Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/252

 CHINA

for holding rouge. Western collectors usually class pieces thus decorated among the “imperial wares”’ of the Ming dynasty, an appellation particularly un- happy in this case, inasmuch as genuine specimens of yellow and green porcelain dating from the Ming dynasty may be said to have no existence outside China. Such pieces as have left the country belong to the Chzen-lung or Kang-hst era. ‘The yellow of the Mzng dynasty appears to have been canary, or straw colour, varying slightly in tone, but always remarkable for shell-like softness and semi-transpar- ency which even the Chzen-/ung experts evidently found difficulty in reproducing. Their yellow, sur- rounding either blue or green designs, is generally an opaque and somewhat heavy colour, though the decorative effect of the combination is undoubtedly beautiful. Large quantities of yellow and green por- celain were manufactured during the Taou-kwang (1821-1851) and Hyzen-fung (1851-1862) periods, and specimens of these dates are freely offered for sale by Chinese dealers who confidently refer them to the Chien-lung factories. ‘Their comparatively hard col- ours, lustreless glaze, and chalky pate should enable collectors to distinguish them without much diffi- culty. A rarer combination than any of these is that of yellow and purple, the latter colour (of the garnet type) being “ reserved”? amid the yellow ground. To this category also belongs yellow decoration on a red ground, of which some specimens dating from the Chia-ching (1522-1567) and Wan-h (1573- 1620) eras are still to be found. The ground colour is not, however, an enamel but rather a pigment in- capable of resisting the effects of wear and tear, and to be therefore classed with inferior orders of manu- 224