Page 399 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

MONOCHROMATIC WARES

nor the inner surface has white glaze. These parts
are either covered with the same black glaze as that

seen on the rest of the specimen, or they have a

warm brown glaze. The presence of white glaze,

however, is not to be regarded as condemning a piece.

It is found on the bottoms and interiors of many

specimens of mirror black which, but for the absence

of golden speckles, would rank high among mono-

chromes. These are further distinguished by their

pate of true porcelain. As for the U-chin, or metallic

black, the duller variety of it is typically seen in the
the " " and black grounds with
Black Hawthorns

enamelled decoration so highly prized by Western

collectors, as well as in numerous but decidedly in-

ferior productions of the Kang-hsi, and subsequent

eras, where the black surface is ornamented with an

imperfectly fired tracery of gold. Close inspection

of these various specimens of U-chin will generally

disclose a greenish tinge, more or less marked and

plainly due to defective technique. The more bril-

liant variety, on the other hand, is either pure black,
or if it has any tints of green and blue, owes them to

iridescence. This latter glaze is found, for the most

part, on very thin, delicately manufactured specimens
of fine porcelain chiefly bowls and plates dating

from the Yung-ching, and Chien-lung eras. In the
" Manufactures "
Catalogue of Ching-te-chen con-

tained in the " Annals of Fu-liang," and quoted in
Julien's " Porcelain
M. Chinoise," it is distinguished
email noir mat de 1' is characterised
as " Europe " and

as a new production, which last term is also applied

to vases having gold decoration on a black ground.

There appears to have been comparatively little

difficulty in manufacturing black glaze of a certain