Page 325 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

MONOCHROMATIC GLAZES

class, for, as may easily be conjectured, the develop-

ments and itmeprrmo"veimmeitnattsorisn."trodTuhcredoubgyhotuhtemthsecaMricenlgy

justify the

dynasty and during the eras of Kang-hsi, Yung-ching,

and Chien-lung they manufactured numerous pieces

some of which were facsimilies of Sung Ting-yao,

while others resembled it only in the nature of their

pate and the colour of their glaze. Among three

beautiful varieties of this later Ting-yao it is difficult to

assign the preference. In one the biscuit is so thin

that a vase twelve or fourteen inches high only weighs

a few ounces. It has boldly crackled glaze the

crackle running in generally parallel lines and its

colour varies from cream grey to light buff. Incised

in the biscuit are delicate designs, usually dragons

grasping jewels among flames, flying phoenixes, or
scrolls of peonies. The pate is reddish brown, as fine

as pipe-clay, and the technique is in all respects per-

fect. It is impossible to be deceived in these speci-

mens. They commend themselves at once to the

most ignorant amateur. In another variety the bis-

cuit, though of the same quality and fineness, is con-

siderably thicker, in order to carry decoration in

relief. The designs employed in this case are always

purely conventional, copied for the most part from

ancient bronzes, and so accurately cut as to resemble

impressions in wax. The glaze is crackled, but the

crackle differs from that of the last mentioned variety

in being round or angular. In lustre the advantage

is on the side of the specimens having thicker biscuit,

but even in the most highly finished examples of the

latter, waxiness rather than gloss or oiliness is to be

looked for. Further, the connoisseur will readily

recognise that a shining glaze would be incongruous

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