Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/234

 good, but his practice is bad. For having observed the existence of such confusion, he proceeds to make it worse confounded by ascribing to China wares which are unquestionably Japanese. That most conscientious of connoisseurs, Mr. A. W. Franks, detects the French writer's error, but remains evidently uncertain as to its extent. The fact is, that this fashion of decoration, though the rule in Japan, was the exception in China. For one piece of Chinese porcelain thus decorated, thousands of Japanese are to be found. The term invented by Jacquemart conveys a good idea of the style of the ware. It is at once distinguishable from the "Famille Verte" by the fact that green occupies a comparatively insignificant place in the decoration. The salient colours are blue and red, almost equally balanced, the former under the glaze. A constantly recurring feature in the design is the hanakago, or basket of flowers, so well known to collectors of Japanese porcelain. In conjunction with this, or independently, are masses of chrysanthemums and flowering peonies, bordered by floral scrolls traced in gold on a blue ground and generally broken by medallions. Diapers and arabesques are freely used. Or again, conventional rocks with flowers growing from them form the central design, around which are disposed bands of blue with gold scrolls, and broad rings divided into panels containing fishes, crustaceans, marine animals, birds, insects, phœnixes, flowers, and miniature figures. Even in the absence of other evidence, these porcelains alone would suffice to dispel all doubt as to the existence of an intimate relation between Japanese and Chinese decorative motives. The only easily detected difference between the styles is in the