Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/42

 exchanging products with the Middle Kingdom. Without assuming that these specimens in the Shôsôin collection are to be regarded as chefs d'œuvre of Chinese keramists during the eighth century, it will at all events be justifiable to infer that the general character of the ware produced at the time was faïence of mediocre quality, and that the favourite colour was green, a conclusion already established, as stated above, by examination of specimens that Chinese connoisseurs refer to the Tang dynasty.