Elaborate designs of flowers, flying phœnixes in peony scrolls, dragons in clouds or waves, formed in relief by pressure in moulds, were certainly used on Sung celadons just as they were in the white Ting wares, but they seem to have been still more common on the Ming wares. But the best and most characteristic Sung decoration was a beautiful freehand carving executed with admirable spirit and taste, in those bold, half naturalistic, half idealised sketches which distinguish the art of the time. Complex ornament, such as landscape and figure subjects, is occasionally found on old celadons; and there is one kind of bowl of rounded form with rather high narrow foot which is decorated inside with groups of figures carved or impressed in intaglio, the subjects being the eight Taoist Immortals, or historical personages such as Confucius, the chess–playing General, etc., usually labelled with their names in Chinese characters. The glaze on these bowls varies widely in colour and texture, being sometimes smooth celadon green, sometimes yellowish or brownish green or again a pale apple green with crackled surface; and it is possible that they come from some district other than Lung–ch´üan.[160]
The Lung–ch´üan celadon glaze is singularly beautiful with its soft, smooth translucent texture and restful tints, which vary from olive green through grass green and sea green to pale greenish grey, occasionally showing a decidedly bluish tone. The ware has enjoyed immense popularity in almost every part of the world for untold years, and nowhere more than in Japan, where choice specimens have always been highly valued, and it is not a little surprising to find that in this country alone its merits are underestimated. The Chinese themselves have been always loud in their praises of the finer varieties, though they have not always spoken in complimentary terms of the thick and massive types which were so suitable for the export trade. Of these the Ch´ing pi ts´ang observes that they readily withstand usage and handling, and do not easily break; but the workmanship is somewhat clumsy, and the designs are lacking in antique elegance. With the finer examples within reach, these strictures were perhaps only natural; but there has never been any doubt of the Chinese appreciation of the celadon glaze, for while they have never ceased to reproduce it in other factories, it is always the old Lung–ch´üan ware which serves as their standard and model.
The modern celadon glaze is made by mixing ferruginous clay with the ordinary feldspathic glaze and adding a pinch of cobalt (the mineral from which the blue colour is obtained) to give it the requisite tone[161]; and it is certain that the colour of the old celadons is due to the presence of oxide of iron, whether assisted or not by oxide of cobalt. Possibly the earliest celadons were the accidental result of the iron in a strongly ferruginous clay escaping in the heat of the kiln and imparting a green tinge to an otherwise colourless glaze. The conditions in the Lung–ch´üan district would have specially favoured such an accident, for the local clays were of the ferruginous kind, as is shown by their peculiarity, which we have already noted, of turning red or reddish brown when exposed without protection to the heat of the kiln. The presence of iron in greater or less quantity is a common feature of potter's clays all the world over, and it is usual in modern potteries to pass the clay over strong magnets in order to remove this disturbing element when a pure white ware is in view. This fact alone will explain the prevalence of green tints of the celadon type among the earlier Chinese wares, and observation of these results would naturally lead to the discovery that a certain quantity of particular clay mixed with the ordinary glaze would produce a beautiful green colour, resembling jade. The reddish brown spots occasionally observed in old celadon glazes are no doubt due to flaws in the glaze–covering, which allowed a partial exposure of the body, or to a local excess of iron oxide in the material. Like a great many other accidental effects, these were turned to account by the Chinese, and in some examples we find patches of brown which evince a deliberate intention (Plate 21). These effects are highly prized by the Japanese, who call the ware Tobi seiji or "spotted celadon."
The manufacture of celadon must have been very extensive in the Lung–ch´üan district. Besides the principal factories at Liu–t´ien Shih, there were minor works at Chin–ts´un already mentioned, and according to the T´ao lu[162] at Li–shui Hsien[163] in the Ch´u–chou Fu, the latter already operative in the Sung dynasty. Its wares were included in the comprehensive term Ch´u yao, and "the material was coarse and thick, the colour similar to that of Lung–ch´üan ware, both dark and light, but the workmanship was coarser."
At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, we are told[164] that the Lung–ch´üan factories were removed to Ch´u–chou, and that the ware made on the new site was green (ch´ing), with a white body which, like the older ware, assumed a red colour in the exposed parts, but that the ware was not so good as the old. Local tradition asserts that the celadon industry in the district came to an end with the Ming dynasty.[165]
Plate 21.—Three examples of Lung–ch´üan Celadon Porcelain.
Fig. 1.—Plate of spotted celadon. (?) Sung dynasty. Diameter 6 1/2 inches. Eumorfopoulos Collection.
Fig. 2.—Octagonal Vase with crackled glaze and biscuit panels moulded with figures of the Eight Immortals in clouds. (?) Fourteenth century. Height 9 1/4 inches. Eumorfopoulos Collection.
Fig. 3.—Dish with engraved lotus scrolls and two fishes in biscuit. Sung dynasty. Diameter 11 inches. Gotha Museum.