Page 44 - The art of the Chinese potter By Hobson

THE ART OF THE CHINESE POTTER

When this ware first came to this country many years ago it was

reported to have been found in Corea. The more recent specimens

have been derived from Honan tombs. This latter origin is

interesting because some colour is given thereby to the surmise 1

that these specimens may represent a type of Ju ware.

Ju yao has always been spoken of in Chinese ceramic literature

as one of the most famous productions of the Sung potters. Made

at Ju Chou in Honan it ranks only second to the celebrated Ch'ai

ware of which no authenticated specimen is known to exist. On

these two types of porcelain the full battery of extravagant descrip-

tion and praise has been turned by the Chinese writers, and the
literature teems with encomiums of them. " Blue as the sky after

rain, clear as a mirror, thin as paper, resonant as a musical stone of

jade," and phrases of this order are the tribute paid by the ancient

Weconnoisseurs. are told that a similar type of ware was made

in the districts of T'ang, Teng, and Yao, on the north of the Yellow

River, and there is no doubt that the minor Honan factories were

employed on producing porcelain similar in character to that of

Ju Chou. Further, a writer in 1125 speaks of certain Corean wares

as being like the " new wares of Ju Chou." These statements
support the view that the recent specimens found both in Honan

and Corea may be of the Ju type, though it would be rash to

ascribe any of them definitely to the potters of the famous Ju

factory in the absence of kiln-site evidence. In support of the

theory that this ware is of the Ju type it may confidently be stated
that the porcelain of which it is made is of finer quality and more

delicately potted than any other of the Sung wares ; the incised

designs which appear on some of the specimens are of a high order,

and the general appearance of the best examples accords in large

measure to the literary descriptions of Ju yao.
In marked contrast to the delicate potting of these porcelains is

the heavy stoneware represented by the Chien yao, which is held in

high esteem both in Japan and among Western collectors. The

centre at which it was manufactured is Chien-yang in the province

of Fukien. The body is heavy and black, and turns a rusty colour

where exposed to the fire. The glaze is a lustrous black flecked

1 The argument briefly set out here has recently been explored at length by
Mr. G. Eumorfopoulos in a paper read before an Oriental Ceramic Society which

is being published in its Transactions.

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