Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/106

 imitate old ware of the same type by artificially colouring the lower rim of the pâte. But in the majority of cases the potters frankly depended on the resources of their own skill and were fully justified by the result. For these Nien-yao and T'ang-yao céladons undoubtedly rank high among wares of the Middle Kingdom. They differ from their prototypes primarily in the nature of their pâte, which is true porcelain, fine, white, less dense and on the whole better manipulated than the Lung-chuan-yao biscuit. Their glaze, too, is thinner and less lustrous, lacking the wonderful depth and solid softness of the early céladons. In respect of colour, the comparison is difficult. The emerald tint of precious jade is seldom found, or the delicately fresh colour of young onion sprouts, or the indescribable nuance of bluish green that constituted connoisseurs' delight in preceding centuries. But, on the other hand, there is a wonderful gradation of tints from green so pale as to be almost grey to grass colour and azure. These restful and æsthetic monochromes deserve even more notice than they have received. In many of them the potter, not relying wholly on beauty of colour, heightened the decorative effect by adding elaborate arabesques and scroll patterns, incised or in relief; which designs, being executed with admirable skill, invest the Nien-yao and T'ang-yao céladons with great attractions for Western collectors, especially since the shapes are often fine and the dimensions of the pieces noble. Notably charming is a variety in which the decoration is made to appear like a tracery of white lace lying under the delicate green glaze. Good examples of these comparatively modern céladons are to be found in European and American collections,