CHINA
MONOCHROMATIC WARES
which it is sometimes mistaken. Not infrequently the two colours occur in combination, the turquoise blue appearing as clouds or broad streaks among the pea- cock green. There is crackle of varying fineness, and the pare of the choicest specimens is close-grained, white porcelain. From the second half of the CAzen- Jung era until the middle of the nineteenth century ( Taou-kwang era) an inferior, dark, pottery pate was often used, though the glaze and colour were of a high order of merit. That peacock green was among the monochromes produced during the Ming dynasty is proved by the lists of wares requisitioned for im- perial use at that epoch, rice-bowls and saucers of peacock-green colour being among the articles men- tioned in the requisitions of the Lang-ching era (1567-1572).
The cucumber-rind green is perhaps best known to Western collectors and most highly esteemed by them. It is a dark, opaque colour, rich, full-bodied, and lustrous. The glaze is finely crackled. What has been said with regard to the pdte of turquoise blue and peacock green applies to this variety also ; namely, that the choicest specimens have fine porce- lain biscuit, pottery of varying coarseness being a mark of comparatively modern and inferior tech- nique. In the 7ao-/u there is mention of three kinds of “imperial ware,” produced during the Kang-hst era under the direction of the celebrated Chang. Two of these—eel-skin yellow and _ olive-green spotted with yellow — have already been described. The third is called “snake-skin green” (Shé-pi-/i), a term said to have been applied at that time to the glaze subsequently known as “ cucumber-rind.”’ Cucumber-rind green of really fine quality is one of
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