CHINA
MONOCHROMATIC WARES
the same piece must be regarded as a technical defect, but it often increases rather than diminishes the charm of the ware. The finest colour can be compared to nothing more aptly than to a perfectly ripe cherry. It has all the transparency, éc/at, and delicacy of the ruddy fruit. There is crackle, but it forms an almost imperceptible network, merely serving to give play of light and shade. Many tones of red are to be found in this class, but all alike are distinguished by clear- ness. Occasionally there is found a faint frosting of the surface or of parts of it; the glaze of such speci- mens bears a close resemblance to the skin of a freshly plucked persimmon.
In the second variety the glaze is appreciably thicker; the colour deeper and less transparent. From brilliant ruby the red passes through innumerable gradations of tone to ox-blood, strongly mottled by dark spots of varying size. Not infrequently a portion of the surface in this class of Lang-yao presents a distinctly green hue, due to excess of oxygen in the furnace. Such a feature, though in truth a technical fault, does not detract from the beauty of the ware, and since it can only occur in glazes coloured with silicate of cop- per —that is to say, in the glazes of genuine speci- mens — its presence may not be unwelcome to the amateur. There is crackle in this variety also, but owing to the thickness of the glaze and its greater opacity, the meshes are less perceptible.
In the third variety the glaze is distinctly more vitreous than in either of the preceding cases; and is further distinguished by the presence of minute flashes or flecks of lighter colour. This, though still a fine and valuable porcelain, must be ranked after the types of Lang-yao described above. The white flashes,
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