Note 393 — Chapter XII · YUNG CHÊNG PERIOD (1723–1735)

Apart from the rose pinks which are derived from purple of cassius, i.e. precipitate of gold, and the opaque white derived from arsenic, the colouring agents of the famille rose enamels are essentially the same as those of the famille verte. The colours themselves were brought to Ching-tê Chên in the form of lumps of coloured glass prepared at the Shantung glass works. These lumps were ground to a fine powder and mixed with a little white lead, and in some cases with sand (apparently potash was also used in some cases to modify the tones), and the powder was worked up for the painter’s use with turpentine, weak glue, or even with water. Cobaltiferous ore of manganese, oxide of copper, iron peroxide, and antimony were still the main colouring agents. The first produced the various shades of blue, violet, purple, and black; the second, the various greens; the third, coral or brick red; and the fourth, yellow of various shades. A little iron in the yellow gave the colour an orange tone.

The modifications of the green are more numerous. The pure binoxide of copper produced the shade used for distant mountains (shan lü), which could be converted into turquoise by the admixture of white. The ordinary leaf green was darkened by strengthening the lead element in the flux and made bluer by the introduction of potash in the mixture. Combined with yellow it gave an opaque yellowish green colour known as ku lü (ancient green); and a very pale greenish white, the “moon white” of the enameller, was made by a tinge of green added to the arsenious white.

The carmine and crimson rose tints derived from the glass tinted with precipitate of gold, which was known as yen chih hung (rouge red), were modified with white to produce the fên hung or pale pink; and the same carmine was combined with white and deep blue to make the amaranth or blue lotus (ch’ing lien) colour.

The ordinary brick red (the ta hung or mo hung) was derived from peroxide of iron mixed with a little glue to make it adhere, but depending on the glaze for any vitrification it could obtain. The addition of a plumbo-alcaline flux produced the more brilliant and glossy red of coral tint known as tsao’rh hung (jujube red).

The dry, dull black derived from cobaltiferous manganese was converted into a glossy enamel by mixing with green. This is the famille rose black as distinct from the black of the famille verte, which was formed by a layer of green washed over a layer of dull black on the porcelain itself.

There are, besides, numerous other shades, such as lavender, French grey, etc., obtained by cunning mixtures, and all these enamels were capable of use as monochromes in place of coloured glazes as well as for brushwork.