92 Questions
Which type of glaze causes a textured surface when salt is thrown onto hot pottery?
Salt Glaze
Which coloring oxide is widely used for blue-and-white porcelain wares in East Asia and Europe?
Cobalt Oxide
Which glaze uses feldspar as a base and is only used for stoneware and porcelain?
Feldspathic Glaze
What type of glaze includes tin oxide, giving it a white, shiny, and opaque appearance?
Tin Glaze
Which type of glaze was primarily used historically but is now limited to studio potters due to its unpredictable nature?
Ash Glaze
Which of these glazes is known for being susceptible to crazing due to its composition?
Alkaline Glaze
What are ceramics typically made from?
Inorganic non-metallic compounds
Which characteristic is NOT typical of ceramics?
Flexibility
What process is used to harden ceramics?
Heating to high temperatures
When were fired earth vessels first invented?
Around 12,000 years ago
Which stage involves clay being visibly damp but dried enough to handle?
Leather hard
What term is used to identify Greenware pottery that has dried as much as possible before its first firing?
Bone dry
What is the most plastic state of clay?
Greenware
The production of ceramics is considered one of the most ancient arts. Which culture is NOT mentioned as having been involved in its early development?
South American culture
What is a characteristic of the Biscuit state of ceramics?
It is half-baked pottery.
What is pottery primarily designed for?
Both utility and decoration
What is bisque porcelain?
Unglazed white porcelain with a matte appearance.
What makes biscuit porcelain more expensive than glazed porcelain?
It requires fewer imperfections as glaze cannot cover them.
What is the primary purpose of the second firing of glazed ware?
To render the ware impermeable to water and other liquids.
Which component in the glaze is mainly responsible for its glass-like appearance?
Silica
What is 'Glost Firing' more formally known as?
Glaze firing
Which type of ware is commonly porous even without glazing?
Earthenware
What is used as a flux in one type of Chinese glaze?
Lead oxide
Which type of glaze was introduced in China to cover earthenware and make it watertight?
Simple glaze
Parian Ware is a type of which material?
Biscuit porcelain
What is the major component of glaze?
Silica
Which firing temperature range is used for earthenware?
900-1200°C
What property of stoneware makes it suitable for pickle and preserve jars?
Impermeable to water
What is the characteristic color of porcelain?
Clear white
Which material is known for yielding a type of green seen on Chinese celadon wares?
Ferrous Iron Oxide
Which ceramic material is the hardest and also used for electrical insulators?
Porcelain
Which oxide produces a pale yellow to black color in decoration?
Ferric Iron Oxide
Which characteristic is NOT true about stoneware?
Porous and permeable to liquids
Which component gives porcelain its high-quality, bell-like ring when struck?
Kaolin
Which of the following is an example of a wine jug?
Oinochoe
What is the maximum temperature at which soft porcelain is fired?
2300 degrees Fahrenheit
What added component gives Bone China its whiteness and translucency?
Calcined ox bones
What type of decoration did Sicilian and Apulian potteries from the 12th century onwards feature?
Sgraffito
What is Majolica based on?
Tin-glazed earthenware from Majorca
Which component is NOT typically found in slip?
Ox bones
Which city led the way in the fifteenth century in the production of majolica?
Florence
Which pottery technique involves designs transferred from specially prepared paper?
Decalcomania
Where was a new, rich decorative style known as istoriato developed?
Urbino
'Sealed earth' refers to which type of Roman pottery?
Terra Sigillata
In what century did Italian potters abandon the old familiar processes?
15th Century
What term is often mistakenly synonymous with slip?
Engobe
Which of the following is NOT a type of jar mentioned?
Lekythos
Which decorative pottery technique was extensively used by German and English potters during the 17th and 18th centuries?
Slip
Which pottery type requires at least two or more firings at different temperatures?
Bone China
What was the pottery class known as before the advent of Maiolica?
Mezzo-maiolica
What range of colors is characteristic of Terra Sigillata?
Pale orange to bright red
What is the characteristic of slipware?
It is dipped in slip or decorated with slip-created patterns.
What is Lithographed printing based on?
The principle that oil and water do not mix
What technique involves scratching through a slip to reveal the body of the pottery?
Sgrafitto
Which painting technique applies colored decoration over a fired transparent glaze and requires a third firing?
Overglaze
What is the primary purpose of Egyptian ceramics?
Ritualistic rites
What color are the figures in Black Figure Ware ceramics?
