CHAPTER XIVSINGLE OR SELF-COLOUR GLAZES
Following the white in order is the remarkable series of single colour glazes of various hues, beginning with the sea-green or Celadon, which is a pale green, or even a greyish green; and the yellow, especially the Imperial yellow, which is reserved for the Emperors of the Tsing dynasty; camellia-green like the leaves of that plant, painted in proper colours; light brown, a bright colour with quite a metallic lustre, was known as "feuille morte," or dead leaf colour. So copper-reds give various self-colours such as haricot, variousflambés, and through a long range it reaches eventually a pure black. Then there are the blues, covering a range no less varied and interesting. Turquoise-blue, a tint which can only be obtained by applying it upon the biscuit china which has already passed through the kiln; the other blues,fouetté,soufflé,trempé, are brushed on, blown on, or dipped according to the method used in applying the colour glaze. Another way of applying the glaze was by its being powdered on through a fine gauze or dabbed on by means of a wet swab dipped in the colour which was to be used as the single colour glaze.
"SANG DE BŒUF." SELF-COLOUR.A tallsang de bœuffungus-growth, wonderfully true to nature. Yung Ching period. This example bears on the base the mark of Ching-hwa (1465-1488). Round the base and under the feet it is lacquered. The fungus, which grows at the root of trees, when dried, was so durable that it became the symbol of longevity and immortality. Hence large specimens are preserved in the temples, and it is both painted and modelled with figures of the immortals. It may also be found in the mouth of the deer, another emblem of longevity. The example given is in the finestsang de bœufwith all the characteristics of that lovely Celadon colour. This brilliant red was a Kang-he discovery. It is included in the Lang-yao class, being so called after Lang Ting-tso, superintendent of King-te-chin.The special point to which attention should be given is the lacquered pattern round the base, which is inlaid with pearl shells, in the style known as "Lac burgauté." In Chinese porcelain this process is uncommon, but in Japanese porcelain and pottery cloisonné enamel is frequent, applied either with or without the metal cloisons. Lacquer, too, may be frequently found as a coating—black with flowers in gold and silver; black with Ho-Ho birds and flowers; a rich red; brown; green; gold, &c. Nearly all of these pieces are comparatively modern Japanese ware, being made largely at Kioto, Seto, Yashima, Yamato, and other factories in Japan. To this class, which includes porcelain in combination with other substances, must be ascribed those delicate Japanese, egg-shell, covered cups and saucers, painted with flowers in colours, and having an outside covering of the finest basket-work. These are made chiefly at Yamato.
"SANG DE BŒUF." SELF-COLOUR.
A tallsang de bœuffungus-growth, wonderfully true to nature. Yung Ching period. This example bears on the base the mark of Ching-hwa (1465-1488). Round the base and under the feet it is lacquered. The fungus, which grows at the root of trees, when dried, was so durable that it became the symbol of longevity and immortality. Hence large specimens are preserved in the temples, and it is both painted and modelled with figures of the immortals. It may also be found in the mouth of the deer, another emblem of longevity. The example given is in the finestsang de bœufwith all the characteristics of that lovely Celadon colour. This brilliant red was a Kang-he discovery. It is included in the Lang-yao class, being so called after Lang Ting-tso, superintendent of King-te-chin.The special point to which attention should be given is the lacquered pattern round the base, which is inlaid with pearl shells, in the style known as "Lac burgauté." In Chinese porcelain this process is uncommon, but in Japanese porcelain and pottery cloisonné enamel is frequent, applied either with or without the metal cloisons. Lacquer, too, may be frequently found as a coating—black with flowers in gold and silver; black with Ho-Ho birds and flowers; a rich red; brown; green; gold, &c. Nearly all of these pieces are comparatively modern Japanese ware, being made largely at Kioto, Seto, Yashima, Yamato, and other factories in Japan. To this class, which includes porcelain in combination with other substances, must be ascribed those delicate Japanese, egg-shell, covered cups and saucers, painted with flowers in colours, and having an outside covering of the finest basket-work. These are made chiefly at Yamato.
