Page 173 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

CRACKLE. 137

"
consists of bamboo joints in high relief." The base is
unglazed.
No. 203. Vase of white opaque ware. Height, 5J inches.
No mark. Base glazed. This is made of a much coarser sub-
stance than the last, and is included in this series to show what
often goes by the name of Corean ware, but there is every
reason to believe it is of Chinese origin. It is generally
decorated with ornaments in relief, which, in this case, consists
and the leaves in
of conventionalized dragons foliage, being
the shape of joo-e heads, if not intended to represent the
emblem of
fungus, longevity.

Ceackle.
This, like the following class, consists of a glaze, white or
coloured, generally covering a coarse paste resembling stone-
ware, which is sometimes of quite a red colour. Although now
it is said at an to
artificially produced, originally, early period,
have been discovered by accident. Crackle, it is said by the
Chinese, was known during the southern Sung dynasty (a.d.
There seems to be various of
1127-1278). ways producing
this effect, which appears in the main to have been caused by
the to a sudden in thus
exposing piece drop temperature,
the on the surface to contract faster than the
causing glaze
or biscuit, and so break into sections, which, when
paste baked,
become crackle. Into these small cracks in the glaze, Indian
ink or a red colour were sometimes rubbed, thus heightening
the effect. The Chinese were so completely masters of the
that could turn out at will crackle of
process, they any size,
now known as large, medium, and small crackle, the latter
being called by the French truite, from its resemblance to the
scales of a trout.
The pieces belonging to this special class are generally of
archaic form, ornamented with lion's heads, symbolical figures,
and the usual diaper bands, all in relief, and generally coloured
brown. These pieces are usually of a greyish- white crackle ;
" '
but, in the whole-coloured class, we find crackle applied to
white, all the celadon shades, turquoise blue, apple-green ; in
fact, it seems only to have been reel that did not lend itself to
the or, for some reason, was not so We
process, employed.
K 2