# China: Its History, Arts, and Literature/Volume 1/Chapter 11

Chapter XI
POLYCHROMATIC GLAZES
TRANSMUTATION OR FLAMBÉ GLAZES
There are many varieties of Chinese porcelain and stone-ware the glaze of which shows more than one colour. Indeed, some of the porcelains included above in the monochromatic family would, if more strictly classified, find a place in the present chapter—as, for example, Lang-yao with bright flashes or dark spots in the red field; king-fisher blue and peacock green with metallic dappling; Chüng-yao with red hawthorn and clair-de-lune glazes; metallic black with green and blue iridescence; mirror black with gold dusting; olive green with yellow spots; the red Pin-kwo-ts'ing glaze with plum-green clouding, and so forth. It has not been deemed advisable, however, to enter these in the polychromatic category, inasmuch as the marked predominance of their principal colour has always led collectors to regard them as monochromes. For this section, therefore, are reserved only those glazes in which two or more colours are distinctly visible. Of these the most remarkable, and perhaps the most beautiful, is the Yao-pien, or ware "transmuted in the furnace," called by French connoisseurs "Flambé." M. d'Entrecolles refers to ​this curious product thus:—"I have been shown a piece of porcelain called Yao-pien, or ware transmuted in the kiln. The transmutation was caused by deficiency or excess of temperature, or by other agencies difficult to fathom. This piece, which is not a success according to the potter's notion, and which is the result of chance, is none the less beautiful or less esteemed. The intention of the potter was to make vases with red soufflé glazes. A hundred pieces were entirely spoiled. That of which I speak emerged from the kiln with an appearance like agate. If the risk and expense of trials could be borne, the art would doubtless be discovered of accomplishing with certainty that which chance now achieves once in a while. It was thus that the potters proceeded in the case of mirror-black glaze. The caprice of the furnace impelled them to make the essay, and it succeeded. There is little room for doubt that M. d'Entrecolles was partially deceived in this matter. He certainly saw a piece of accidentally "transmuted" ware, but it by no means follows that all Yao-pien-yao was accidentally transmuted. In the "Annals of Fu-liang" there is included among the glazes manufactured at Ching-tê-chên an "oil green" (Yu-lu), the origin of which is ascribed to the "ancient vases called Yao-pien," and which is spoken of as an "antique and fine glaze." This alone would suffice to dispose of the idea that the ware was invented at the beginning of the eighteenth century, while M. d'Entrecolles was in China. There are in fact many fine specimens dating unquestionably from the Ming period. The original discovery was probably due to accident, and in subsequent times many pieces must often have been produced under unfore​seen conditions of temperature. But that they were also manufactured intentionally scarcely admits of question. M. Jacquemart, writing on the subject of Yao-pien, or flambé, ware, says:—"As for the cause of the transmutation, modern science knows it so well that each of its effects can be obtained with certainty in the laboratory. Metals change their condition and appearance according to their combination with oxygen. Thus, to confine ourselves to the question under consideration, oxydised copper gives a beautiful red vitrifiable enamel, which, thrown en masse on the surface of a vase, forms the tint called haricot. With another equivalent of oxygen, it becomes protoxide, and produces a beautiful green, capable of being changed into celestial blue when the oxygenation is pushed a little farther. Now these various combinations can be accomplished suddenly in the kiln by bold tours de main. When a clear fire, placed in a quick draught, draws in a large volume of air, all the oxygen is not consumed, and a portion can enter into combination with the fusing metals. If, on the other hand, there be passed into the oven thick smoke whose carbonaceous mass, thirsting for oxygen, absorbs everywhere this gas essential to combustion, the oxides may be destroyed and the metal completely restored. Subjected at a given moment to these different conditions by the rapid and simultaneous introduction of currents of air and sooty vapours, the haricot glaze assumes at last a most picturesque aspect. Veined colours, changing, capricious as the flames of alcohol, diaper the surface; the oxydised red, passing by violet to pale blue and green protoxide, even disappears completely on salient points which have become white, and thus fur​nishes happy accidents. And since the Chinese, as in the case of craquelé, are so sure of their technique that they can manufacture one pair of vases in which red predominates, and another of which the almost blue ground is strewn with red and lilac flames, they also make statuettes with the flesh colour disappearing under blue or green garments; or tea-pots in the shape of a peach, having a blue base, a violet body, and a bright red top." M. Jacquemart's enthusiasm carries him a little too far; it leads him to class with Yao-pien ware specimens, in the manufacture of which different glazes were applied to different parts. Otherwise, his description of the varied effects shown by this remarable ware is vivid and excellent. In China the Yao-pien is compared to the variety of jade called Pih, some kinds of which are bluish and others have a greenish tinge like the deep sea. The potter's object was to imitate the cloudy, spotted appearance of this beautiful stone, and he often succeeded admirably. The author of the "Annals of Fu-liang" compares the Yu-lu or Yao-pien glaze to precious green jade the brilliant heart of which is flecked with white. This description conveys a good idea of the choicest Yao-pien: the glaze seems to be transparent, and clouds or flecks of colour float in its depths.