A tallsang de bœuffungus-growth, wonderfully true to nature. Yung Ching period. This example bears on the base the mark of Ching-hwa (1465-1488). Round the base and under the feet it is lacquered. The fungus, which grows at the root of trees, when dried, was so durable that it became the symbol of longevity and immortality. Hence large specimens are preserved in the temples, and it is both painted and modelled with figures of the immortals. It may also be found in the mouth of the deer, another emblem of longevity. The example given is in the finestsang de bœufwith all the characteristics of that lovely Celadon colour. This brilliant red was a Kang-he discovery. It is included in the Lang-yao class, being so called after Lang Ting-tso, superintendent of King-te-chin.
The special point to which attention should be given is the lacquered pattern round the base, which is inlaid with pearl shells, in the style known as "Lac burgauté." In Chinese porcelain this process is uncommon, but in Japanese porcelain and pottery cloisonné enamel is frequent, applied either with or without the metal cloisons. Lacquer, too, may be frequently found as a coating—black with flowers in gold and silver; black with Ho-Ho birds and flowers; a rich red; brown; green; gold, &c. Nearly all of these pieces are comparatively modern Japanese ware, being made largely at Kioto, Seto, Yashima, Yamato, and other factories in Japan. To this class, which includes porcelain in combination with other substances, must be ascribed those delicate Japanese, egg-shell, covered cups and saucers, painted with flowers in colours, and having an outside covering of the finest basket-work. These are made chiefly at Yamato.
The purples as glazes are no less rich in variations, and in these tints the Chinese have never beenrivalled. These self-colour pieces are decorated with symbolical figures or sacred animals, whilst flowers and inscriptions from the sacred books are found as a decoration in gold, which unfortunately lies upon the glaze and is more or less easily removed by hard wear. Again, similar designs are engraved in the paste, or modelled in relief and painted with such colours as are able to resist the temperature of the furnace. Many pieces have spaces reserved in white for further decoration, and sometimes the decoration is executed in white slip on the paste itself after its first firing has brought it to the biscuit state. These lovely single colour glazes are certainly amongst the finest Oriental specimens of porcelain which are worthy of the collector's attention; their softness, their brilliancy, their range of colour alike entitle them to a high place in any scheme of decorative treatment either in the home or on the collector's shelves. We call them china or porcelain vases, &c., and in that we are only following the Chinese usage, though the colour glaze is often so thick as to hide the material or body of the paste altogether. The thickness prevents any transmission of light; they have an opaque more or less coarse clay white or red body, and amongst our English products would be classified as stoneware. But the colour isthething, and here we shall repeat ourselves a little, because it is necessary to really understand not alone what the colours are, but generally the order of their invention. The oldest colour was, as we have said, Celadon, or sea-green, which reached a high state of perfection about 1500. No doubt there are many Celadon pieces of great antiquity still awaiting identification. It was in the Seuen-tih period of the Ming dynasty that this Celadon became a famousproduct. The porcelain is very thick, and to this thickness it owes its preservation. Like the English ironstone china, it stands hard wear. All the Persians and the Turks value Celadon not for its intrinsic beauty, but because they thought it to be infallible as a test for poison in their food.
The yellow glaze is the colour adopted by the present Tsing dynasty as the Imperial colour. Fine specimens covered with yellow may then be regarded as having been destined principally for the use of the Emperors, but it does not follow that the use of this colour was proscribed in the decoration, either as a yellow or as a partial tint. Blue was one of the highly esteemed colours as well as one of the earliest. We have dealt with blue as an under-glaze decoration. It was not alone used for decorative purposes in drawings of figures, birds, animals, foliage, and landscape, but it was used in various forms as a body colour either on the biscuit itself, before glazing, for with the glaze as a self-colour, as a Celadon, in fact—that is, the blue was appliedinthe glaze orinthe enamel.
