SINGLE OR SELF-COLOUR GLAZES
Following the white in order is the remarkable series of single colour
glazes of various hues, beginning with the sea-green or Celadon,
which is a pale green, or even a greyish green; and the yellow,
especially the Imperial yellow, which is reserved for the Emperors
of the Tsing dynasty; camellia-green like the leaves of that plant,
painted in proper colours; light brown, a bright colour with quite a
metallic lustre, was known as "_feuille morte_," or dead leaf colour.
So copper-reds give various self-colours such as haricot, various
_flambés_, and through a long range it reaches eventually a pure
black. Then there are the blues, covering a range no less varied and
interesting. Turquoise-blue, a tint which can only be obtained by
applying it upon the biscuit china which has already passed through the
kiln; the other blues, _fouetté_, _soufflé_, _trempé_, are brushed on,
blown on, or dipped according to the method used in applying the colour
glaze. Another way of applying the glaze was by its being powdered on
through a fine gauze or dabbed on by means of a wet swab dipped in the
colour which was to be used as the single colour glaze.
[Illustration: "SANG DE BŒUF." SELF-COLOUR.
A tall _sang de bœuf_ fungus-growth, wonderfully true to nature. Yung
Ching period. This example bears on the base the mark of Ching-hwa
(1465-1488). Round the base and under the feet it is lacquered. The
fungus, which grows at the root of trees, when dried, was so durable
that it became the symbol of longevity and immortality. Hence large
specimens are preserved in the temples, and it is both painted and
modelled with figures of the immortals. It may also be found in the
mouth of the deer, another emblem of longevity. The example given is
in the finest _sang de bœuf_ with all the characteristics of that
lovely Celadon colour. This brilliant red was a Kang-he discovery. It
is included in the Lang-yao class, being so called after Lang Ting-tso,
superintendent of King-te-chin.
The special point to which attention should be given is the lacquered
pattern round the base, which is inlaid with pearl shells, in the
style known as "_Lac burgauté_." In Chinese porcelain this process is
uncommon, but in Japanese porcelain and pottery cloisonné enamel is
frequent, applied either with or without the metal cloisons. Lacquer,
too, may be frequently found as a coating--black with flowers in gold
and silver; black with Ho-Ho birds and flowers; a rich red; brown;
green; gold, &c. Nearly all of these pieces are comparatively modern
Japanese ware, being made largely at Kioto, Seto, Yashima, Yamato,
and other factories in Japan. To this class, which includes porcelain
in combination with other substances, must be ascribed those delicate
Japanese, egg-shell, covered cups and saucers, painted with flowers
in colours, and having an outside covering of the finest basket-work.
These are made chiefly at Yamato.]
[Illustration]
The purples as glazes are no less rich in variations, and in these
tints the Chinese have never been rivalled. These self-colour pieces
are decorated with symbolical figures or sacred animals, whilst flowers
and inscriptions from the sacred books are found as a decoration in
gold, which unfortunately lies upon the glaze and is more or less
easily removed by hard wear. Again, similar designs are engraved in
the paste, or modelled in relief and painted with such colours as
are able to resist the temperature of the furnace. Many pieces have
spaces reserved in white for further decoration, and sometimes the
decoration is executed in white slip on the paste itself after its
first firing has brought it to the biscuit state. These lovely single
colour glazes are certainly amongst the finest Oriental specimens
of porcelain which are worthy of the collector's attention; their
softness, their brilliancy, their range of colour alike entitle them
to a high place in any scheme of decorative treatment either in the
home or on the collector's shelves. We call them china or porcelain
vases, &c., and in that we are only following the Chinese usage, though
the colour glaze is often so thick as to hide the material or body
of the paste altogether. The thickness prevents any transmission of
light; they have an opaque more or less coarse clay white or red body,
and amongst our English products would be classified as stoneware.
But the colour is _the_ thing, and here we shall repeat ourselves a
little, because it is necessary to really understand not alone what the
colours are, but generally the order of their invention. The oldest
colour was, as we have said, Celadon, or sea-green, which reached a
high state of perfection about 1500. No doubt there are many Celadon
pieces of great antiquity still awaiting identification. It was in the
Seuen-tih period of the Ming dynasty that this Celadon became a famous
product. The porcelain is very thick, and to this thickness it owes its
preservation. Like the English ironstone china, it stands hard wear.