Passing from this general description to special varieties, note may first be taken of the Lan-yao-pien, or blue Yao-pien. This glaze illustrates an interesting fact; namely, that the Chinese nomenclature is systematic. It includes in the Yao-pien class practically all glazes the colours of which are in any respect due to accidental conditions of firing. The Lan-yao-pien is evidently a ware of which the manufacture was ​managed with virtual uniformity of results. The colouring material was applied by insufflation, and the outcome was a bluish grey or slate ground marbled with dark brown and showing a rosy tinge. All the tones of colour, however, varied slightly according to the conditions of the kiln, and hence the name "Yao-pien" is appropriate. The best specimens of this variety appear to date from the Yung-ching era (1723-1736), but as a general rule the Yao-pien porcelains of the Chien-lung potters yield to none of their predecessors in technical excellence.
The Lu-yao-pien, or green transmutation ware, is a choicer and rarer variety than the last. Its body colour is transparent green, passing into azure or purple, and over these fields floats a dappling or net-work of brown ochre. The glaze conveys an impression of thickness and depth, but is in reality applied in a moderately liquid condition. The technique is excellent, the pâte—as is also the case with the Lan-yao-pien—being fine porcelain. The best examples of both varieties usually have a year-mark impressed in seal character. There is no positive evidence to show that either the Lan-yao-pien or the Lu-yao-pien was produced during the Ming dynasty, though the statement quoted above from the "Annals of Fu-liang" with reference to "oil green," probably indicates a similar glaze.
Differing from both of the above sufficiently to be easily distinguished, is a variety of Yao-pien to which American collectors have applied the term "Robin's-egg glaze," but which in China has the name Chiun-tien, or "imperial spotted ware." As is the case with every class of transmutation ware, no two specimens of this variety are exactly alike. The choicest kind ​is tolerably well described by the American appellation. Its ground colour is light claret or brownish red, over which is run, in flakes and flecks, delicate bluish green; or this order is reversed, the ground being liquid green in which float spots of russet-red or dusky claret. The general effect is very charming. Frequently the bluish green colour appears as fine, uniform mottling—a comparatively tame and uninteresting style which was doubtless easily achieved by the process of insufflation, and which ranks decidedly below the glazes with fleecy and marbled variegation. Choice examples of this ware generally have a year-mark impressed in seal character. Their biscuit is close-grained, white porcelain, but the rim at the base is usually covered with black or reddish brown glaze. Nothing is recorded about the date when the ware was first produced. No specimens older than the Kang-hsi era appear to be in existence, and on the whole it seems reasonable to conclude that the manufacture reached its highest point of excellence in the Yung-ching period (1723-1736), since the finest pieces bear the year-mark of that period, and since, speaking generally, it is established that the Yung-ching potters directed their attention specially to polychromatic glazes.
