Glaze is a thin layer of colourless or coloured vitreous covering the surface of ceramic products. Different glazes have different colours, the colour of the glaze is called the glaze colour. Porcelain glaze began to be relatively single, with the development of the porcelain industry and technological advances, from the beginning of a glaze of plain porcelain development to a variety of glaze coloured porcelain, detailed differentiation of the name of many.
Classification and development of green glaze
Green glaze is the earliest colour glaze for porcelain. The so-called "green glaze", the colour is not pure green, mostly green in yellow, grey or green. There are: moon white, azure, powder green, plum green, bean green, bean green, cuiqing, more than 20 kinds of green glaze colour derivation. Green glaze matured in the Kangxi, through the development of Yongzheng, in the Qianlong years to reach the exquisite, it should be said that this period of green glaze porcelain a little earlier technology has reached the highest peak in history. Green glaze is characterised by the glaze colour. It is ancient and elegant, calm, the glaze is even and moist, the glaze is firm and delicate.
Pink green glaze is a slightly milky green glaze. Longquan kiln first, Song official kilns and later Jingdezhen kilns have successful works. Pink green glaze colour green and light, glaze luster soft, to achieve the effect of jade-like, for the green glaze in one of the best tone. It is a kind of lime alkali glaze, with iron oxide as the main colouring agent, and a small amount of manganese and titanium. Plum green glaze is a famous variety of green glaze created by Longquan kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty. The glaze colour is rich and emerald, like the colour of green plum, hence the name. Plum green glaze and powder green glaze is known as "celadon glaze colour and texture of the beauty of the peak". Colour can be comparable with jade. Its iron content, firing temperature and degree of vitrification than powder green glaze.
Bean green glaze is one of the glaze colours derived from green glaze, originating from Longquan kiln in the Song Dynasty. Bean green and east green originally belong to a class, only later have their own characteristics. Before the Ming Dynasty, slightly close to yellow, to the Qing Dynasty, pure near green. Its glaze colour is green in yellow, glaze luster than powder green, plum green weak. Cuiqing glaze is Ming Yongle created. Because of the glaze colour green tender as bamboo, so the name. Glaze colour glossy, hanging glaze at the prominent, glassy feeling strong, glaze with dense small bubbles. Yongle cuiqing glaze because of the glaze juice drooping flow, artifacts shoulder colour and elegance, the lower part of the heavy. Tianqing glaze, also known as "rain over the green", is a kind of light and timeless high-temperature orchid glaze, China's ancient pottery book depicted as green as the sky, bright as a mirror, it is this glaze colour characteristics of the description. There are jun kiln azure, began in the song, was light blue, glaze layer thick and opaque, to iron compounds as a colouring agent; another song ru kiln azure, is a kind of light azure, the tone is more stable, most of the glaze is not glossy. There is also Jingdezhen kiln azure, began in the Qing dynasty Kangxi, pale grey-blue, thin and firm glaze, glistening and polished, to cobalt compounds as a colouring agent.
Characteristics of blue and white glaze
Green and white glaze is commonly known as shadow green glaze, is a glaze colour between the green and white two, green in white and white in the green porcelain special designation. It was made by local craftsmen in Jingdezhen during the Northern Song Dynasty. XuZhiHeng "drink stream zhai said porcelain": "shadow green solid very thin porcelain, there is a porcelain is quite thick only one side of the shadow out of the green carving, this is called hidden green." As mentioned above, the green and white glaze name: shadow green, there are also called: reflecting green, cover green, hidden green.