We read that in 954A.D.the Emperor Chin-Tsung ordered some vases to be made which should be "blue as the sky after rain when seen between the clouds," and it is said that his celebrated porcelain was of this blue, fine like a looking-glass, thin as paper, and giving a sound like a musical stone, the only defect being that the feet of the pieces were of a coarse yellow clay. Alas for the romantic story!
The most recent catalogue of the Musée Guimet at Paris, drawn up by the national experts with the assistance of such Chinese experts as were available, states that the story is all a mistake. The word which was translated "blue" should have been translated "green," which brings us back again to Celadon.
During the Sung dynasty (960-1279A.D.) it appears that a fine red was discovered from which porcelain was made resembling chiselled red jade. This may be the celebrated "sang de bœuf," which is red, but, as we have seen, red with qualifications.
The purple or lilac glaze before referred to seems to have been made quite as early as the Sung dynasty, but with this, as with all the other glazes, colour alone is no indication of age.
About the year 1600 there lived that famous potter called Chow, whose fame was obtained by his excellence in skilfully imitating ancient vases. All the records that have come to us show very clearly that from the earliest times the potters were in the habit of copying the works of their predecessors. So well was this continually done that they were able to impose upon the best experts of their own country.
The brown glazes, according to Père d'Entrecolles in a letter dated 1712, were at that time quite recent inventions, and he applied the same remarks to the coffee-colour glazes. The black glaze has been noted. It has several varieties—the dull black itself, the dull black glazed over with green so as to make a bright black giving a green tinge only at the edges, and the Tsing black, which is an uncommon brilliant black familiarly known as mirror black.
"CLAIRE DE LUNE" SELF COLOUR. CRACKLE PORCELAINAnother production of the Chinese which has never been successfully produced in Europe is this crackled or crackle ware. They were very proficient in producing regulated crackles, large, small, or medium, and that which was no doubt at first accidental became one of the most important and successful means of decoration. Some pieces, indeed, are really marvellous, showing successive bands of crackle ornament, coloured decoration, self-colour, and white, others have a double network—double réseau—with the crackle coloured simultaneously in two tones. Historically this ware is of great antiquity, being noted during the Sung dynasty (960-1270). As a rule, the clay employed is very coarse, of a buff or a pale red colour merging into white. It comes under the designation of porcelain because the Chinese do not differentiate between that which is opaque and translucent.The illustration, unfortunately, does not show the colour, the beautifulclaire de lune, which is so rare and so indescribable. The specimen ofsang de bœufgiven under "Self-colours" is, like this, a fungus of the genusAgaricus, the emblem of longevity, because it was practically indestructible. It was also emblematical of fertility. Emerson wrote, "Nobody cares for planting the poor fungus; so Nature shakes down from the gills of one pooragariccountless spores." The fungus is used as a mark, as decoration, and, as we have shown, in vase form. Probably its shape and symbolism gave rise to the Joo-e sceptre and to the wide adoption of the Joo-e-head form in ornament. Note that red-coloured crackle glazes are rarely found, and that apple-green, turquoise-blue, andclair de luneare the most desirable colours in crackle. Feen-lung.
"CLAIRE DE LUNE" SELF COLOUR. CRACKLE PORCELAIN
Another production of the Chinese which has never been successfully produced in Europe is this crackled or crackle ware. They were very proficient in producing regulated crackles, large, small, or medium, and that which was no doubt at first accidental became one of the most important and successful means of decoration. Some pieces, indeed, are really marvellous, showing successive bands of crackle ornament, coloured decoration, self-colour, and white, others have a double network—double réseau—with the crackle coloured simultaneously in two tones. Historically this ware is of great antiquity, being noted during the Sung dynasty (960-1270). As a rule, the clay employed is very coarse, of a buff or a pale red colour merging into white. It comes under the designation of porcelain because the Chinese do not differentiate between that which is opaque and translucent.The illustration, unfortunately, does not show the colour, the beautifulclaire de lune, which is so rare and so indescribable. The specimen ofsang de bœufgiven under "Self-colours" is, like this, a fungus of the genusAgaricus, the emblem of longevity, because it was practically indestructible. It was also emblematical of fertility. Emerson wrote, "Nobody cares for planting the poor fungus; so Nature shakes down from the gills of one pooragariccountless spores." The fungus is used as a mark, as decoration, and, as we have shown, in vase form. Probably its shape and symbolism gave rise to the Joo-e sceptre and to the wide adoption of the Joo-e-head form in ornament. Note that red-coloured crackle glazes are rarely found, and that apple-green, turquoise-blue, andclair de luneare the most desirable colours in crackle. Feen-lung.
