former.
No. 682. "A double-handed white 'coup' on pedestal
base. Height, 4 inches. The porcelain is soft paste ' Waidzu,'
and the surface orange-skin, as in No. 684. The handles,
the sacred are on the outer
representing fungus, slightly gilt
side, and the foot has a scroll in gilt encircling it. The
subject is, perhaps, composed of six of the eight immortals
with boy attendants, and the figures have all flowing robes ;
the enamels, however, are rather stronger than in Nos. 683
and 684, but with the same delicate work and shading."
"
No. 683. A small flat-sided double gourd vase. Height, 5i
inches. Here again the white is very pure, as in No. 684, and
the surface of the porcelain like orange-skin. The sides of the
vase are decorated with eight Buddhist symbols in red, green,
blue, pink, etc. The two faces have different scenes in similar
the one a tree with and of old man in
colouring, foliage figure
robes basket of flowers, and on a
flowing carrying leaning long
stick ; the other a figure of a man attended by boy carrying
a gourd or vessel, out of which he has just started five bats.
These figures also have flowing robes, and are standing by the
side of a rocky landscape."
"
This represents Kuang Ch'eng Tzu, one of the genii, pro-
five bats by magical art, and is called the five-bat
ducing
picture."
"
No. 684. A small white ground oval vase with slender
foot and ring handles, 6^ inches high, with slightly raised rim
round the lower portion of body ; the porcelain is very white
and of the orange-skin surface. The subject of the painting
is a with attendant a lute
apparently gentleman boy carrying
standing at a rocky bed ; from this a fir tree spreads out round