Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/326

 CHINA

ing is often accompanied by speckles of transparent green which greatly enhance the charm. The third type, of which the presence of green is the distin- guishing feature, is said to be due in great part to accidents of temperature in the kiln—some sudden oxidation of the reducing flame. But it is difficult to credit this, for in certain specimens the green occupies a place at least as important as the red. It is a green comparable only to the soft, restful colour seen in the rind of an apple or a peach, and it passes into red resembling just such a warm flush as Nature associates with this green. Possibly the variegation from red to green was originally due to chance, but that it afterwards became a special technical triumph there can be very little doubt. At all events, the result of the combination in its happiest form is that there is reproduced in a porcelain glaze the skin of a ripe peach, with all its exquisite shading of tones. The Prn-kwo-ts’ing is, in fact, the prince of Chinese coloured glazes. Fine specimens are exceedingly rare. They generally take the form of utensils con- nected with caligraphy, the most revered of all accomplishments in the Middle Kingdom — as little flower vases for placing on the desk; low bottles for washing the pen, ovoid in section with wide circular bases and narrow necks; round flattened bowls for holding water to mix with Indian ink, and small boxes for vermilion. As was the case in the rouge vif of the Ming dynasty, engraved decoration is often found under the Pin-hwo-ts’ ing glaze, but it seldom covers the whole surface, being generally confined to medallions of coiled dragons, phcenixes with curved wings, or floral scrolls. The péte is pure white and perfectly fine; the inner and under surfaces are 296