Another production of the Chinese which has never been successfully produced in Europe is this crackled or crackle ware. They were very proficient in producing regulated crackles, large, small, or medium, and that which was no doubt at first accidental became one of the most important and successful means of decoration. Some pieces, indeed, are really marvellous, showing successive bands of crackle ornament, coloured decoration, self-colour, and white, others have a double network—double réseau—with the crackle coloured simultaneously in two tones. Historically this ware is of great antiquity, being noted during the Sung dynasty (960-1270). As a rule, the clay employed is very coarse, of a buff or a pale red colour merging into white. It comes under the designation of porcelain because the Chinese do not differentiate between that which is opaque and translucent.
The illustration, unfortunately, does not show the colour, the beautifulclaire de lune, which is so rare and so indescribable. The specimen ofsang de bœufgiven under "Self-colours" is, like this, a fungus of the genusAgaricus, the emblem of longevity, because it was practically indestructible. It was also emblematical of fertility. Emerson wrote, "Nobody cares for planting the poor fungus; so Nature shakes down from the gills of one pooragariccountless spores." The fungus is used as a mark, as decoration, and, as we have shown, in vase form. Probably its shape and symbolism gave rise to the Joo-e sceptre and to the wide adoption of the Joo-e-head form in ornament. Note that red-coloured crackle glazes are rarely found, and that apple-green, turquoise-blue, andclair de luneare the most desirable colours in crackle. Feen-lung.
There are many other self-colours or single glazes to which fanciful names are given. We have referred to "clair de lune" and the peach bloom. It is very doubtful whether there is any real value in the names themselves, so we advise our readers to examine specimens in the Museums, when such colours as liver colour, pigeon's blood, crushed strawberry, &c., will be found to be purely arbitrary. Perhaps the widest term applied to these variegated self-colours with a single glaze is splashed or shot silk. These various mottled or splashed glazes are named by theChinese Yao-pien, by the Frenchflamméorflambé. They have curious yet very beautiful veinings like flames of a fire, hence the name given to them by the French. One colour runs into the other in the most capricious and yet in the most charming manner. The first results were no doubt accidental, but soon experience gave certainty to the master mind of the potter, who was able to define and measure the combination of the various metallic oxides which would give him exactly the colouration he desired. The glaze of these pieces was usually applied upon the dried vessel by dipping or brushing or powdering, or, as some say, by blowing on with a tube. Or, again, it may have been a combination of these processes. The potter now had the means of producing an endless variety of splashing by the proper application of the prepared glazes: of violet and blue; of turquoise passing into green; of sea-green, brown, and blue; of maroon, green, and white; of, in fact, any colours within the range of his knowledge. He only had to be sure of the furnace. He had to know how his metallic oxides would combine under the action of heat. The glaze upon vessels having intricate designs in relief was applied only after the potter was sure that the pot in its biscuit state was suitable and correct in form. With most ornaments the danger of damage was thus considerably reduced. When the biscuit was withdrawn from the kiln the coloured glaze could be easily applied before the second firing took place. We have noticed that a much lower temperature was needed in the second firing and that the heat of a muffle-kiln would suffice. As in the case of the single glazes, a number of fanciful names have been applied to the ware, such as tiger-skin, iron rust, &c.
