Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/177

 and when the standards adopted in China itself began to be recognised as technically true at least, soft-paste blue-and-white ware quickly rose to its due place in the esteem of collectors.

In addition to "Hawthorn," Kai-pien-yao, and hard-paste "egg-shell," large quantities of ordinary blue-and-white porcelain were manufactured during the Kang-hsi era. The general verdict as to these wares is that the grand colour of the blue is always an attractive feature. The páte is fine, the glaze smooth and lustrous, the workmanship skilful; but over and above these recommendations the tone of the blue especially attracts attention. Its clearness, brilliancy, and depth distinguish it from the blue of the rival epoch, Chien-lung (1736–1795), and give it a marked advantage over the colour of the Lung-wang-yao (1567–1619), though the full, solid tone of, the latter is unquestionably imposing. A very little experience will enable the connoisseur to recognise the bright, pure Kang-hsi blue from anything of later date, while the only Ming specimens large enough and numerous enough to create any confusion, namely, those of the Lung-ching and Wan-li workshops, present, on their side, unmistakable features. The Kang-hsi decorators took their designs from a very large field. Especially addicted to figure subjects, they loved to depict hunting scenes, war scenes, garden scenes, in all of which Mandarins, braves, dames of high and low degree, and children at play occupied a great part of the space to be decorated. Palm trees and quaintly shaped rocks appear everywhere. Geometrical diapers, and ingenious arabesques, often betraying distinctly Egyptian affinities, and boldly curved scroll patterns constitute another class of