All the Persians and the Turks value Celadon not for its intrinsic
beauty, but because they thought it to be infallible as a test for
poison in their food.
The yellow glaze is the colour adopted by the present Tsing dynasty
as the Imperial colour. Fine specimens covered with yellow may then
be regarded as having been destined principally for the use of the
Emperors, but it does not follow that the use of this colour was
proscribed in the decoration, either as a yellow or as a partial tint.
Blue was one of the highly esteemed colours as well as one of the
earliest. We have dealt with blue as an under-glaze decoration. It was
not alone used for decorative purposes in drawings of figures, birds,
animals, foliage, and landscape, but it was used in various forms as a
body colour either on the biscuit itself, before glazing, for with the
glaze as a self-colour, as a Celadon, in fact--that is, the blue was
applied _in_ the glaze or _in_ the enamel.
We read that in 954 A.D. the Emperor Chin-Tsung ordered some vases to
be made which should be "blue as the sky after rain when seen between
the clouds," and it is said that his celebrated porcelain was of this
blue, fine like a looking-glass, thin as paper, and giving a sound like
a musical stone, the only defect being that the feet of the pieces were
of a coarse yellow clay. Alas for the romantic story!
The most recent catalogue of the Musée Guimet at Paris, drawn up by the
national experts with the assistance of such Chinese experts as were
available, states that the story is all a mistake. The word which was
translated "blue" should have been translated "green," which brings us
back again to Celadon.
During the Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) it appears that a fine red was
discovered from which porcelain was made resembling chiselled red jade.
This may be the celebrated "_sang de bœuf_," which is red, but, as we
have seen, red with qualifications.
The purple or lilac glaze before referred to seems to have been made
quite as early as the Sung dynasty, but with this, as with all the
other glazes, colour alone is no indication of age.
About the year 1600 there lived that famous potter called Chow, whose
fame was obtained by his excellence in skilfully imitating ancient
vases. All the records that have come to us show very clearly that from
the earliest times the potters were in the habit of copying the works
of their predecessors. So well was this continually done that they were
able to impose upon the best experts of their own country.
The brown glazes, according to Père d'Entrecolles in a letter dated
1712, were at that time quite recent inventions, and he applied the
same remarks to the coffee-colour glazes. The black glaze has been
noted. It has several varieties--the dull black itself, the dull black
glazed over with green so as to make a bright black giving a green
tinge only at the edges, and the Tsing black, which is an uncommon
brilliant black familiarly known as mirror black.
[Illustration: "CLAIRE DE LUNE" SELF COLOUR. CRACKLE PORCELAIN.
Another production of the Chinese which has never been successfully
produced in Europe is this crackled or crackle ware. They were very
proficient in producing regulated crackles, large, small, or medium,
and that which was no doubt at first accidental became one of the most
important and successful means of decoration. Some pieces, indeed,
are really marvellous, showing successive bands of crackle ornament,
coloured decoration, self-colour, and white, others have a double
network--_double réseau_--with the crackle coloured simultaneously in
two tones. Historically this ware is of great antiquity, being noted
during the Sung dynasty (960-1270). As a rule, the clay employed is
very coarse, of a buff or a pale red colour merging into white. It
comes under the designation of porcelain because the Chinese do not
differentiate between that which is opaque and translucent.
The illustration, unfortunately, does not show the colour, the
beautiful _claire de lune_, which is so rare and so indescribable. The
specimen of _sang de bœuf_ given under "Self-colours" is, like this,
a fungus of the genus _Agaricus_, the emblem of longevity, because it
was practically indestructible. It was also emblematical of fertility.
Emerson wrote, "Nobody cares for planting the poor fungus; so Nature
shakes down from the gills of one poor _agaric_ countless spores." The
fungus is used as a mark, as decoration, and, as we have shown, in vase
form. Probably its shape and symbolism gave rise to the Joo-e sceptre
and to the wide adoption of the Joo-e-head form in ornament. Note that
red-coloured crackle glazes are rarely found, and that apple-green,
turquoise-blue, and _clair de lune_ are the most desirable colours in
crackle. Feen-lung.]
