Page 37 - The art of the Chinese potter By Hobson

AN INTRODUCTION

fairly typical of the Sung period, though we shall have occasion to

note one or two instances in which these felspathic glazes are thinly
applied. Simple shapes continued to be fashioned as a rule, but
the style and technique of the decoration was more ambitious.
With few exceptions the glazes of the period are monochrome.

We have much more knowledge of the factories operating during

the Sung period than we have of the Tang centres of production,

and a brief account of the principal ones will help to explain the

many examples of Sung workmanship displayed in this album.
One of the most striking of the Sung wares is the Chun yao made

at Chun Chou in the province of Honan. While the ancient

Chinese writers do not speak in high terms of the products of this
centre and give them but slight commendation compared with the
eulogies showered upon certain other contemporary wares de-

scribed below, fine specimens command considerable attention
to-day and are much sought after by present-day connoisseurs
both in the East and the West. The body varies from a hard

porcellanous stoneware to a softer and more sandy type ; the two
varieties are distinguished by the Chinese by the terms tz'u t'ai
(porcelain body) and sha t'ai (sandy body) respectively.

The glaze is thick and felspathic, showing as a rule a bluish tone

which is due to opalescence. In the ** soft " Chiins, the sha t'ai of
the Chinese, the blue is generally more pronounced and the colour

is due to copper. In many of the most striking specimens there
are one or more splashes of red or purple, and in rarer cases
splashes of green or green bordered with red. The red colour is

also due to copper, but in a different condition.

The vessels of this factory which are usually met with are bowls,
globular vases, or saucers. These were no doubt made for utili-

tarian purposes. At the date of manufacture this ware was evidently
not held in high esteem, and was not adapted to the delicate and
dainty forms required by the scholar and art connoisseur.

A more gorgeous glaze achieved by the Chun Chou factories is

that generally displayed on bulb-bowls and flower-pots which
were probably supplied for Imperial use. The colour varies from
a series of greys through deep purples to a crushed strawberry red.
Inside the bowls the glaze is either a blue colour or clair de lune.

Pieces of this description which belong to the porcellanous stone-
ware group usually have numerals, i-io, incised on their bases,