White Glaze: Pure Visual Experience
The iron content in the porcelain glaze is reduced to less than 0.75%, applied to the white porcelain tyre, into the kiln by high-temperature firing, there will be white glaze. Strictly speaking, white glaze is a colourless transparent glaze, not white glaze . Tang, Five Dynasties period, white porcelain in the north has a great development, increase the whiteness of the glaze measures from the application of make-up clay to the selection of high-quality raw materials, improve the glaze finish close to the standard of high-grade fine porcelain. Representing the highest level of white porcelain in the Song Dynasty Ding kiln, white porcelain firing technology has reached full maturity, transparent glaze for the development of underglaze and overglaze coloured porcelain laid the foundation
Oval glaze, also known as "Shufu glaze", is a new colour glaze created in Jingdezhen in the Yuan Dynasty. It and the same period of blue and white, is the highest level of porcelain in the yuan dynasty mark. Yuan ovoid glaze porcelain tyre using kaolin plus clay "binary formula" method, increase the content of alumina in the tyre, not only to improve the firing temperature, but also to get the effect of large pieces of porcelain in the high temperature does not deform, to ensure the quality. Ovoid glaze kiln ware is often written on the "Shu", "FU" two words, so it is also known as "Shufu Porcelain". There are also in the object on the book "Taixi" or "Fulu" characters or no inscription. Because of this kind of porcelain production is fine, and the name of the government, coupled with the print of the cloud dragon decoration are five-clawed dragon, was later considered to be the Yuan dynasty official kilns products. Sweet white is a white glaze Yongle kilns. Because of the Yongle white white porcelain products in many of the thin to the degree of semi-skimming, can light see. In the glaze of dark flowers on the surface of thin tires, applied to the warm white glaze, it gives a person a "sweet" feeling, so the name "sweet white". Sweet white glaze glaze is extremely glistening, can see the human shadow, than the central kiln ovoid glaze has a more pronounced sense of milky, give a person a sense of tenderness and sweet net, so also known as "onion root white", known as "white as congealed grease, as if the snow" reputation.
Sauce and black glazes: the art of intense colours
Sauce glaze, also known as "persimmon coloured glaze, purple and gold glaze", is a kind of high temperature colour glaze with iron as the colouring agent, its glaze contains iron oxide and ferrous iron oxide in the total amount of high, up to more than 5%. Sauce glaze appeared in the northern kilns of the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Ding kiln, Yaozhou kiln kilns and other kilns are fired, to Ding kiln sauce glaze is the most famous. Ming Cao Zhao "Ge Gu Yao" in the "purple fixed colour purple, there are black fixed colour black as lacquer, soil with white, its price is higher than the white fixed" thesis. The so-called purple fixed is not purple, the glaze was brownish red, in fact, with today's sesame paste colour similar to the glaze, hence the name.
Black glaze main colouring agent for the iron oxide and a small amount or trace of manganese, cobalt, copper, chromium and other oxidative colouring agents. Black glaze glaze for lime glaze and lime alkaline glaze two categories. Black glaze porcelain appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty in the middle and late, but then the glaze colour is dark brownish green or even black, the glaze layer is also uneven in thickness, often with wax tears, and in the bottom of the table concave gathered a very thick layer of glaze. Early firing black glaze the most successful first East Jin Dynasty, Zhejiang Deqing kiln, the burned black glaze glaze moist, bright, black as lacquer, comparable to lacquer. Tang dynasty black glaze is more prevalent, the song dynasty is the peak period of black glaze. Ming and qing dynasty imperial ware factory burned black glaze ware fine workmanship, more in the pure black glaze with a variety of low-temperature colours, black glaze has become a variety of beautiful colours of the backdrop. Wujin glaze began in the Ming Dynasty during the Chenghua period and was represented by the works of the Kangxi dynasty in the Qing Dynasty. Later on, it was developed into antique copper, ink brown and iron brown. There are two kinds of materials: pure black and black ground colour: pure black is a colour; black ground colour is painted on the black ground, with yellow, green and purple colours.
