Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/347

brilliant of Chinese monochromes. Genuinely fine specimens have become exceedingly scarce, though their production was continued with success until the end of the Chia-tsing era (1796-1821). They are close-grained, hard porcelain, with soft lustrous glaze of perfectly uniform turquoise blue, and having decorative designs—dragons and phœnixes—engraved in the pâte. Crackle is absent and the technique is unimpeachable. It is important to notice these two points—the nature of the pâte and the absence of crackle—if the amateur desires to distinguish between the very choicest specimens and those of second-rate quality. The variety having fine porcelain pâte covered with uniform "king-fisher" glaze of delicate tint with designs carefully engraved in the biscuit, ranks among Imperial Wares (Kuan-yao) in Chinese eyes. An inferior though scarcely less beautiful description has a net-work of fine crackle and comparatively soft biscuit with a timbre resembling that of faience rather than of porcelain proper. In this kind engraved designs are exceptional, but decoration in high relief occurs not infrequently. Sometimes the uniformity of the surface is broken by metallic spots, large or small, producing a highly pleasing effect. Turquoise glazes are also found upon reddish brown stone-ware, thin but comparatively coarse. Such specimens are either to be classed as third-rate examples of Chien-lung and Chia-tsing manufactures, or to be attributed to the workshops of Taou-Kwang (1821-1851) and subsequent eras. Many of them possess great decorative attractions.

It should be explained that in insisting upon the absence of crackle the intention is merely to note a feature of the one and only variety of "king-fisher"