CELADON GLAZES. SINGLE COLOURS AND SPLASHED.The coloured glazes in the pieces of one colour which we have described are called "self" or "whole" colour, and they were applied directly on the dry paste or body so that the whole was fired at one time. The great heat required for this process caused variations in the tints, which were partly due to the running of the glaze itself. Where the glaze lay thickest, the colour would be deepest. Practice led to perfection, so that the Chinese potters acquired skill in using the colour with precision and, further, they were able to extend the range of their operations by using several colours on one piece. Greens of many hues, blues in various shades, all kinds of reds and yellows, purples and browns gave to this class great variety and brilliancy. It must be borne in mind that these coloured glazes were also applied to biscuit porcelain, that is, to white porcelain, without any glaze, which had been fired in the kiln for the purpose of fixing the shape. In this division the paste is generally much thinner than in ordinary pieces of Celadon, and much more elaboration was given to engraved and embossed patterns and to reticulated or pierced work. Moreover, it, was easy to leave some parts of the design in untouched biscuit.Our illustration shows a set of three splashed Vases (two flat-shaped and one hexagonal) painted with enamels of green, yellow, and aubergine, in blotches on a white ground. The handles, which are monsters, are in apple-green. This style of decoration is known as tiger-spotted or splashed. Kang-he period.
CELADON GLAZES. SINGLE COLOURS AND SPLASHED.
The coloured glazes in the pieces of one colour which we have described are called "self" or "whole" colour, and they were applied directly on the dry paste or body so that the whole was fired at one time. The great heat required for this process caused variations in the tints, which were partly due to the running of the glaze itself. Where the glaze lay thickest, the colour would be deepest. Practice led to perfection, so that the Chinese potters acquired skill in using the colour with precision and, further, they were able to extend the range of their operations by using several colours on one piece. Greens of many hues, blues in various shades, all kinds of reds and yellows, purples and browns gave to this class great variety and brilliancy. It must be borne in mind that these coloured glazes were also applied to biscuit porcelain, that is, to white porcelain, without any glaze, which had been fired in the kiln for the purpose of fixing the shape. In this division the paste is generally much thinner than in ordinary pieces of Celadon, and much more elaboration was given to engraved and embossed patterns and to reticulated or pierced work. Moreover, it, was easy to leave some parts of the design in untouched biscuit.Our illustration shows a set of three splashed Vases (two flat-shaped and one hexagonal) painted with enamels of green, yellow, and aubergine, in blotches on a white ground. The handles, which are monsters, are in apple-green. This style of decoration is known as tiger-spotted or splashed. Kang-he period.
The coloured glazes in the pieces of one colour which we have described are called "self" or "whole" colour, and they were applied directly on the dry paste or body so that the whole was fired at one time. The great heat required for this process caused variations in the tints, which were partly due to the running of the glaze itself. Where the glaze lay thickest, the colour would be deepest. Practice led to perfection, so that the Chinese potters acquired skill in using the colour with precision and, further, they were able to extend the range of their operations by using several colours on one piece. Greens of many hues, blues in various shades, all kinds of reds and yellows, purples and browns gave to this class great variety and brilliancy. It must be borne in mind that these coloured glazes were also applied to biscuit porcelain, that is, to white porcelain, without any glaze, which had been fired in the kiln for the purpose of fixing the shape. In this division the paste is generally much thinner than in ordinary pieces of Celadon, and much more elaboration was given to engraved and embossed patterns and to reticulated or pierced work. Moreover, it, was easy to leave some parts of the design in untouched biscuit.
Our illustration shows a set of three splashed Vases (two flat-shaped and one hexagonal) painted with enamels of green, yellow, and aubergine, in blotches on a white ground. The handles, which are monsters, are in apple-green. This style of decoration is known as tiger-spotted or splashed. Kang-he period.
