[40] On the parallelism between this type of porcelain decoration and cloisonné enamel, see Burlington Magazine, September, 1912, p. 320. It is worthy of note that missing parts of these vases, such as neck rim or handles, are often replaced by cloisonné enamel on metal, which is so like the surrounding porcelain that the repairs are often overlooked.
[41] The yellow of this group is usually of a dull, impure tint, but there is a small jar in the Peters Collection in New York on which the yellow is exceptionally pure and brilliant, and almost of lemon colour.
[42] In these cases the porcelain would be first fired without glaze and the colours added when it was in what is called the “biscuit” state. In the blue and white ware, on the other hand, and the bulk of Chinese glazed porcelain, body and glaze were baked together in one firing.
[43] Bushell, O. C. A., p. 152.
[44] Translation of the T’ao shuo, op. cit., p. 51.
[45] This is the verdict of the Po wu yao lan, and it is repeated in the T’ao lu, see Bushell, op. cit., p. 60.
[46] Painted decoration is mentioned in Chiang’s Memoir of the Yüan dynasty (see vol. i, p. [160]), but without any particulars; and the Ko ku yao lun speaks of wu sê decoration of a coarse kind at the end of the Yüan period (see vol. i, p. [161]). The latter may, of course, refer to the use of coloured glazes.
[47] Op. cit., fig. 77.
[48] The application of these enamels in large washes puts them practically in the category of glazes, but for the sake of clearness it is best to keep the terminology distinct. After all, the difference between a high-fired glaze which is applied to the biscuit and a low-fired enamel applied in the same way is only one of degree, but if we use the term enamel or enamel-glaze for the colours fired in the muffle kiln as distinct from those fired in the porcelain kiln, it will save further explanations.
[49] A late Ming writer quoted in the T’ao lu (bk. viii., fol. 18) says, “At the present day Hsüan ware cricket pots are still very greatly treasured. Their price is not less than that of Hsüan Ho pots of the Sung dynasty.”