Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/266

 medallions which contain floral compositions, landscapes, dragons, phœnixes, children at play, and so forth, in yellow, green, purple, and red enamels. Vases of this Ko-kutaniKutani [sic] (old Kutani) are scarcely ever found. Indeed, specimens of any shape are rare, but those most frequently met with are plates, small dishes (muko-dzuke or vegetable vessels), cups, saké bottles, censers, and incense-boxes (kō-go). They present a large variety of decorative designs, executed sometimes with consummate skill and always with artistic feeling. There is no difficulty in distinguishing these pieces from the enamelled porcelains of Arita or Nabeshima: the balance and softness of the colours; their tone; the subdued yet rich character of the decoration, and the comparative absence of gold and silver in combination with vitrifiable enamels, constitute familiar points of difference.

One class of old Kutani decoration, belonging to the famille rouge, must be specially mentioned. In this the whole surface of the piece is covered with red, to which are applied designs in gold, silver, light green, and, more rarely, purple and yellow enamels. It has been erroneously asserted, and is commonly believed, that the first employment of red as a ground for decorative designs belongs to a late period of the Kutani manufacture. Such is not the case. This fashion of decoration occurs on old and choice examples of the ware. But the character of the red differs essentially from that of the modern manufacture; the former being a soft, subdued colour, more like a bloom than an enamel; the latter a glossy and comparatively crude pigment. A further and readily appreciated distinction is that the gold and silver of