Yellow and green glazes: vibrant colours
Yellow glaze first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, when the Anhui Huainan Shouzhou kiln, Henan Mixian kiln, etc. are fired yellow glaze. But the positive yellow glaze, or Ru kiln's high temperature yellow glaze - tea powder glaze. Ming dynasty yellow glaze has a new development, Hongwu the old monk clothes that tea leaf end derivation; Started in xuande pouring yellow, is the Ming dynasty outstanding yellow glaze; After jiajing, there are caviar yellow, chicken oil yellow and so on. Into the Qing Dynasty after the Kangxi light yellow, as well as the subsequent vegetable tail, snuff, gold sauce and so on. Jiao yellow glaze because of the glaze method of glaze pouring, so the name. Ming Xuande when the creation of firing, prevalent in Hongzhi, Zhengde period. Firing temperature between 850-900 ℃, stability than other low-temperature glaze is higher. The transparency of the glaze is high, so that the pattern engraved on the tyre can be seen through the glaze. After the Jiajing, the derivation of the "caviar yellow glaze", the later the lighter, the Qing Kangxi when the derivation of the light yellow. Light yellow glaze porcelain created and fired in the Yongzheng period, its colouring agent for antimony oxide, because of its glaze colour is lighter than the traditional pouring yellow glaze with iron oxide as the colouring agent, so it is called "light yellow glaze". And because of its glaze colour is light like egg yellow, so it is also known as "egg yolk glaze". Beige glaze is light and elegant, yellow with white, very similar to the colour of millet. Tea leaves end glaze originated in the Tang Dynasty black glaze, when the Yaozhou kiln had a large number of firing, the Tang and Song dynasties, Shanxi Hunyuan kiln and the northern region of some of the black glaze kilns also have fired. And the Qing dynasty Jingdezhen imitation is very successful, a leap into the famous colour glaze varieties. Heirlooms, to the Yongzheng and Qianlong period products for the most common, Yongzheng tea end glaze yellowish, Qianlong tea end glaze is more greenish, the glaze is lost, glaze yellow and green mixed like tea leaves fine powder, the green one said tea, the yellow one said the end of the simple and beautiful, intriguing. Deep and heavy, very ancient.
China in the han dynasty has used copper as a colouring agent firing lead green glaze, the song dynasty porcelain on the green glaze has been more common. However, in the Ming dynasty peacock green firing mature before, all the green glaze is a deep dark greenish green, did not reach the bright emerald degree. Therefore, the success of the green glaze are the products of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Such as high-temperature green glaze in the Lang kiln green, apple green, low-temperature green glaze in the peacock green, melon green and okra green. Melon skin green glaze is a low temperature copper glaze. Because of the colour green like watermelon skin, so the name. Glaze on the astringent tyre, in low temperature in the second firing. Appeared in the middle of the Ming dynasty, to the Qing dynasty Kangxi has greater development.
Kangxi watermelon skin green has two colours. Deeper green, no grain pieces, more in a colour glaze bottles, jars, plates, bowls, wash; shallow such as tender cucumber colour, often used to decorate about six or seven inches high, the style of the delicate neck bottle. Coloured porcelain pattern of rocks, trees, branches and leaves, also commonly used melon green painted. Peacock green glaze is also known as "Fazui", also known as jadeite glaze or Jicui glaze. Glaze colour has two kinds of deep and shallow, the deeper colour is onion green, the glaze has a fine fragmentation pattern, and is lined with white glaze, glaze colour is bright and beautiful; the former mainly in the coloured glaze with the use of, such as aubergine violet glaze, often coupled with peacock green. If the peacock green is covered in lapis lazuli, the lapis lazuli tone black, quite Song dynasty magnetic state kiln peacock green black flower effect. Lang kiln green glaze is a high-temperature green glaze fired at Lang kiln in the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty. Some of the colour light is emerald, glassy luster; some is slightly green and panchromatic light, full of very fine lines, colour and luster clear, called "fly wing". Light green glaze is with the Kangxi painting enamels from Europe and the introduction of a green glaze.
Red and Blue Glazes: The Art of Colourfulness
The emergence of red glaze can be traced back to the early Northern Song Dynasty, but the real pure, stable red glaze is the early Ming Dynasty, the fresh red; to Jiajing, and the creation of the alum red iron as a colouring agent; Xuande when the firing of the sacrificial red. Fresh red for high temperature colour glaze, alum red for low temperature colour glaze. There are many types of red glaze, in addition to bright red, the deeper there are ruby red, vermilion red, chicken blood red, cum red, wipe red, etc.; wipe red with yellow, also known as apricot shirt, slightly yellow, also known as coral glaze, in addition to orange red and jujube red; light is generally known as pink, with grey is called cowpea red, grey and dark is called milky mouse skin; cochineal red is also a kind of pink. The most colourful of the pinks is called Beauty Drunk.
