Page 80 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

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36 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

who, with his knowledge of the later porcelains, should have no

difficulty in reconstructing for himself the general appearance of

the court wares of the time.

The actual objects ^ supplied consisted chiefly of fish bowls
{kang), covered and uncovered jars (kuan), of which some were
octagonal, bowls {wan), dinner bowls {shan wan) of larger size, saucer

dishes (tieh) and round dishes (p'an), tea cups {ch^a chung), tea cups
(ow), wine cups {chiu chan), and libation cups (chiieh) with hill-

shaped saucers {shan p^an) to support their three feet, various

vases {'p'ing), slender ovoid jars for wine {Van), ewers or wine pots

A{hu p^ng), and wine seas {chiu hai) or large bowls. large number

of complete dinner-table sets {cho chH) occur in one of the lists,

and we learn from the T^ao shuo that uniform sets with the

same pattern and colours throughout were an innovation of

Athe Ming dynasty. set^ comprised 27 pieces, including 5 fruit

dishes {kuo tieh), 5 food dishes {ts'ai tieh), 5 bowls {wan), 5 vege-

table dishes {yiiti tieh), 3 tea cups {ch^a chung), 1 wine cup {chiu

chan), 1 wine saucer {chiu tieh), 1 slop receptacle {cha tou), and
1 vinegar cruse {ts^u chiu). The slop receptacle appears to have
been a square bowl used for the remnants of food (see Plate 66,

Fig. 1).

The sacrificial vessels of the period included tazza-shaped bowls

and dishes {pien tou p'an), large wine jars {fai tsun), with swelling
body and monster masks for handles, " rhinoceros " jars {hsi tsun)

in the form of a rhinoceros carrying a vase on its back, besides various

dishes, plates, cups, and bowls of undefined form.
The decorations are grouped in six headings :

(1) Blue and white {chHng hua pai ti, blue ornament on a white
ground), which is by far the largest.

(2) Blue ware, which included blue bowls {chHng wan), sky-
blue bowls {tHen ch'ing wa7i), and turquoise bowls {tshii ch'ing wan).

In some cases the ware is described as plain blue monochrome,
and in one item it is " best blue monochrome " {Vou ch'ing su),

while in others there are designs engraved under the glaze {an hua).

In others, again, ornament such as dragons and sea waves is men-
tioned without specifying how it was executed. Such ornament

^ Some idea of the quantity supplied may be gathered from the following items

in the list for the year 1546 : 300 fish bowls, 1,000 covered jars, 22,000 bowls, 31,000
round dishes (p'on), 18,400 wine cups.

« See Bushell, 0. C. A., p. 226.