Black
Which Greek ceramic type features figures painted red on a black background?
Red Figure Ware
What type of Greek ceramic is a Skyphos?
A drinking cup
Which technique is applied on a dried but unfired opaque glaze and fuses with it during glost firing?
In-glaze
What were primitive ceramics primarily used for?
Storing grain and water
Which term refers to the use of slips to create contrasting patterns by scratching?
Sgrafitto
Which notable name claimed the introduction of pottery-making in Pesaro?
PASSERI
What is LUCCA DELLA ROBBIA best known for?
Goldsmith and sculptor
Which material did MASTER GIORGIO ANDROLI successfully introduce into art?
Transparent glazes
In which city did LUCCA DELLA ROBBIA produce his famous ware?
Florence
Who established a porcelain factory in Venice in 1720?
Francesco Vezzi
Which porcelain factory was known for excelling in painting porcelain?
Doccia
What distinctive feature did Doccia ware often have in its decoration?
Oriental taste and Chinese style figures
Which of the following is NOT a typical subject in Doccia porcelain decoration?
Dragon
Which marking could be found on Doccia ware?
A crowned 'F'
Where are the finest examples of Doccia ware located?
The Pitti Palace in Florence
Which color scheme was primarily used in traditional Delftware decorations?
Blue and white
What did early Delftware decorations commonly depict before incorporating Dutch scenes?
Chinese manner
Which type of ceramic ware was Delft factories known to produce aside from tableware?
Apothecary jars
What is the name of the only remaining original producer of Dutch delftware?
De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles
Which type of delftware is known for its simplified motifs and less careful execution?
Peasant Delft
When did Dutch Porcelain production start in Weesp?
1759
Which foreign models did Amstel porcelain follow after initially resembling Dresden pottery?
French models
What year did Amstel factory cease its operations?
1810
Who started the Hague porcelain manufactory in 1776?
The Lijncker family
Which decorative color is particularly associated with Hague Porcelain table services?
Bleu-de-roi
What characterizes the soft-paste porcelain body developed at Capo di Monte?
A pronounced creamy color and an unusually glossy clear glaze
During whose reign did the Capo di Monte porcelain manufactory totally expire?
Ferdinand
What is the mark of Capo di Monte porcelain?
An N with a crown in blue
Which 18th-century character was commonly depicted in both porcelain modeling and painting?
Pulcinella
What impact did Chinese blue and white porcelain have on Dutch ceramics?
It led to the development of the Dutch Blue and White style.
Which city was the center of Delftware production in Holland?
Delft
What technique did Dutch potters use to emulate Chinese ceramics when they could not make porcelain?
Maiolica techniques
What is a distinctive feature of Delftware that can help distinguish it from its Chinese counterparts?
Visible terracotta clay, especially on the foot
How many factories produced Delftware in Delft from the 17th to 19th Century?
32
What type of glaze was applied after metal oxide decoration on Delftware to make the surface glossy?
Lead glaze
Study Notes
Ceramics and Pottery
- Ceramics are inorganic, non-metallic solids made from metal or non-metal compounds, shaped and hardened by high-temperature heating.
- They are hard, corrosion-resistant, and brittle.
- The earliest ceramics were made from clay, either alone or mixed with other materials, and were hardened by fire.
Pottery
- Pottery is the process of forming vessels and other artifacts from ceramic materials, fired at high temperatures to create a hard, durable form.
- The production of ceramics is one of the oldest arts, with some pottery designed for utility and others for decoration.
- Fired earth vessels were first invented around 12,000 years ago in Japan, and later in Asia and Mesoamerica.
Three Main Production Stages
The Clay State or Greenware
- This is the stage where the ware is formed but not yet fired.
- Greenware items are fragile and brittle, but can be handled with care.
- They are often sanded with fine-grade sandpaper to ensure a smooth finish.
The Biscuit State
- This is a term meaning "half-baked".
- It is any pottery that has undergone a preliminary low-range firing.
- Biscuit earthenware is plain and porous, and is often used as a base for glazing.
Materials of Decoration
Glazes
- Glaze is a mixture of chemicals, including silica, clay, and water, that is applied to the pottery to make it impermeable to water.
- Glazes can be clear, colored, or opaque, and are used to decorate pottery.
- There are many types of glazes, including Salt, Ash, Alkaline, Lead, Tin, and Feldspathic glazes.