There is great difficulty in determining the limits of the name "Yao-pien." Every attempt to classify involves incompleteness. Take the Lu-yao-pien (green Yao-pien) for example. The description given above is general and fairly applicable, yet in rare cases it fails conspicuously. For in one variety the collector finds an exquisite purplish blush peeping out from among green and brown (or chocolate) marbling, as though the Yung-ching potter had taken the tints of ​the Chün-yao as a basis and supplemented them by the resources of his own more expert technique. The delicacy and richness of this variety would justify special classification if the collector could be sure of finding more than one or two specimens to which the same description was applicable. But that is precisely the difficulty. The conceptions of the keramist himself may have been tolerably definite, but in addition to the fact that their range was bewilderly wide, an element of chance entered into their realisation. Every conceivable nuance of colour had a charm for the Chinese potter. His inspiration, however, was generally taken from natural objects. Agate, coral, jasper, lapis lazuli, dead leaves, jade, the rind of fruits, grass, flowers, rice, plums, peaches, marble, and innumerable other models suggested tints which he successfully reproduced. If at one time his glazes recall fleecy green jade or the surface of a ripe peach, at another they appear to represent the geranium blossom, with its blending of velvety red and white. But it was inevitable that in this superposition or combination of various colouring materials, accidents of temperature and oxidisation should become a recognised factor. M. Jacquemart, as already seen, is disposed to resent the idea. To such an enthusiast it sounds almost sacrilegious to suggest that chance had anything to do with the success of the foremost technical keramists in the world. But there is another way of viewing the question. May not the Chinamen have understood that no artificial processes, however delicate and elaborate, could possibly be trusted to obtain the marvellous and never-ending variety and beauty which nature herself, represented by the capricious action of her forces in the furnace, was always ready ​to produce? He may have sought to exercise a general control over these forces, but he knew that the less he limited their influence, the wider was the range of his creative resources. This conception, to which doubtless is due the exquisite Yao-pien ware, with its graded tones, its colours blending with and merging into one another, its richness, depth, brilliancy, softness, and glow, remained utilised, perhaps unappreciated by Western potters, until in recent years some of its effects were happily reproduced in the beautiful wares of Linthorpe and Haviland. The collector of Chinese porcelain and pottery owes to the Yao-pien the pleasure of knowing that his field is never exhausted. He may always hope to find novelties as charming as any of his most treasured familiars.
POLYCHROMATIC GLAZES OF THE RED FAMILY.
There are a number of polychromatic glazes which belong to the Yao-pien species inasmuch as no two of them are exactly alike, but which fall naturally into one class owing to the predominance of red in their colours. Of these the commonest though not the least beautiful, has two colours only, clair-de-lune and red. Generally the clair-de-lune appears as a ground colour, the red cropping out in rich fields and flashes; but sometimes this order is reversed, and sometimes again the clair-de-lune occupies a very secondary place, barely over-lapping the upper rim of a vase and thence running downwards in thin streaks. The ware is evidently a modification of the Yuan-tsü, described in a previous chapter, where clouds of carmine appear among a clair-de-lune environment. Some pieces, indeed, are plainly an imitation of the latter, and since the keramic skill of the ​best periods of the present dynasty has been lavished upon them, they deservedly rank among choice productions of Ching-tê-chên. Many fine specimens of polychromes in which red predominates have pâte which is rather stone-ware than porcelain, and in some the biscuit, where exposed to the fire, shows a reddish brown colour. In fact high quality of pâte is not an essential criterion of excellence in such ware.
In another variety of this same genus the coloured glazes are run so regularly as to present a tesselated appearance. In such polychromes there is usually an addition of a third colour, a rich brown, which is often so skilfully managed that it seems to form a border of varying tone to the fields of red and clair-de-lune. The processes of these remarkable tours de force are still matter of conjecture. There was, in truth, scarcely any limit to the ability developed by the Chinese potter in manipulating his glazing material. A favourite device of his in the manufacture of red and white polychromes was to contrive that the flow of the red glaze should suffer the underlying white to crop out in more or less regular patterns, as for example a lotus blossom or a bunch of leaves. This particular class of conceit seems to have belonged to a comparatively late period, as it appears chiefly in wares dating from the closing years of the Chien-lung and to the Chia-tsing and Taou-Kwang eras. For the rest, the Yung-ching era (1723-1736) appears to have been the most successful time for polychromes of the red genus and indeed for all polychromatic glazes. Many grand specimens bear the year-mark of that era, impressed in seal character.
PEACOCK GREEN VARIEGATED WITH BLUE, AND TURQUOISE WITH METALLIC SPOTS.
