Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/292

 CHINA

characteristic variety deserves special mention. It has thin and strikingly light biscuit covered with lustre- less glaze that shows a distinct tinge of buff and so closely resembles the shell of an egg as to proclaim at once its maker’s intention. ‘There is no orna- mentation, either incised or in relief, and the ware depends entirely on the softness and delicacy of its general appearance. Judging by the care evidently bestowed on the manufacture of these pieces, it is im- possible to class them in an inferior grade of keramic objects, though®they may not rank as high as the Ting-yao proper. In Japan they have always been esteemed for the sake of their perfect adaptability as flower vases: their quiet mellow surface consorts ad- mirably with brilliant as with sober blossoms. The most characteristic of these vases are without crackle, but occasionally the glaze is covered with net-work of very fine veining. When this is the case the pate has usually greater weight and thickness. Indications pointing with any distinctness to the age of the soft- paste Kiang-nan porcelains are difficult to fix. That examples of the work of the Sung or even of the Yuan potters survive only in the smallest numbers, goes without saying. The majority of the best speci- mens now extant are probably from the hands of Ming or early Tsing experts. The best test of age is that they should fulfil the general rules applicable to good porcelain as to fineness and thinness of biscuit uni- formity and lustre of glaze, and careful technique. According to the author of the Tao-/u, the potters of Ching-té-chén imitated only the Fang-ting-yao, or rice-flour variety of Timg-yao—that is to say, the Nan-ting type of the ware. It would be more proper to say that they confined their manufacture to this 262