Fig. 3.—Vase with the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove in lac burgauté. Height 14½ inches.

Fig. 4.—Vase with “robin’s egg” glaze. Height 4⅛ inches.

Plate 129.—Octagonal Vase and Cover, painted in famille rose enamels. Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795).

Height 35 inches. One of a pair in the Collection of Dr. A. E. Cumberbatch.

As already mentioned, T’ang Ying was commanded by the Emperor in 1743 to arrange and explain twenty pictures of the manufacture of porcelain which were sent to him from the palace. In twelve days he completed the descriptions which have since been incorporated in various books on porcelain, including the T’ao shuo and the T’ao lu. They have been translated by Julien[457] and by Bushell,[458] and as most of their facts have been embodied in the previous pages, it would be superfluous to give a verbatim translation of them. The following summary, however, will give the drift of them, and Bushell’s translation of the T’ao shuo can be consulted for a full rendering.

Illustration

I.—Collection of the Stones and Fabrication of the Paste.
The porcelain stone (petuntse) was obtained at this time from Ch’i-mên, in the province of Kiangnan. “That of pure colour and fine texture is used in the manufacture of bowls and vases of eggshell (t’o-t’ai), pure white (t’ien pai), and blue and white porcelain.” Other earths, including kaolin, were mined within the limits of Jao-chou Fu.
II.—Washing and Purification of the Paste.
III.—Burning the Ashes and Preparing the Glaze.
The ashes of burnt lime and ferns were mixed with petuntse in varying proportions to form the glazing material.
IV.—Manufacture of Seggars.
The seggars, or fireclay cases, by which the porcelain was protected in the kiln were made of a coarse clay from Li-ch’un, near Ching-tê Chên, and we are told that the seggar-makers also manufactured rough bowls for the use of the workmen from the same material.
V.—Preparing the Moulds for the Round Ware.
VI.—Fashioning the Round Ware on the Wheel.
VII.—Fabrication of the Vases (cho ch’i).
VIII.—Collection of the Blue Colour.
The mineral was obtained at this time from Shao-hsing and Chin-hua in Chêkiang.
IX.—Selection of the Blue Material.
X.—Moulding the Paste and Grinding the Colours.
XI.—Painting the Round Ware in Blue.
XII.—Fabrication and Decoration of Vases.
XIII.—Dipping the Ware into the Glaze or Blowing the Glaze on to it.
Three methods of glazing are described: the old method of painting the glaze on with goat’s-hair brush; dipping the ware into a large jar of glaze; and blowing on the glaze with a bamboo tube covered at the end with gauze.
XIV.—Turning the Unbaked Ware and Hollowing out the Foot.
This turning or polishing was done on a wheel. For convenience of handling the foot of the vessel was left with a lump of clay adhering until all the processes, except firing, were complete; the foot was then trimmed and hollowed out, and the mark painted underneath.
XV.—Putting the Finished Ware into the Kiln.
XVI.—Opening the Kiln when the Ware is Baked.
XVII.—Decorating the Round Ware and Vases in Foreign Colouring. See p. [242].
XVIII.—The Open Stove and the Closed Stove.
Two types of small kiln used to fire the on-glaze enamels.
XIX.—Wrapping in Straw and Packing in Casks.
XX.—Worshipping the God and Offering Sacrifice.

There are a few illustrations appended to the T’ao lu which cover much the same field, but they are roughly drawn. A much better set of coloured pictures is exhibited in frames in the Franks Collection in the British Museum, showing most of the processes described by T’ang.