Blue glaze with cobalt oxide as the colour presenter, first seen in the Tang Three Colours, Song Dynasty Jun Kiln to the sky blue glaze as the main tone, Yuan Dynasty Jingdezhen fired high temperature blue glaze porcelain, Ming and Qing Dynasty and fired into the blue glaze porcelain, blue, sprinkle blue, sky blue peacock blue and other blue glaze porcelain. Ming dynasty blue glaze also known as ji blue, cum blue, jewel blue, jiqing and so on, is a kind of cobalt oxide containing about 2% of high temperature lime alkali glaze, deep and stable hue. Qing dynasty clear blue glaze from shunzhi began all dynasties have fired, the technical level of stability and high quality. Ming dynasty sprinkled blue glaze wares are less, after the development of the Qing dynasty Kangxi, quality and production have improved. Yongzheng period of sprinkled blue glaze more imitation of natural lapis lazuli colour, the glaze has a heavy green-brown, also known as "ghost face green". After this sprinkled blue glaze less production. Sky blue glaze colour tone light and elegant uniform net, pleasing to the eye, can be comparable with the cowpea red glaze during the Kangxi period, often essay room and other small ware glaze colour. After the Kangxi period, there are many production dynasties, but the colour is not as light as the Kangxi period, elegant, Yongzheng, Qianlong period of the sky blue glaze colour also exists a big difference. The peacock-blue glaze is as blue as a jewel, crystalline and moist, with a very fine caviar pattern on the glaze surface. Part of the peacock blue glaze ware may belong to the peacock green glaze ware with copper oxide as the colouring agent in the colour bluish one. Compared with the peacock-green glaze, the number is small.
Purple, Gold, Jun and Kiln Glazes: Rare Treasures in Quantities
Purple glaze is also known as "eggplant skin purple glaze", because of the glaze application with pouring glaze method, also known as "pouring purple glaze". The main colouring element is manganese, the Tang Three Colours, there is purple glaze, Jingdezhen kiln purple glaze porcelain was burned in the Ming dynasty Hongzhi period. Because of the ingredients and kiln atmosphere changes are different, purple glaze colour is also different, there are deep, light aubergine purple, grape purple, rose purple and other colours. Light eggplant skin purple like uncooked eggplant skin, lilac; deep eggplant skin purple is more common, was ripe eggplant skin of black purple. Gold glaze is an innovative variety of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, white glazed porcelain coated with a good blend of gold or silver powder, after low-temperature firing, showing a similar pure gold, silver, as the effect of opulence.
Jun glaze and kiln-variation glaze are high-temperature colour glazes created in the Jun kilns of the Song Dynasty, with colours such as moonlight white, azure, sky blue, rose purple and begonia red. The basic glaze colour of Song Dynasty Jun glaze is a variety of blue emulsion glaze with different shades, the darker one is called sky blue, the lighter one is called sky blue, and the one lighter than sky blue is called moon white. Because in the firing process of the glaze mixed with copper is oxidised often appear reddish-purple patches, the glaze presents a reddish green, reddish-purple artistic effect. Jingdezhen kilns in the Ming dynasty imitated Jun only Xuande dynasty, the number is very small, only the pursuit of glaze colour, do not imitate modelling. Qing Yongzheng dynasty Tang Ying supervised the manufacture of imperial kilns, really began to Jun kiln porcelain imitation and achieved important results, Tang Ying in the imitation of ancient porcelain to imitation of the highest achievements in Jun glaze. Kiln-change glaze is the result of changes in the kiln. Porcelain firing in the kiln, due to the glaze contains a variety of colouring elements, by oxidation, reduction, out of the kiln, that is, an unexpected artistic effect, from the accidental and colourful special, also known as the "flower glaze" or "kiln-variable glaze".
Furnace Jun glaze fired in a low-temperature furnace Jun glaze, in fact, the Qing Dynasty Yongzheng period Jingdezhen kilns an imitation of Yijun products (Yijun, Yixing imitation of Jun glaze products, there are azure, sky blue, rue beans, moon white and other varieties of glazes, glazes are thicker, the openings are fine and dense, not very transparent, oxidative atmosphere firing. (Sheng in the Ming and Qing dynasties), can be divided into two kinds of vegetarian, meat, vegetarian not see red dots, meat with red dots. Yongzheng period furnace Jun glaze pan with circles of red points, its red is not bright, red in purple, like just ripe sorghum spike colour, so often called "sorghum red".
In short, the porcelain glaze is an extremely large and complex system, each glaze colour has gone through the development of the changes of the dynasties, and the same period, and even the same kiln production of glaze colour there may be a certain degree of difference.
