Fig. 113.—Crackle Vase.
“A different mode of making the crackles is described in another Chinese work, and is as follows: ‘After covering the vases with glaze, they are exposed to a very hot sun, and, when they have become hot, they are plunged into cold water for a moment. On being baked, they appear covered with innumerable cracks.’ The way in which the size of the crackle is regulated seems to be indicated in one of the receipts for making crackle-vases, given in the ‘History of King-te-chin’ (page 214), from which we learn that the material of the glaze was to be finely or coarsely washed, according to the size of the crackle required.
“The difference between the paste and the thick glaze is well illustrated by fragments of ancient vases, some of which are exhibited. The interior is of a coarse paste, nearly resembling stone-ware, and of a buff or even pale-red color. This is coated on both sides with a white material, in which alone the crackles appear. This illustrates a passage in the ‘History of King-te-chin,’ where porcelain is spoken of as having red bones. Such vases would not be transparent.”