The process of decoration by blowing is said to produce a curious colouring. Take, for instance, red blown on blue. Pieces so decorated appear to be covered with a soft violet glaze, but on examination it will be found that the opaque blue is sown all over with minute red rings formed as a network resembling the finest lace. By the use of a simple magnifying-glass these rings can be easily traced. It seems difficult to produce such a marvellous decoration, and yet it is quite simple. The colour blown on that is the red, which is driven with force sufficient to form minute bubbles, which burst by the heat of the kiln, and by their bursting form little rings varying from the size of a pin's head to that of a pea.
It will be well to give just a little time to a summary of the colours which are used on Oriental porcelain of all kinds, first in the under-glaze blue and red, second in the single colour glazes, including all those which are known by the terms splashed, variegated, transmuted, orflamméorflambé. Preserving the same order set out in the colour enamels which are used in over-glaze decorations, we find that the blacks, as before stated, were three in number—a common dull black, a mirror or metallic black, and the first of these covered by a thin transparent green glaze, so as to make a shining black. The dull black was produced from manganese which had some impurities in it, whilst the mirror black was made of manganese having cobalt in it mixed with white glaze and an earth containing iron.
The various greens, such as the dark green orgros vert, sea-green or Celadon, apple-green, emerald-green, pea-green, cucumber, and snake-skin were all derived from iron, copper, and a little cobalt.
PEACH-BLOOM, OR PEACH-BLOW.The under-glaze reds belonging to the Celadon class differ from the under-glaze painted reds. The Celadon colours are applied in and with the glaze, and the other class is, like under-glaze blue, painted on the biscuit china and then glazed. The range of Celadon reds is very great, from "Peach-blow," commonly termed "Peach-bloom," to "sang de bœuf." About sixteen of these beautiful shades are within this range. "Peach-blow" is used as a self-colour glaze, covering the whole of the piece, but, like all other colours, it is employed also with other coloured glazes in the decoration of porcelain—white or Celadon. Dr. Bushell describes peach-blow as "a pale red, becoming pink in some parts; in others, mottled with russet spots displayed upon a background of light green Celadon tint." This and many other colours were invented by Ts'ang Yeng-hsüan, the director of the Imperial works towards the end of Kang-he's reign. Around the feet of many fine vases of the Yung-Ching period there are waves in this darkish red, with occasional flecks of green. In these cases the body of the vases is white. Examples occur where peach-blow is used as a Celadon colour in pieces decorated with blue under the glaze.On the left is a Vase with large bulging body and short expanding neck of a clear white glaze, on which are blossoms painted in peach-bloom, with leaves and branches in blue. Kang-he period (1661-1722). Height with stand, 10-1/2 in.A circular shaped Vase with tapering neck, expanding mouth, and a bulbous body. This is decorated with pomegranate fruits in peach-bloom; the leaves and stalks in rich blue; the whole on a Celadon ground. Kang-he.
PEACH-BLOOM, OR PEACH-BLOW.
The under-glaze reds belonging to the Celadon class differ from the under-glaze painted reds. The Celadon colours are applied in and with the glaze, and the other class is, like under-glaze blue, painted on the biscuit china and then glazed. The range of Celadon reds is very great, from "Peach-blow," commonly termed "Peach-bloom," to "sang de bœuf." About sixteen of these beautiful shades are within this range. "Peach-blow" is used as a self-colour glaze, covering the whole of the piece, but, like all other colours, it is employed also with other coloured glazes in the decoration of porcelain—white or Celadon. Dr. Bushell describes peach-blow as "a pale red, becoming pink in some parts; in others, mottled with russet spots displayed upon a background of light green Celadon tint." This and many other colours were invented by Ts'ang Yeng-hsüan, the director of the Imperial works towards the end of Kang-he's reign. Around the feet of many fine vases of the Yung-Ching period there are waves in this darkish red, with occasional flecks of green. In these cases the body of the vases is white. Examples occur where peach-blow is used as a Celadon colour in pieces decorated with blue under the glaze.On the left is a Vase with large bulging body and short expanding neck of a clear white glaze, on which are blossoms painted in peach-bloom, with leaves and branches in blue. Kang-he period (1661-1722). Height with stand, 10-1/2 in.A circular shaped Vase with tapering neck, expanding mouth, and a bulbous body. This is decorated with pomegranate fruits in peach-bloom; the leaves and stalks in rich blue; the whole on a Celadon ground. Kang-he.