A glaze of great decorative beauty was obtained by running deep rich blue, or indigo, over peacock green so that the surface of the latter seemed streaked or tesselated by the former. Of cognate type were glazes of turquoise—or king-fisher—blue variegated with metallic spots. In both these kinds lustre, fineness of crackle, and richness and variety of colour are easy tests of excellence. As a rule, however, the paste is inferior, for though light and thin, it belongs to the stone-ware class and shows a marked tinge of reddish brown. Such polychromes were manufactured with success up to so late a time as the Taou-Kwang era (1821-1851).
FANG-CHÜN-YAO.
The term Fang-chün-yao, or "imitation Chün-yao," is chiefly applied in China to ware of remarkable beauty, having soft, delicate clair-de-lune glaze among which float clouds of peach-bloom red; the latter not a solid colour but an agglomeration of tiny flecks and speckles, pervaded by a more or less distinct tinge of buff or light brown. It will at once be seen that this glaze might have been classed as a variety of the red polychromes described above, but owing to its peculiar merits and to the fact that Chinese connoisseurs specially distinguish it, it is here placed in a separate category. It is certainly one of the choicest among polychromatic glazes, considered either from the point of view of æsthetic delicacy or from that of decorative effect. That a certain element of accident ​entered into the manufacture is proved by the fact that no two specimens are exactly alike. Not only does the manner vary in which the clouds of red are disposed, but the colour also passes from rose to light claret, and is sometimes marked with metallic or agate-like flecks. Sometimes, again, the red, or brownish red, clouding is distributed more or less uniformly over the whole surface of the piece. This last type generally occurs in large specimens, and though very restful and charming, cannot be regarded as the choicest kind of Fang-Chün-yao. Another variety, very rarely seen, has its entire surface dappled with clair-de-lune and claret red. This Fang-chün-yao seems to have been a production of the Yung-ching potters. Its pâte is of fine texture, but opaque and showing a tinge of brownish red.
GRAINED GLAZES.
Attempts to classify wares offering such infinite varieties as the polychromatic glazes of China, necessarily involve some perplexity. In the above heading, however, care has been taken to follow the nomenclature of the Chinese themselves, who use the ideograph siu, or "grain," to distinguish three glazes of much merit and curiosity, namely, the Chin-siu-hwa, or "gold grained" glaze; the Tung-siu-hwa, or "copper grained" glaze, and the Tieh-siu-hwa, or "iron grained" glaze. In all three kinds the ground colour is brownish red, and in the glaze there appear to float scales or grains of gold, copper, or iron. The "gold grain" is rarest of the three and most highly esteemed. Its gold specks are plainly seen, held suspended in the glaze, seemingly in the form of pure metal, though it ​is not easy to conceive how their state of separation can have been maintained under the high temperature of the kiln. The "copper grain" variety ranks second. It does not show metallic graining as plainly as does the Chin-siu-hwa, but the justice of its appellation is at once recognised by the copper-like aspect of its dappling. The "iron grain" stands in the lowest grade, but is nevertheless a very interesting and attractive glaze. Sometimes the graining shows like the glistening of fractured iron pyrites; sometimes it appears as though fused iron were actually present in the glaze, and sometimes it takes the form of fine uniform dusting. All these glazes are thick and have little lustre. The idea of them was probably suggested by metallic ores. The great charm of vases of this type is appreciated only when they are actually used as receptacles for flowers. The rich glow of a peony or a chrysanthemum contrasts inimitably with glazes so subdued and unobtrusive. They are always applied to solid but fine stone-ware pâte, and year-marks, when present, are stamped in seal character. The best examples belong to the Yung-ching and Chien-lung eras.
CHECKERED GLAZE.
In this class are included all glazes where the colours are applied in regularly checkered patterns with straight edges. Such productions belong to a comparatively low grade of keramic art, and do not call for detailed mention. Green and white, or green and yellow are the commonest combinations of colour.
TORTOISE-SHELL GLAZE.
