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- sapphire blue designs. Floral motifs such as prunus, magnolia, lotus and peony are the most common designs; then come landscapes and scenes of family life. Reversed pat�terns, in which the design stands out in white against a blue background (fig. D), continued to be produced, with the most popular of these being the prunus against a 'cracked ice� ground. This decorative scheme, because of the plum blossom motif being a sign of the coming spring, was commonly used on the famous �hawthorn jars� to hold New Year�s presents. Nineteenth century tea and ginger jars are often decorated with the prunus on cracked ice pattern, (fig. 121)
During the reign of Kangxi, underglaze blue remained one of the best mediums for painted designs on ceramics, for much like the black ink of the classical Chinese mono�chrome paintings, it could be applied in graded washes over slight outlines giving a remarkable feeling of depth and a sense of colour. Themes illustrating scenes from well- known novels and dramas, such as the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan), Annals of the Three Kingdoms (Sangguo zhi), and the Romance of the Western Chamber {Xixiang ji) were chosen to decorate ceramics. Some of these painted ceramics have received just as much worthy admiration as scroll paintings.
In the latter part of Kangxi�s reign, the export tableware or armorial services were sometimes decorated with scenes taken from European engravings with religious, histori�cal and mythical subject matter. For example, the 1690 riots in Rotterdam were used as a decorative topic.
By the early 18th century, Jingdezhen is said to have had about 3,000 kilns, with blue and white wares dominating production. By about the second quarter of the 18th century, enamelled wares, which had been growing in popularity, finally ousted it from this position.
Near the end of Kangxi�s reign, a �soft-paste� porcelain was produced. It was used to make small pieces with delicate decorations, like snuff bottles (fig. 92, left). The ivory glaze on the blue and white pieces has a brown crackle and the cobalt blue was rather dark.
The reign mark of Kangxi was seldom placed on the base of porcelains during the first part of his reign. It is more common to find a rabbit, and artemisia leaf or a lingzhi (mushroom of immortality) within a double circle, or an empty double ring with no mark, but near the end of his reign the imperial mark began to appear more often.
The next emperor, Yongzheng (r.1723-1735), was also a keen collector of ceramics and took considerable interest in ceramic production. In 1726 he appointed Nian Xiyao as the superintendent of the imperial factory in Jingdezhen. Tang Ying, a potter of outstanding talents, was made his assistant in 1728. The finest porcelain and the cleverest ceramic novelties of the Yongzheng period are associated with their names.
Many of the experiments and innovations in glazes and enamels of the Kangxi period were carried to full perfection during the comparatively brief reign of Yongzheng. Some critics even say this period saw the peak development of porcelain in China.
The blue and white made during the reign of Yongzheng is skillfully made but less interesting than Kangxi examples, and displays a taste for archaism both in form and in decoration. There are pieces that attempt, with considerable success, to imitate the underglaze blue colour of Ming blue and white such as the dark flecked blue (heaped and piled) effect of Xuande wares, the silvery blue of Chenghua and the violet sheen of Jiajing wares. However, many of them still can be differentiated from earlier pieces by their artificial or mechanical appearance. Potters of this period also looked to the past for decorative patterns and were inspired by the motifs found on 15th century blue and white wares, such as lotus scrolls, peonies and other flowers, which were copied with a varying degree of success. The glaze on Yongzheng period porcelain is thinner, glossier and colourless in comparison with the greenish-blue tinge of the thick glaze that covers the genuine Ming pieces. Some connoisseurs feel Yongzheng pieces have too fine a finish and as imitations they are often considered to be too perfect. Sometimes the delicate decorations on these refined pieces seem a bit cramped, for the elements appear too small for the space they
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