Some seven hundred years ago
The secret was discovered
Of vivid colours all aglow
From elemental flux recovered.

This truth to visionaries bold
(Men of remarkable stature)
Meaning the relevance of gold
To porcelain manufacture.

But mostly Cassius the Great –
His praise ceramic makers sing –
He showed the necessary state
Required adulteration by tin.

How wonderful it is to gaze
At porcelain vessels of old
Admire, and almost feel, the glaze
The wonders of colloidal gold.

Of cobalt magnificently blue
Is a power to electrify us
Of subtle yet singular splendour, too
–
The much renowned purple of
Cassius.


Tony Kelly, Crook