CHINA
Chapter VIII
PORCELAIN DECORATED OVER
THE GLAZE (Continued)
SPECIAL VARIETIES
In examining the subject of enamelled porcelains the wares hitherto discussed have chiefly been those in which the coloured decoration is applied to a white glaze. It remains now to notice other varieties, which, though belonging to the same species, possess characteristics that distinguish them as separate genera.
The most important of these is the Héi-ti-pai-hwa, the "Black Hawthorn" of Western collectors. This ware differs from the celebrated blue Hawthorn only in having a ground of uniform black, instead of clouded or tesselated blue, and in the fact that the white decoration is in opaque enamels over the glaze, instead of being simply reserved in the sous couverte colour. In both cases the decoration consists of plum branches and blossoms in white. The conception is worthy of high praise. Nothing can be softer or more graceful than pure white sprays and blossoms wreathed over a deep black glaze. Another branch of the same family is the Héi-ti-wu-tsai, or ware with five colours on a black ground. In this variety, green, purple, red, and yellow enamels are
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