The under-glaze reds belonging to the Celadon class differ from the under-glaze painted reds. The Celadon colours are applied in and with the glaze, and the other class is, like under-glaze blue, painted on the biscuit china and then glazed. The range of Celadon reds is very great, from "Peach-blow," commonly termed "Peach-bloom," to "sang de bœuf." About sixteen of these beautiful shades are within this range. "Peach-blow" is used as a self-colour glaze, covering the whole of the piece, but, like all other colours, it is employed also with other coloured glazes in the decoration of porcelain—white or Celadon. Dr. Bushell describes peach-blow as "a pale red, becoming pink in some parts; in others, mottled with russet spots displayed upon a background of light green Celadon tint." This and many other colours were invented by Ts'ang Yeng-hsüan, the director of the Imperial works towards the end of Kang-he's reign. Around the feet of many fine vases of the Yung-Ching period there are waves in this darkish red, with occasional flecks of green. In these cases the body of the vases is white. Examples occur where peach-blow is used as a Celadon colour in pieces decorated with blue under the glaze.
On the left is a Vase with large bulging body and short expanding neck of a clear white glaze, on which are blossoms painted in peach-bloom, with leaves and branches in blue. Kang-he period (1661-1722). Height with stand, 10-1/2 in.
A circular shaped Vase with tapering neck, expanding mouth, and a bulbous body. This is decorated with pomegranate fruits in peach-bloom; the leaves and stalks in rich blue; the whole on a Celadon ground. Kang-he.
The many shades of blue—dark blue and that peculiar tint known as mazarine, powder-blue,sapphire-blue, sky-blue, turquoise-blue, peacock-blue, "clair de lune," and kingfisher-blue—were all secured from cobalt and copper mixed in various proportions.
In dealing with the important red family we have to distinguish between the reds derived from copper and those derived from iron and from gold. The range of tints is very extensive. Those derived from copper give the more or less fanciful names of "sang-de-bœuf," "sang de poulet," "sang de pigeon," crimson, crushed strawberry, maroon, liver colour, and that curious tint known as peach bloom or peach blow. The reds secured from iron are vermillion, the well-known coral and the tomato tints. From gold, those beautiful shades of colour to which we have referred as being crowning triumphs of the Yung-ching and Keen-lung periods were procured. These, known as ruby, rose, and pink, were really covering a large range of colours from a very faint pink to a red purple.
The yellows have a no less extended range. At the head of the list we find Imperial yellow, then citron or lemon-yellow, eel-skin yellow, straw, canary, mustard, orange, and sulphur-yellow. Thus we see the yellows vary from a faint tinge of that colour to a strong shade which seems to include a little red. All these yellows were derived from antimony, and the variation was largely secured by the addition of iron.
The next class, the brown colour, was derived from iron or from clay in which iron in various proportions was present. These browns include various shades such as bronze, chestnut, chamois, chocolate, coffee, "café-au-lait," dead leaf—"morte feuille"—old gold.
The colours on English china for the purposes of contrast are given next. They were derived from oxides of various metals in various proportions. Theblacks are secured from cobalt, nickel, manganese, iron, and chromium. The greens are variously derived; the yellow-green and the emerald-green are secured from chromium and sodium; the blue-green or celest from chromium, cobalt, silicon, and zinc; whilst other greens are derived from copper and chromium.
Blues come from cobalt and silicon, except the mat blue, which was procured from cobalt, lime, and zinc. The reds were made from gold and iron, which secured many shades of those colours. The blacks were derived from chromium, iron, and manganese. Another class of European colours—the purples—came from cobalt, chromium, tin, and calcium.