Our illustration shows a Ginger Jar with dome cover. The body decorated with large and small sprays of white prunus, rising from the base and falling from the shoulder. Very brilliant crackled ice ground of deep cobalt; a narrow band of white encircling the mouth, with a line of blue within, the space between decorated with a formal ornament. The lid with similar decoration to that on the jar, the top encircled with a ring of white. Height, 10 in. Period Kang-he. Value, about £2,000. Record price, 5,900 guineas.]
[Illustration: BLUE AND OTHER COLOURS, UNDER-GLAZE.
The finest quality of blue and red painted under the glaze were made during the Tsing dynasty, though during the Ching-hwa period (1465-1488) of the Ming dynasty many good pieces having this decoration must have been manufactured, as the mark of that reign is frequently found in reproductions. Even Kang-he and Yung-ching copies have the Ching-hwa mark.
The illustration--a conical Vase with short neck--shows the four-claw dragons of the sky. These are drawn in blue, as far as the head and body are concerned; the scales are in a soft red. The curious forms meant to indicate clouds are in blue, whilst the fireballs are in red. Variations occur where the nebulæ are in red, or even the whole under-glaze may be covered with a bright coral-coloured ground, with the decoration in blue. When this is so the pieces are classified as "coral-red." Again, amongst the various shades of red and brown under the glaze some are found in peach-coloured red. These form a class of "peach ware." Notice the care with which the scales on the dragons are drawn, and even from the photograph the white seems wonderfully pure. Yung-ching period.
The dragon decoration sometimes represents the _li_ or dragon of the sea swimming in the water or rising from the waves. It was from such a dragon that Fuh-hi (2852-2738 B.C.) learnt and developed the eight diagrams or symbols called the Pa-kwa, which see under "Symbols." The Pa-kwa is used for decoration, usually as a raised design, seldom as a mark. The dragon is never used as a mark.]
This magnificent, tall, cylindrical Vase is an example of red--_rouge de fer_--under the glaze, with enamel colours in exquisite harmony applied over the glaze. The merest glance will reveal how artistically the decorator applied his design to the surface at his disposal. Each branch, each leaf, has its value in the scheme of ornamentation. The surface is well covered, but there is no overcrowding. The Vase is of exquisite proportions, decorated on pure white glaze with a bold design of Ho-Ho birds, the plumage of _rouge de fer_, green, yellow, and aubergine; one bird is partly hidden by rocks drawn in various greens, aubergine, and blue, whilst springing from the back are large flowering branches of the peony flowers and blossoms. The drawing throughout is of the highest merit. The flowers and boughs are shown in yellow, blue, aubergine, creamy white, and black. Underneath the rocks and on the left of the large bird is a large peony in _rouge de fer_ and foliage in various greens, whilst on the right are two other flowers, one of _rouge de fer_ and the other of fine stippled yellow with an aubergine centre. The rest of the vase is decorated with a bold design of flowering peach-bloom branches and other large flowers in deep _rouge de fer_, aubergine, green, and yellow; the neck, which is divided from the body of the vase by a narrow black band, contains peonies and other flowers decorated in colours similar to the remainder of the vase. Period, Kang-he.]
