398 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUISEUM, 1888. 



served by Hsiaug Tzii-cLiing of some specimens of Tingcliou ware seen 

 by him. 



(1) A sacrificial jar la the form of an elephant from au ancient bronze design. 

 The body forms the wine vessel, the uplifted trnnk the spout, a narrow canopy arch- 

 ing over the saddle the handle, to which is attached a rouud cover ornamented with 

 geometrical and spiral scroll borders surmounted by a knot. The rope girths and 

 ornamental details engraved under a white glaze. 



(2) A branched pricket candlestick — a slender iiillar on a solid foliated stand 

 curves at the top to end in a phceuix-head, from the back of which hangs a ring chain, 

 which suspends the stem of a lotus, branching into three flowers to hold the candles, 

 which are shaded by a huge overhanging leaf. Ornamented with engraving under a 

 pure white glaze. 



(3) Ajar which was of irregular quadrangular section, carved la relief after an an- 

 cient bronze design, with lobes on the body, a scroll border below, and a band of 

 ornament in the form of coiled dragons round the neck. Loop handles terminating 

 in horned heads and with rings hanging from them project from the neck. Covered 

 with glaze the color of ripe grapes, transparent and of a perfect luster — a beautiful 

 vase to hold flowers for the table.* 



INTRODUCTION OF COLORED DECORATION. 



Prior to the Sung dynasty the external color of all porcelain appears 

 to have been solely determined by that of the glaze, and to have been 

 almost entirely monochrome. In a few instances vases were covered 

 with parti-colored glazes, which were apt to flow into one another in the 

 heat of the kiln, and so gave rise to the fortuitous productions known 

 as Yao-pien (the French flambes), articles the decoration of which 

 "changed during the process of baking. ' The Sung porcelain was 

 essentially, I believe, of the same character, the coloring of the article 

 produced being determined only by the kind of glaze which was spread 

 over the paste or biscuit. 



With the sole exception of the Nanfeng ware, and a portion of that 

 from Linch'uan, produced during the Yiian dynasty, none of which 

 seems to have survived to the present day, but which is described as 

 having been decorated with flowers coarsely painted under the glaze, 

 I can find nothing in the works of Chinese writers on this subject to 

 justify the concession of a greater antiquity than the early j)art of the 

 Ming dynasty, i. e., the first half of the fifteenth century, to the orna- 

 mentation of vases with arabesques and scroll work, with landscapes, 

 historical scenes, or genre paintings in several colors. 



This conclusion, if correct, is a point of considerable importance as an 

 aid in determining the true age of specimens which are at times credited 

 with an origin far remote. It is true that celadon vases into the orna- 

 mentation of which leaves enter, are sometimes described as having the 

 leaves veined with dark green, but these deeper shades may result from 

 the fact that the ornamentation has been engraved in the paste, and 

 that the coloring matter has sunk into the line of engraving, thereby 

 producing a darker shade along the lower levels. Other specimens of 



* Bushel! : Oj). cit. Nos. m, 80, 18. 



