Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/116

 being to prevent the sale of any of the porcelains produced, to restrain the potters from taking employment at other kilns, and to exclude all travellers or workmen from other districts. The factory thus escaped the influence of the Dutch traders, and its decorative methods were governed virtually by the canons of Japanese taste. The ornamentation of the pieces is consequently less profuse than that of the Imari-yaki, and the ware altogether is characterised by chasteness and delicacy. The pâte is finer and whiter, with less admixture of foreign particles than that of the "Old Japan," though in some very excellent specimens it has a marked tinge of red. The glaze also is distinguished by purity and lustre: examined carefully, it shows minute pitting similar to that seen in the porcelain of Imari, but of the two the granulation of the former will be found less marked. The most strikingly distinctive feature of the Nabeshima porcelain is that decoration in blue under the glaze is relegated to a subordinate place. In many specimens, indeed, the style of Kakiemon is strictly followed: bleu sous couverte is not employed at all, the designs being executed entirely in vitrifiable enamels. As a general rule, however, cobaltiferous manganese is sparingly used, but it is evidently a mineral prepared differently from that of the Arita potters. The tone is lighter and more delicate, so that, even in pieces where a blue scroll constitutes the chief part of the decoration, nothing is seen of the rich, massed effect of the Imari colours. Gold is applied in moderation, and the deep, dark red of the "Old Japan" is replaced by a pigment of lighter tone, often justifying the appellation "orange." Pieces decorated entirely with blue under the glaze