Every one who collects china is familiar with the so-called Lowestoft decoration, not a thousandth part of which ever saw Lowestoft; in fact, that researches which have been made at Lowestoft indicate that the manufacture was soft paste resembling early Bow and Worcester. Of course, some white Oriental china may have been decorated there, though no traces of broken hard paste seem to have been found in the excavations. It may be that Bow, Chelsea, and Worcester did decorate white Oriental china, but the information we have on this point is singularly weak and inconclusive. The clobber decoration is not alone in enamel colours or gold, but even lacquer is used for the same purpose. It is needless to say that the change is never to the advantage of the piece, and often the under-glaze blue may be seen peeping, as it were, reproachfully from beneath the overlying transparent enamel.
Another, but similar name, is sometimes applied to this style of decoration. It is said that an enameller named Globber—hence Globber ware—redecorated white and blue porcelain with enamels at Soho during the latter part of the eighteenth century.
XVIII
RETICULATED
PORCELAIN
CHAPTER XVIII
RETICULATED PORCELAIN
The porcelain called reticulées comes into the category of blue and white because some of it was decorated with blue under the glaze. The pieces have double walls, of which the outside one is pierced with a pattern, often a network of exceeding fineness, a lace-work in porcelain through which may be seen the exquisite blue design upon the internal wall. It seems just as if the potter had two pieces made to fit at the top and bottom only. On the foundation piece—the internal wall—he expended the art of decoration in blue. On the other piece, even more care must have been shown in cutting the clay into delicate tracery, so minute as to be marvellous. Then the fitting of the two walls together was completed, and finally the firing process took place. Such pieces are pre-eminent in curiosity, in interest and in skill, and their variations are wonderful. Some are only blue and white, some are blue and white with reserves in biscuit. All had the outside wall pierced with a pattern. We are giving as illustrations two magnificent pieces of reticulated porcelain, but these are coloured with enamel colours.
RETICULATED INCENSE BURNER.
Of Very Fine Quality.
Specially interesting and exceedingly valuable, this vase deserves careful study. It is a pity that it cannot be given in all the beauty of its colouring. At the top is a large panel containing the figure of a man offering the "Fruit of Life" to one of the immortals, at whose side is a deer; the remainder of this has rocks, foliage, a tree, and clouds, richly enamelled in green, aubergine, blue, and rouge de fer; the whole surrounded by a border of formal design in rouge de fer. The remainder contains sixteen panels. Each of the top eight contains a figure of the eight immortals with their various insignia; the robes of the figures are enamelled in rouge de fer, aubergine, blue, black, yellow, and various greens; whilst the lower portion has figures of boys playing various games, similarly enamelled. Dividing each panel is a broad band containing formal flowers and leaves in blue, green, and black, on bright yellow, whilst at the top of the base and bottom of the cover are aubergine bands with black tracery design and formal flowers in rouge de fer, blue, and yellow. The whole of the reticulated work is of brilliant yellow enamel. At the base is a broad plain black band, above which is a design of Joo-e-heads in apple-green.