Coloring Oxides
- Tin Oxide: produces a white color
- Cobalt Oxide: produces a grayish blue to pure sapphire color
- Cupric Oxide: produces a series of blues
- Cuprous Oxide: produces a series of greens
- Ferric Iron Oxide: produces a pale yellow to black color
- Ferrous Iron Oxide: produces a type of green
- Manganese Oxide: produces a varying range of colors from bright red to dark purplish brown
- Antimony Oxide: produces a yellow color
Main Classifications of Ceramics
Earthenware
- A soft, porous, and permeable pottery that is fired at a low temperature.
- It is often used for decorative purposes.
Stoneware
- A hard, non-porous, and impermeable pottery that is fired at a high temperature.
- It is often used for functional purposes.
Porcelain
- A hard, translucent, and white pottery that is fired at a very high temperature.
- It is often used for decorative and functional purposes.
Ornamentation in Ceramics or Pottery
Slip
- A thick, semi-solid fluid composed of clay, water, and other minerals.
- It is used to create patterns and designs on pottery.
Terra Sigillata
- A type of Roman pottery that was mass-produced around the 1st century AD.
- It is characterized by a glossy surface slip in a range of colors.
Other Forms of Decoration
- Incised
- Relief/Embossing
- Decalcomania
- Lithographed
- Pierced
- Sgrafitto
- Silk-Screened
- Stamped
- Stenciled
- Painted
- Overglaze
- In-glaze
- Underglaze### Master Giorgio Androli
- Known as a rival of the Della Robbia family
- Introduced transparent glazes into art
- Often signed his pieces himself
Porcelain
- European potters attempted to imitate porcelain from the Far East
- First produced in Italy in 1720 at a factory in Doccia, near Florence
- Francesco Vezzi established a porcelain factory in Venice in 1720
- Doccia ware was produced in the 18th century and was of high quality
Doccia Ware
- Produced in the 18th century
- Known for its painting skills
- Typical subjects included cupids, nymphs, and putti
- Decoration was usually polychrome, but single-color decoration in red, yellow, or blue was also popular
- Marks included a crowned 'F', the letters 'FD' in monogram, or the words 'DOCIA' or 'DOCIA REALE'
- Naples ware was much sought after and copied in Doccia
- Doccia ware was decorated in the Oriental taste, with figures in the Chinese style, landscapes, flowers, and diaper patterns
Capo di Monte
- Founded by Charles III in Naples
- Developed a formula for a distinctive soft-paste porcelain body
- Characterized by a pronounced creamy color and an unusually glossy clear glaze
- Marked with an N surmounted by a crown, in blue
- The Ginori family took over the factory after it expired
Dutch Ceramics
Pottery
- Techniques and artisans migrated from Italy to the Netherlands and Belgium in the 16th century
- Influenced by Islamic techniques and motifs
- Developed into a unique Dutch style after coming into contact with far eastern ceramics
Delftware
- Produced in the city of Delft
- Characterized by blue and white decorations
- Early decorations were done in the Chinese manner, but later incorporated native Dutch scenes
- Factories began producing polychrome ceramics, copying Chinese Kang-hsi and Japanese Imari wares
- A wide range of Delft marks have accumulated over the centuries
- Typically featured blue patterns and landscapes on a white background
- Also produced apothecary jars, drug pots, small flat tiles for fireplaces and other architectural uses
- The only remaining original producer of Dutch delftware is "De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles" founded in 1653
Peasant Delft
- A type of delftware with simplified motifs
- Decoration was less careful and gave the impression of being done in haste
- Pieces were used to decorate farm stables in the summer season
Porcelain
Amstel
- Started in Weesp, near Amsterdam, in 1759
- First porcelain factory in Holland
- Transferred to Oude Loosdrecht, then finally to Oude Amstel in 1784
- Original workmen came from Dresden and followed its tradition and practices
- Produced hard-paste Porcelain in 1764
- Had a fine white body and was of the best quality
- Initially followed Dresden pottery styles, then later followed French models
Hague
- Started by the Lijncker family in 1776 in Hague, Holland
- Developed out of a shop that opened in 1772 to sell ceramics and textiles
- Began working on decorating and refiring blank porcelain pieces
- Pieces were decorated by Porcelain painters recruited abroad
- Displayed an individuality that pointed to the manufactory, especially table services with rich gilding
- Operated for about ten years only
Learn about the properties and history of ceramics, from their composition to their earliest forms as pottery objects and figurines made from clay.
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