Both in China and in Japan the idea of manufacturing a glaze that should resemble tortoise-shell was successfully carried out. Specimens of this type are, however, very rare in Chinese productions, being confined to small pieces, as snuff-bottles or miniature vases. A canary-yellow or straw-coloured craquelé glaze with patches of rich brown, manipulated so carefully as to suggest the transparency of tortoise-shell, is applied to porcelain pâte, fine and white but solid. Difference of biscuit alone distinguishes Chinese ware of this class from the well known bekkode of Japanese Satsuma faience. There is no difficuly in estimating the merits of a piece, for the technical contrast between the good and the inferior—i.e. between ware prior to 1820 and subsequent to it—can be detected in an instant.
TIGER-SKIN GLAZE.
Allusion has already been made to Hu-pi, or Tiger-skin glaze, as a ground for designs in vitrifiable enamels. It remains only to note that this beautiful glaze, the appearance of which is accurately described by its name, is used on choice wares without any decorative addition. It is not crackled, and the points of excellence are lustre and softness of surface, general faultlessness of technique, and dexterity of marbling and streaking. Vitreous crudeness of glaze and muddiness of colour may be at once taken as evidences of inferior and modern work.
LACQUERED PORCELAIN.
Brief allusion may be made here to a ware that does not fall into any of the classes hitherto discussed. It is porcelain decorated with lacquer. In France, where this curious keramic freak used to be admired, it goes by the name of "Porcelaine laquée burgautée," the term being derived from the shell called "burgau," under the dark surface of which a prettily variegated coat of mother-of-pearl is found. The decoration, in fact, consists of mother-of-pearl mosaics in lacquer, with which the surface of the porcelain is covered. There is no record that tells when this variety of ware first came into vogue in China, and since its decoration concerns the lacquerer not the keramist, it may be dismissed without further comment.
MODERN FLAMBÉ GLAZES.
Before concluding the subject of polychromes it is necessary to remind the amateur that during the past twenty or thirty years large quantities of flambé and "splashed" glazes have been manufactured in China, and that, being decorative, brilliant, and attractive, many of them are mistaken for choice specimens of good period. In general they are grey, lilac, or dusky blue, with clouds or streaks of red and patches of brown. Whatever may be said of the independent merits of these polychromes, without reference to their incomparably finer prototypes, they can always be identified by their muddy tone, fissure-like crackle, crude technique, and coarse, dark stone-ware pâte.
CRACKLE.
One of the most remarkable methods of decoration employed in China was that of crackle. Ware of this type was called Sui-ki. Its invention is ascribed to the potters of the province of Shen-si and to the early years of the twelfth century. The strong probability is that the so-called invention was in reality accidental. It is easy to conceive that where glazing material and pâte which differed sensibly in composition were exposed to the same degree of temperature in the kiln, the unequal expansion of the two broke the continuity of the glaze. Unable to conquer this tendency, the shrewd Chinaman conceived the idea of utilising it, and ultimately elaborated the conception to a high degree. Two methods of producing crackle are described in the Tao-lu. The first was to alter the composition of the glazing material by adding a certain quantity of steatite to it; the second, to sun-dry the glaze piece and then plunge it into cold water before stoving. A brown, red, or blue colour was imparted to the crackle by rubbing the surface of the vase, while still hot—that is to say, before the contraction of cooling had caused the edges of the crackle to close—with Indian ink, red ochre, or cobalt. Another practice, pursued in later times, was to re-heat the vase slightly and then dip it in a solution of colouring matter. By either method, but especially by the latter, not alone the crackle but also a portion of the adjoining surface of the glaze received a carmine tint. It is recorded of the brothers Chang, celebrated manufacturers of Lung-chuan céladon during the Sung dynasty, that the ware of the elder—distinguished as Ko-yao—was crackled, whereas that of the younger ​—the typical Lung-chuan-yao—was without crackle, and from the remarks of some writers the inference may be drawn that the presence of crackle was regarded as a mark of inferiority. But such a verdict must not be accepted too literally. In the finest type of céladon, the delicate greenish azure monochrome so highly esteemed in China and Japan, crackle did not appear. But the illustrations in H'siang's Catalogue show that not alone all specimans of the Ko-yao, but many of the Kuan-yao, and even some of the Ju-yao, had crackle, and that in the case of the Ko-yao and the Kuan-yao the crackle was coloured with vermilion. Judging by the illustrations, it