CHINA
MONOCHROMATIC WARES
nor the inner surface has white glaze. These parts are either covered with the same black glaze as that seen on the rest of the specimen, or they have a warm brown glaze. The presence of white glaze, however, is not to be regarded as condemning a piece. It is found on the bottoms and interiors of many specimens of mirror black which, but for the absence of golden speckles, would rank high among mono- chromes. These are further distinguished by their pate of true porcelain. As for the U-chim, or metallic black, the duller variety of it is typically seen in the the “ Black Hawthorns” and black grounds with enamelled decoration so highly prized by Western collectors, as well as in numerous but decidedly in- ferior productions of the Kang-/s1, and subsequent eras, where the black surface is ornamented with an imperfectly fired tracery of gold. Close inspection of these various specimens of U-chin will generally disclose a greenish tinge, more or less marked and plainly due to defective technique. The more bril- liant variety, on the other hand, is either pure black, or if it has any tints of green and blue, owes them to iridescence. This latter glaze is found, for the most part, on very thin, delicately manufactured specimens of fine porcelain — chiefly bowls and plates — dating from the Yung-ching, and Chien-/ung eras. In the “ Catalogue of Ching-té-chén Manufactures” con- tained in the “ Annals of Fu-liang,” and quoted in M. Julien’s “ Porcelain Chinoise,” it is distinguished as “‘email noir mat de |’Europe”’ and is characterised as a new production, which last term is also applied to vases having gold decoration on a black ground. There appears to have been comparatively little difficulty in manufacturing black glaze of a certain
325
325
