Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/425

When egg-shell porcelain or other very delicate ware had to be glazed, the methods of aspersion or immersion while the clay was still soft, presented additional embarrassment. It is said that the difficulty of handling such pieces inspired the invention of the process of insufflation, to which are due some very beautiful effects. But examination of the curiously mottled glazes of the Chün-yao and other chefs-d'œuvre of the Sung Dynasty, shows that the practice of some such method must have preceded by a considerable interval the manufacture of egg-shell porcelain. In applying glaze by insufflation, the potter used a tube having its orifice covered with gauze, through which he blew the glazing material. In this way a dappled appearance, known by collectors as soufflé, was obtained. The results varied according to the patience with which this process was performed and the degree of consistency of the glaze. Evidently the tone of the colour could be changed by repeating the insufflation; in this respect the process may be described as stippling. Again, by blowing on different colours, intermingled clouds of variegated speckles made their appearance. Finally, by increasing the consistency of the glazing material and the quantity of kaolin it contained, there was produced a shagreened surface varying in roughness from the rind of a lime to a dust of millet seed.

As to the means by which the Chinese manufactured the much-admired egg-shell porcelain, there is no certain information. In Europe, ware of great thinness is obtained by a simple and ingenious device. The porcelain pâte, having been brought to a liquid state, is poured into a mould of dry plaster. That portion of the pâte which comes into direct contact