Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/250

 CHINA

ing to be desired; the enamels, pure and brilliant, are worked out in the most careful manner, and owin to the thinness of the pée the fine tint of the body colour shows faintly through the pearl-like glaze, producing an effect of charming delicacy. Many of the best specimens bear the mark of the Yung-ching era in blue sous couverte.

To the same class (Awan-yao) as the variety just de- scribed belong specimens having a rich black, or very dark green, ground, to which decoration in vitrifiable enamels is applied. ‘These porcelains, like the Kuan- yao mentioned above, are rare, and examples are, for the most part, confined to bowls, cups and small plates. The black, or dark green, ground is sometimes finely chagrined, or covered with microscopic scrolls, and the enamels are of the highest quality. In some speci- mens the enamel design is reserved, in others it is superposed, but in either case the technique is perfect, indicating an extreme exercise of the workman’s skill. The Chinese connoisseur values these porce- lains highly. ‘They nearly always bear a year-mark, the name of a factory, or ideographs indicating es- teem.

More frequently found than either of the above varieties are specimens covered on the outer surface with red glaze— generally jujube or coral red — among which arabesques and scrolls are reserved in white. These porcelains often show admirable tech- nique, but their decoration does not demand any very exceptional exercise of skill, and many of them give indications of having been manufactured for ordinary use. The best pieces may be identified by the lustre and richness of the body glaze, by the delicate tracing of the decorative design, by the care shown in pick-

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