PORCELAIN DECORATED
mented with dragons, belong to this category. From insignificant specimens preserved in Japan—none are known to exist in China—it would appear that the pâte of the blue-and-white Hung-yao was dense and heavy; that the glaze was of medium lustre, permeated by a bluish tinge, and that the colour of the decoration, though superior to that of the Yuan and Sung wares, altogether lacked the brilliancy and depth of subsequent manufactures. But in truth the student possesses little knowledge about the ware. It was evidently unworthy to be mentioned in written records or remembered in tradition. The year-mark is Hung-wu-nien-chi.
The next period calling for attention is that of Yung-lo (1403-1425). Remarkable for great progress in the technical processes of porcelain manufacture, it did not apparently contribute much to the art of decoration with blue sous-couverte. Premising that very scanty materials exist for forming an opinion, it may be asserted that the blue of the Yung-lo epoch is somewhat clearer and more brilliant than that of the preceding reign; that the overlying glaze is particularly lustrous and of velvet-like texture; and that the pâte is close-grained, of fine timbre, and lighter than that of Hung-wu pieces. The "History of Ching-tê-chên Keramics" speaks of Yung-lo cups decorated with flowers in blue of a very deep colour, and says that they were refined and artistic. Bowls of Yung-lo blue-and-white, with landscapes or figure subjects on one side and a mass of ideographs on the other, are prized by Japanese virtuosi, who call them "Seki-heki," that being the Japanese name of the sonnet generally represented by the ideographs. Remembering the reverence in which writing has
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