Page 480 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

milion oxide of manganese, violet and black arseni-
; ;

cal acid or stannic acid, white chloride of gold,
;

certain shades of carmine and oxide of chromium,
;

Acertain tints of green. third range of colours was

developed at a still lower temperature. These are

known as couleurs de petit feu. They are of the nature

of pigments rather than enamels, and the Chinese

potters do not seem to have employed them until the

middle of the eighteenth century.

The glazes noted above as exceptions to the rule

of application to the surface of the crude pate, were
"
"

yaenldlo"wc,ucviuomlbete,r-preiancdoc"kgrgereene.n, king-fisher's wing
These were applied to

porcelain in the form of biscuit, but, on the other

hand, the temperature to which they were subse-

quently subjected almost justifies their inclusion in

the category of couleurs de grandfeu.

It is evident that great difficulty attended the

manufacture of couleurs de grand feu according to the

Chinese process. The potter, in order to apply his

glaze, had to handle the piece before stoving, when

the soft clay was sensible to the slightest pressure.

To pour the glazing material over it in this condi-

tion, or to immerse it in a bath of glaze, with such

delicacy of manipulation that no distortion of form

occurred, was a feat requiring much practical skill.
To facilitate the operation a foot of clay was left

adhering to the piece until the process of glazing

was completed, and on the removal of this super-

fluous clay, the rim, or it might be the whole un-

der surface, of the base remained unglazed. Some-

times the latter defect was partially remedied, but in

scarcely any cases was glaze applied to the rims at the

bottom of Chinese wares.

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