[Illustration]
There are many other self-colours or single glazes to which fanciful
names are given. We have referred to "_clair de lune_" and the peach
bloom. It is very doubtful whether there is any real value in the
names themselves, so we advise our readers to examine specimens in the
Museums, when such colours as liver colour, pigeon's blood, crushed
strawberry, &c., will be found to be purely arbitrary. Perhaps the
widest term applied to these variegated self-colours with a single
glaze is splashed or shot silk. These various mottled or splashed
glazes are named by the Chinese Yao-pien, by the French _flammé_ or
_flambé_. They have curious yet very beautiful veinings like flames of
a fire, hence the name given to them by the French. One colour runs
into the other in the most capricious and yet in the most charming
manner. The first results were no doubt accidental, but soon experience
gave certainty to the master mind of the potter, who was able to define
and measure the combination of the various metallic oxides which would
give him exactly the colouration he desired. The glaze of these pieces
was usually applied upon the dried vessel by dipping or brushing or
powdering, or, as some say, by blowing on with a tube. Or, again, it
may have been a combination of these processes. The potter now had
the means of producing an endless variety of splashing by the proper
application of the prepared glazes: of violet and blue; of turquoise
passing into green; of sea-green, brown, and blue; of maroon, green,
and white; of, in fact, any colours within the range of his knowledge.
He only had to be sure of the furnace. He had to know how his metallic
oxides would combine under the action of heat. The glaze upon vessels
having intricate designs in relief was applied only after the potter
was sure that the pot in its biscuit state was suitable and correct in
form. With most ornaments the danger of damage was thus considerably
reduced. When the biscuit was withdrawn from the kiln the coloured
glaze could be easily applied before the second firing took place. We
have noticed that a much lower temperature was needed in the second
firing and that the heat of a muffle-kiln would suffice. As in the case
of the single glazes, a number of fanciful names have been applied to
the ware, such as tiger-skin, iron rust, &c.
[Illustration: CELADON GLAZES. SINGLE COLOURS AND SPLASHED.
The coloured glazes in the pieces of one colour which we have described
are called "self" or "whole" colour, and they were applied directly
on the dry paste or body so that the whole was fired at one time. The
great heat required for this process caused variations in the tints,
which were partly due to the running of the glaze itself. Where the
glaze lay thickest, the colour would be deepest. Practice led to
perfection, so that the Chinese potters acquired skill in using the
colour with precision and, further, they were able to extend the range
of their operations by using several colours on one piece. Greens of
many hues, blues in various shades, all kinds of reds and yellows,
purples and browns gave to this class great variety and brilliancy.
It must be borne in mind that these coloured glazes were also applied
to biscuit porcelain, that is, to white porcelain, without any glaze,
which had been fired in the kiln for the purpose of fixing the shape.
In this division the paste is generally much thinner than in ordinary
pieces of Celadon, and much more elaboration was given to engraved and
embossed patterns and to reticulated or pierced work. Moreover, it, was
easy to leave some parts of the design in untouched biscuit.
Our illustration shows a set of three splashed Vases (two flat-shaped
and one hexagonal) painted with enamels of green, yellow, and
aubergine, in blotches on a white ground. The handles, which are
monsters, are in apple-green. This style of decoration is known as
tiger-spotted or splashed. Kang-he period.]
The process of decoration by blowing is said to produce a curious
colouring. Take, for instance, red blown on blue. Pieces so decorated
appear to be covered with a soft violet glaze, but on examination it
will be found that the opaque blue is sown all over with minute red
rings formed as a network resembling the finest lace. By the use of
a simple magnifying-glass these rings can be easily traced. It seems
difficult to produce such a marvellous decoration, and yet it is quite
simple. The colour blown on that is the red, which is driven with force
sufficient to form minute bubbles, which burst by the heat of the kiln,
and by their bursting form little rings varying from the size of a
pin's head to that of a pea.
It will be well to give just a little time to a summary of the
colours which are used on Oriental porcelain of all kinds, first in
the under-glaze blue and red, second in the single colour glazes,
including all those which are known by the terms splashed, variegated,
transmuted, or _flammé_ or _flambé_. Preserving the same order set out
in the colour enamels which are used in over-glaze decorations, we find
that the blacks, as before stated, were three in number--a common dull
black, a mirror or metallic black, and the first of these covered by a
thin transparent green glaze, so as to make a shining black. The dull
black was produced from manganese which had some impurities in it,
whilst the mirror black was made of manganese having cobalt in it mixed
with white glaze and an earth containing iron.
