mark of artistic
production was reached and passed. It is only possible here to sketch in
broadest outline the course of this Renaissance, which has formed the
subject of many learned works.

It is characteristic of the Chinese mind that during this period, when a
spirit of eager experiment was abroad, the productions of their ancient
kilns should receive no less attention than the new methods of
decoration in on-glaze colours, while at the same time many of the
discoveries of the later Ming days were carried on to perfection. The
first remarkable productions of the reign of K'ang-hi, the famous green
and blood-red _Lang-yao_ glazes, were made in the attempt to produce
glazes like those of old times. With the more carefully prepared body
and glaze the results are strikingly different and, as we think,
superior, for it is difficult to believe that any example of the
"sacrificial" red of the reign of Suen-te can have been as glorious as
the red _Lang-Yao_, the crown of all that group of glazes known from
their general colour as _sang de boeuf_ (see example, Plate VII.). In
the same way the traditional blue and white of the Ming period was
continued with the greatest skill, and, if the blue pigment be not so
pure as that of the 15th century, the decorative effect of the blue and
white of the reign of K'ang-hi (see example, Plate VIII.) has never been
equalled in Europe. The subjects of the blue and white pieces of this
period are very varied, including religious, ceremonial, battle and
hunting subjects, homely scenes such as ladies and children amusing
themselves in gardens, or animals, birds, dragons and other fabulous
monsters disporting themselves in clouds or waves. The so-called
"hawthorn ginger jars" form a class by themselves in the opinion of
modern collectors (see the plum-blossom jar, Plate VIII.), a specimen
being sold at the Louis Huth sale (1906) for L5900. The fertility of the
painters was remarkable, and a collection of the blue and white of this
reign offers a fine feast of ceramic colour from the harmonious relation
between the tones of the white and the blue, especially when it is seen
_en masse_, as in the famous Dresden collection.[33]

The practice of painting the ground of a piece in blue so that the
pattern was reserved in white (even artfully heightened by the use of
slip) dates from Ming times, but the grounds of powder-blue appear to
have originated at this time. The cobalt-pigment was not applie