Page 38 - The art of the Chinese potter By Hobson

THE ART OF THE CHINESE POTTER

apparently to denote their size. The bases of the vessels are

generally washed over with brownish green glaze, and on the cir-

cumference of the base will be found a circle of spur marks where
the vessels rested on clay " spurs " during the firing.

A characteristic of this type of Chun ware, to which importance

is attached by collectors, is the presence of marks in the glaze

which look like shaky V's or Y's ; these are known by the Chinese

as " earthworm " marks from their resemblance to the tracks of

tiny worms.

Important examples of these different varieties of Chun yao will

be seen on Plates XXXIII, XXXV, and XLI, and Plate XXXIV

shows the bottom of a bulb-bowl with its potting characteristics.

In the Yuan dynasty and in the Ming dynasty the traditions were

continued, though in the latter period the town was called Yu

Chou instead of Chun Chou. In the Yuan dynasty a less gorgeous

type of glaze appears to have been made, and the wares generally

are of a rougher order ; the distinction is sufficiently marked for
the term Yuan tz'u to be applied to the Mongol products. In the

Ming dynasty the ware appears to have gone out of fashion, and the

number of accredited specimens of that period is limited, according

to present knowledge.

Closely allied to the Chun yao is a more refined ware called Kuan

yao. Kuan means Imperial or official, and is the term applied to

the products of the Imperial factories established first at K'ai-

feng Fu in Honan, and later on to those of the Imperially supported

kilns at Hang Chou after the transfer of the Sung court to the

South. Of this ware the early Chinese writers speak in eulogistic

terms, but beyond displaying finer technique both in body and

glaze, it presents features very similar to those of the better examples

of Chun yao, in fact it is difficult to say where the Chun succession
ends and the Kuan family begins. Specimens of what may be

ascribed to the Imperial potters of Kai-feng Fu or Hang Chou

are illustrated on Plates XXXVII and XXXVIII.

While the Kuan yao may perhaps be regarded as the aristocratic

members of the Chun family, there are relatives of less distinguished

Weappearance. refer to the rather similar kind of ware produced

at factories in Kwangtung in the neighbourhood of Canton and

that made in the Ming period and later at Yi-hsing, a town not far

removed from Shanghai.

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