is plain that in the case of these wares the crackle, so far from being a defect, was distinctly an embellishment. Indeed, surviving specimens of Ko-yao, attributed by Chinese connoisseurs to the Sung factories, owe much of their beauty to the coloured net-work that covers their surface, spreading a multitude of tinted veins with fleecy edges over the brilliantly lustrous glaze. The Ko-yao became, in fact, the type of crackled porcelain to subsequent generations, and nowadays every fine specimen of buff, grey, or céladon monochrone having a strong crackled surface—whether the crackle be coloured or plain—is spoken of as Fang-ko-yao. Choice pieces of old craquelé have always and justly enjoyed a high reputation. The author of the Tao-lu mentions incidentally that, in his time (1815), a first-class specimen of old craquelé commanded from a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars in Japan. It was natural that a good number of pieces found their way into Japanese collections, where they are still carefully preserved. So expert did the Chinese keramist become in the management of crackle that he even ​applied bands of crackle alternately with bands of unbroken glaze. Fine specimens of this nature were manufactured during the Chien-lung era. A frequent type had grey, or light green, body glaze, distinctly crackled, while round the vase ran belts of chocolate glaze uncrackled but having incised diapers and leaf-fringes. Skilled technique and carefully prepared materials being essential to the successful manufacture of such vases, it is easy to distinguish the comparatively clumsy, crude outcome of the Taou-kwang and later kilns. Another and much rarer tour de force was to vary the nature of the crackle in one and the same glaze, preserving, however, sufficient uniformity to avoid any suggestion of accident. Thus the crackle round the upper part of a vase assumes a circular form, while below it is angular, the distinction being emphasised by a marked difference in the size of the two kinds of mesh. A technical curiosity of this kind is of course highly valued, but that it could be produced at will seems most improbable. It will of course be understood that in almost every case crackle is merely a decorative accessory. The one exception is white porcelain, the crackle of which constitutes its only ornament. In choice specimens of this variety the thick, lustrous glaze shows a faint tinge of buff, and the crackle is bold and strongly marked. Such porcelain, being admirably suited for flower vases, used to be esteemed in the East, but it is without delicacy, and can scarcely be classed among choice wares.
The above remarks apply only to crackle having large meshes, the "starred ice" variety. But a reader who has followed the descriptions given in previous pages of various kinds of porcelain, knows ​that many beautiful monochromes have their surface covered with a net-work of exceedingly fine crackle. Among wares thus distinguished special mention may be made of "cucumber-rind green;" "king-fisher green" (the turquoise blue of Occidental collectors); "peacock green;" "mustard yellow;" and certain specimens of Ting-yao. The crackle on the best examples of these wares takes the form known to French connoisseurs as "truitèe," the "fish-roe" of Chinese nomenclature. It is the same crackle as that seen in the Satsuma and Kyomizu faiences of Japan. The meshes are close, and the crackle polygonal or nearly circular. It is unnecessary to dwell upon this part of the subject further than to translate a few useful words from M. du Sartel's "Porcelaine de Chine:"—"On ancient specimens the crackle, generally very distinct and tinted black, traverses the whole thickness of the glaze the mass which is uniformly coloured. However numerous the cracks may be, they do not detract in any way from the smoothness of the surface. The solutions of continuity are so little appreciable to the touch that even when the finest pointed needle is passed over them they are virtually insensible. These little fissures, infinite in number, combine to form a net-work of apparent regularity, the meshes of which, almost uniform in size, are always polygonal, none of them ever taking a triangular shape. On modern products of a similar character manufactured in the Orient and in Europe, the crackle presents itself differently. It is, in the majority of instances, little marked, colourless, and scintillating. It appears to be superficial and to penetrate only into the vitreous colourless coat overlying the coloured glazes of recent ​manufacture. It may also be compared to the fissures produced on a glass by the flame of a candle brought too close to it. The net-work in which it envelops the vase is very irregular. The meshes are different in size and in appearance, and follow one another now in one fashion, now in another. Their contour often takes a quadrilateral or even a triangular form. Finally, each of the little fissures may be felt with the point of a needle which, if similarly applied to an antique vase, would pass over its surface uninterruptedly."
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