CHINA
PORCELABNTDBCORATED
of the sixteenth century have yet been authenti- cated.
The Chinese keramist showed much skill in the use of graving and moulding tools. Elaborate de- signs, incised or in relief, were constantly added by him to decoration in enamels. Perhaps the most delicate ornamentation of this kind is to be seen on lanterns of egg-shell hard-paste porcelain. ‘These were employed after the manner of transparencies, and nothing could be softer or more brilliant than the effect of the enamelled pictures and reticulated or incised ornamentation seen by reflected light when the lamp was in use. Profuse decoration belongs chiefly to later periods of keramic development. The Kang-hsi potter depended on the brilliancy and purity of his enamels. His Chzen-/ung successor sought the aid of moulded, pierced, or incised de- signs, and in the nineteenth century the artist lost himself in confused elaboration. Hat-rests dating from the CAzen-/ung era show an extraordinary wealth of technical effort. The button on a Chinese ofh- cial’s cap being his badge of rank, he held his hat- rest higher than a Western lady holds her jewel-case. The keramist obeyed this foible by manufacturing cap-supports ornamented in the most unsparing man- ner, their embossed or latticed designs picked out with enamels and gold.
A curious and beautiful method of decoration, used sometimes alone, sometimes in conjunction with col- oured enamels or blue sous couverte, consisted in cut- ting a design in the péte and filling the excised portions with glaze only. There resulted a transpar- ent pattern, resembling lace-work. Such a four de force must have demanded great skill and care. Prob-
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