Page 185 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

PORCELAIN. 39

clouds on a stork. The eight Taoist immortals, so often repre-
sented in ceramic art, may be distinguished by the peculiar attri-
butes which they hold in their hands ; they are gathered in a group
on a rocky shore, about to venture upon the waves of the sea which
parts them from paradise. The Chinese title of this picture is
Pa Hsicn Ching Shou. Fig. 53 represents a laqiie hurgautce vase of
unusual size inlaid with a variety of Chinese scenes of agricultural
and village life, the details being executed in thin laminae of mother-
of-pearl, silver and gold. The black lac in this most effective
style of decoration is spread as a thick coat upon the body of the
vase, left unglazed for the purpose, while the rims and interior are
glazed ; the mother-of-pearl is occasionally artificially tinted, and
is so minutely carved that every leaf of the trees is distinct, the
houses are inlaid in plates of silver, and gold leaf is applied at
frequent intervals to heighten the general effect.
A square vase. Fig. 54, intended to hold divining rods, figures as a
single coloured piece in our half-tone series, because it is a typical
specimen of the old " mustard crackle," which corresponds to the
mi si', or "millet coloured" glaze of the Chinese. This crackled
glaze dates, we have seen, from the Sung dynasty, although not
hitherto generally identified, because mi se has been inexactly
rendered " rice-coloured " and consequently taken to be a kind of
grey crackle. Mi se in Chinese silks is a full primrose yellow ; as a
self-colour of ceramic glazes it often deepens to mustard, although
always paler than imperial yellow, which is more like the yolk of an
egg in its deepest tint.
The turquoise blue, called kung-chiio lii, or " peacock-green,"
although it is also known in books as fei-is'ui from its resemblance
to the blue plumes of the kingfisher which are used in jewellery, is
a self-coloured glaze of charming tone, and IruiU, or finely crackled
te.xture. It is prepared from copper combined with a nitre flux and
is generally although not always applied s«r biscuit. A fine
example of the period is illustrated in Fig. 55 from the collection
8941. T