The various greens, such as the dark green or _gros vert_, sea-green
or Celadon, apple-green, emerald-green, pea-green, cucumber, and
snake-skin were all derived from iron, copper, and a little cobalt.
[Illustration: PEACH-BLOOM, OR PEACH-BLOW.
The under-glaze reds belonging to the Celadon class differ from the
under-glaze painted reds. The Celadon colours are applied in and with
the glaze, and the other class is, like under-glaze blue, painted on
the biscuit china and then glazed. The range of Celadon reds is very
great, from "Peach-blow," commonly termed "Peach-bloom," to "_sang de
bœuf_." About sixteen of these beautiful shades are within this range.
"Peach-blow" is used as a self-colour glaze, covering the whole of the
piece, but, like all other colours, it is employed also with other
coloured glazes in the decoration of porcelain--white or Celadon. Dr.
Bushell describes peach-blow as "a pale red, becoming pink in some
parts; in others, mottled with russet spots displayed upon a background
of light green Celadon tint." This and many other colours were invented
by Ts'ang Yeng-hsüan, the director of the Imperial works towards the
end of Kang-he's reign. Around the feet of many fine vases of the
Yung-Ching period there are waves in this darkish red, with occasional
flecks of green. In these cases the body of the vases is white.
Examples occur where peach-blow is used as a Celadon colour in pieces
decorated with blue under the glaze.
On the left is a Vase with large bulging body and short expanding neck
of a clear white glaze, on which are blossoms painted in peach-bloom,
with leaves and branches in blue. Kang-he period (1661-1722). Height
with stand, 10½ in.
A circular shaped Vase with tapering neck, expanding mouth, and a
bulbous body. This is decorated with pomegranate fruits in peach-bloom;
the leaves and stalks in rich blue; the whole on a Celadon ground.
Kang-he.]
The many shades of blue-dark blue and that peculiar tint known as
mazarine, powder-blue, sapphire-blue, sky-blue, turquoise-blue,
peacock-blue, "_clair de lune_," and kingfisher-blue--were all secured
from cobalt and copper mixed in various proportions.
In dealing with the important red family we have to distinguish between
the reds derived from copper and those derived from iron and from
gold. The range of tints is very extensive. Those derived from copper
give the more or less fanciful names of "_sang-de-bœuf_," "_sang de
poulet_," "_sang de pigeon_," crimson, crushed strawberry, maroon,
liver colour, and that curious tint known as peach bloom or peach
blow. The reds secured from iron are vermillion, the well-known coral
and the tomato tints. From gold, those beautiful shades of colour to
which we have referred as being crowning triumphs of the Yung-ching and
Keen-lung periods were procured. These, known as ruby, rose, and pink,
were really covering a large range of colours from a very faint pink to
a red purple.
The yellows have a no less extended range. At the head of the list we
find Imperial yellow, then citron or lemon-yellow, eel-skin yellow,
straw, canary, mustard, orange, and sulphur-yellow. Thus we see the
yellows vary from a faint tinge of that colour to a strong shade which
seems to include a little red. All these yellows were derived from
antimony, and the variation was largely secured by the addition of iron.
The next class, the brown colour, was derived from iron or from clay
in which iron in various proportions was present. These browns include
various shades such as bronze, chestnut, chamois, chocolate, coffee,
"_café-au-lait_," dead leaf--"_morte feuille_"--old gold.
The colours on English china for the purposes of contrast are given
next. They were derived from oxides of various metals in various
proportions. The blacks are secured from cobalt, nickel, manganese,
iron, and chromium. The greens are variously derived; the yellow-green
and the emerald-green are secured from chromium and sodium; the
blue-green or celest from chromium, cobalt, silicon, and zinc; whilst
other greens are derived from copper and chromium.
Blues come from cobalt and silicon, except the mat blue, which was
procured from cobalt, lime, and zinc. The reds were made from gold
and iron, which secured many shades of those colours. The blacks were
derived from chromium, iron, and manganese. Another class of European
colours--the purples--came from cobalt, chromium, tin, and calcium.
XV
CHINESE
CRACKLE