Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/247

 PORCELAIN'DECORATED

used to colour the leaves and stems of the plum trees, or to pick out the rocks from which they grow ; the general character of the decoration does not differ, however, from that of the Hé-t:-pai-hwa. The earli- est authenticated specimens of both wares alike date from the Kang-Asi era, and the manufacture was con- tinued with excellent results until the close of the Chien-lung period (1795). These porcelains are prized in China. They appear to have been pro- duced in limited quantities: good pieces are not pro- curable without considerable difficulty. The pdte alone guides the amateur to determine whether a specimen belongs to the Kang-hst or the Chien-lung era —an unessential distinction, seeing that the pro- ductions of the two periods, in this class, are equally excellent. An important point is the quality of the black glaze. It should be glossy, uniform, and free from metallic tints. Very often, however, in speci- mens of the highest excellence, the black ground is pervaded, or broken, by a sheen of dark green. Imi- tations manufactured during the present century are always faulty in this respect. So valuable has the «Black Hawthorn” become, and so scarce is it in the Chinese market, that European potters recently thought it worth their while to forge some imposing specimens and send them to China for sale. The fraud was easily detected owing to the palpable infe- riority of the imported pieces. For some unex- plained reason fine specimens of “ Black Hawthorn” often bear the mark of the Ming Chéng-hwa era, though they were plainly manufactured during the eighteenth century. There is no evidence that any such porcelains were produced by the Ming potters, unless the use of a spurious Mzmg-era mark may be 219