Page 162 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

8o Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

celadons is due to the presence of oxide of iron, whether assisted
or not by oxide of cobalt. Possibly the earliest celadons were the
accidental result of the iron in a strongly ferruginous clay escaping
in the heat of the kiln and imparting a green tinge to an other-

wise colourless glaze. The conditions in the Lung-ch'iian dis-
trict would have specially favoured such an accident, for the local
clays were of the ferruginous kind, as is shown by their peculiarity,
which we have already noted, of turning red or reddish brown when
exposed without protection to the heat of the kiln. The presence

of iron in greater or less quantity is a common feature of potter's

clays all the world over, and it is usual in modern potteries to pass
the clay over strong magnets in order to remove this disturbing
element when a pure white ware is in view. This fact alone will
explain the prevalence of green tints of the celadon type among
the earlier Chinese wares, and observation of these results would

naturally lead to the discovery that a certain quantity of par-

ticular clay mixed with the ordinary glaze would produce a beau-
tiful green colour, resembling jade. The reddish brown spots occa-
sionally observed in old celadon glazes are no doubt due to flaws
in the glaze-covering, which allowed a partial exposure of the body,
or to a local excess of iron oxide in the material. Like a great

many other accidental effects, these were turned to account by
the Chinese, and in some examples we find patches of brown which

evince a deliberate intention (Plate 21). These effects are highly

prized by the Japanese, who call the ware Tohi seiji or " spotted

celadon."

The manufacture of celadon must have been very extensive

in the Lung-ch'iian district. Besides the principal factories at

Liu-t'ien Shih, there were minor works at Chin-ts'un already men-
tioned, and according to the T'ao lu ^ at Li-shui Hsien ^ in the Ch'u-
chou Fu, the latter already operative in the Sung dynasty. Its

wares were included in the comprehensive term CKu yao, and

" the material was coarse and thick, the colour similar to that
of Lung-ch'iian ware, both dark and light, but the workmanship was

coarser."

At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, we are told^ that the

Lung-ch'iian factories were removed to Ch'u-chou, and that the

ware made on the new site was green (ch'ing), with a white body

which, like the older ware, assumed a red colour in the exposed

iBk. vii., fol. 7 recto. " M7KM ' T'ao lu, bk. vi., fol. 6.