Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/146

 the bottom of the oven was strewn before the stoving. This technical accident, although from its nature likely to occur in the case of inferior wares alone, is not uncommonly seen in pieces upon which great pains were evidently lavished. One peculiarity, which, though not confined to wares of the Chêng-hwa era, is perhaps more noticeable in them than in any other Chinese porcelains, is that within the circular base of the piece a number of hair lines radiate towards the centre, as though the glazing material had been laid on with a paint brush. Such, indeed, was probably the case. The base of a piece was always the last part which a Chinese potter finished. After the decoration and glaze had been applied to the body, the specimen was replaced on the wheel for the purpose of removing the superfluous clay which, adhering to the base, had hitherto served as a means of supporting the piece during the various processes of manufacture. The glazing of the base was then effected, and a brush would have been a convenient method of performing the operation. Why, however, evidences of such a process should be particularly visible in pieces manufactured during the first cycle of the Ming dynasty, and especially during the Chêng-hwa era, there is nothing to indicate, and perhaps it would be misleading to regard them as distinctive of such pieces, whatever some connoisseurs may allege.

The next year-period after Chêng-hwa was Hung-chih (1488-1506). It was not remarkable for blue-and-white porcelains. The supply of fine cobalt, from native and foreign sources alike, is said to have failed, and the manufacture of ware decorated with that mineral under the glaze consequently received a