CHINA
for holding rouge. Western collectors usually class pieces thus decorated among the "imperial wares" of the Ming dynasty, an appellation particularly unhappy in this case, inasmuch as genuine specimens of yellow and green porcelain dating from the Ming dynasty may be said to have no existence outside China. Such pieces as have left the country belong to the Chien-lung or Kang-hsi era. The yellow of the Ming dynasty appears to have been canary, or straw colour, varying slightly in tone, but always remarkable for shell-like softness and semi-transparency which even the Chien-lung experts evidently found difficulty in reproducing. Their yellow, surrounding either blue or green designs, is generally an opaque and somewhat heavy colour, though the decorative effect of the combination is undoubtedly beautiful. Large quantities of yellow and green porcelain were manufactured during the Taou-kwang (1821–1851) and Hien-fung (1851–1862) periods, and specimens of these dates are freely offered for sale by Chinese dealers who confidently refer them to the Chien-lung factories. Their comparatively hard colours, lustreless glaze, and chalky pâte should enable collectors to distinguish them without much difficulty. A rarer combination than any of these is that of yellow and purple, the latter colour (of the garnet type) being "reserved" amid the yellow ground. To this category also belongs yellow decoration on a red ground, of which some specimens dating from the Chia-ching (1522–1567) and Wan-li (1573–1620) eras are still to be found. The ground colour is not, however, an enamel but rather a pigment incapable of resisting the effects of wear and tear, and to be therefore classed with inferior orders of manu-
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