production of a fine porcelain with a transparent
white glaze was perfected. Of all the colours used by the Persian
pot-painter the only one that would endure the fierce fire of the
Chinese porcelain was the blue obtained by using the ores of cobalt, and
with this colour, and a wonderful blood-red obtained from copper, the
foundation of Chinese painted porcelain was laid. It would be idle to
try and fix any specific date for this important development, which took
more than a generation to perfect, but it is reasonably accurate to say
that the blue and white painted porcelains were unknown in the 13th
century and were fully developed at the beginning of the 15th century.
Chinese collectors prize most highly the blue and white of the reign of
Suen-te (A.D. 1426-1435), of Cheng-hwa (1465-1487), and next of Yung-lo
(1403-1424). It is interesting to note that the colour used during these
reigns is spoken of as "Mahommedan" blue, so that it was evidently
brought from some country to the west. This 15th-century blue and white
porcelain is admittedly the finest of its class, and though the Chinese
never abandon an old method and have continued to make blue and white
porcelain, often of very good quality, the later wares, fine as they may
be, rarely equal these.

The under-glaze red, an invention of the Chinese, has already been
mentioned, and this most difficult of all ceramic colours was largely
used during the same period. At first it appears as a general ground
colour for the outside of bowls and cups, then vessels were made in
special forms (persimmon fruit, &c.) to display its qualities, finally
it was used either alone or in conjunction with blue in painted designs
under a white glaze of exceptional quality. A Chinese connoisseur of the
15th century describes one of his pieces as being decorated with "three
red fishes on a white ground, pure as driven snow; the fish boldly
outlined and red as fresh blood, all with colour so brilliant as to
dazzle the eye."

Other characteristic wares which made their appearance in Ming times are
the marvellous "eggshell" porcelains, called by the Chinese "bodyless"
from their extreme thinness. As early as the reign of Yung-lo
(1403-1424) these delicate wares were in high repute, and their
manufacture has been continued ever since with varying skill and
success. In spite of their extreme thinness the specimens have designs
of dragons in the midst of clouds and waves, inscriptions, &c., en