Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/341

complete translucidity. Technical skill in the manufacture of glazes could scarcely be carried beyond the point reached by the makers of these beautiful porcelains.

Blue monochromes were largely manufactured in the second half of the Ming dynasty as well as in the Imperial workshops of the Kang-hsi and succeeding eras. Some varieties of céladon may be placed in this category, since the tint of their glaze approximates to blue rather than to green. But the subject of céladon has already been sufficiently discussed. Allusion is made here to blues essentially recognised as such by Western connoisseurs. There are seven principal varieties, namely, soufflé blue, azure blue, clair-de-lune or lilac, lapis blue, Mazarin blue, watered blue and "blue of the sky after rain."

The practice of applying colour to porcelain by insufflation undoubtedly dates from a very early period. In certain specimens of Sung dynasty Chün-yao, it is plain that this process was resorted to. The method has already been described in connection with bleu sous couverte, and it remains only to note here that some of the finest blue monochromes were thus manufactured. The blue of choice pieces is remarkable for depth and brilliancy, and the mottling of the surface, sometimes so minute as to be scarcely perceptible, sometimes bold and strong, lends charming softness to the glaze. In monochromes of this class large imposing specimens are quite exceptional, the soufflé blue in pieces of size generally serving as a field for coloured enamels, for decoration in gold, or for medallions enclosing designs in blue on a white ground. Bowls, cups, plates, and such objects constitute the bulk of obtainable monochromatic exam-