CHINA
MONOCHROMATIC WARES
is mixed with the &ao/in a yellow earth prepared in the same way as petun-tse. It is conceivable that such a clay is better suited to receive this species of glaze.’ Incomplete as is the information afforded by this account, it shows at least that the preparation of the red glaze — whether Hszen-hung (rouge vif) or Pao-shi-hung (ruby-red) — was a work demanding the greatest skill and experience. It would be ex- ceedingly interesting to know how the Chinese potter originally achieved this admirable mono- chrome. Complete success he could never com- mand, owing to the extreme sensitiveness of his cdectiails to atmospheric influences during stoving, but it is pretty certain that with the exception of trifling modifications thus caused, he owed nothing to accident. Of course these early Ming specimens are now known only by written descriptions and by H’siang’s illustrations, which latter, however useful, are evidently incapable of conveying any accurate impression of the colour. Indeed, none of the fine Chinese reds can by any possibility be reproduced on paper: they lose the brilliancy and lustre to which so much of their beauty is due.
The enormous values quoted by H’siang for the Chi-hung pieces illustrated in his catalogue prove that the successful production of such ware had virtually ceased before the era of which he wrote (second half of sixteenth century). The great renown of the Chéng-hwa (1465-1487) potters suggests that they too, ought to have bequeathed to posterity some fine examples of this highly prized monochrome. But in their time attention was especially directed to deco- ration with vitrifiable enamels, and they seemed to have used red chiefly as an auxiliary. At all events,
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