Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/134



The conspicuous fault of a vast majority of blue-and-white porcelains is that the body of the piece has a watery, bluish tint, offering a weak and unsatisfactory contrast to the colour of the decoration. But in the ware now discussed the pure white of the wax-like covering applied to the pâte constitutes an inimitable field for the blue decoration, which stands out with dazzling brilliancy and distinctness and is yet charmingly soft. The manufacture of such ware involved much labour. The pâte having been prepared with great care and worked down to almost wafer-like thinness, had to be sun-dried until it became tough enough to handle. It was then dipped in a solution of kaolin or steatite, and set once more to dry. Either of these drying processes might have been easily accomplished in the kiln. But the Chinese potter did not stove his pieces before applying the decoration sous couverte and the glaze. He preferred to take the trouble of drying them for months,