Ceramics and Pottery Materials

Materials of Decoration

Basalt Ware

• A solid black stoneware of great hardness, unglazed
• Takes its name from a black Egyptian rock
• One of the earliest products of the English potter's art
• Wedgwood's basalt is regarded as superior to others

Agate Ware

• Earthenware made either solid or in surface decoration to resemble the veining of agate or other natural stones
• If solid, produced by layers of different colored clays twisted together and then cut transversely with wire
• The surface ware is splashed and grained on an ordinary cream body

Whieldon Ware

• A term derived from the tortoise-shell ware made by Thomas Whieldon
• Applied to all classes of ware of a mottled, cloudy or splashed character
• Whieldon's tortoise-shell ware was soft, light in weight, with an excellent glaze and extremely rich in effect

Spode Ware

• In 1770, Josiah Spode established a factory at Stoke-on-Trent
• Produced under-glaze blue-printed cream ware of excellent quality, stone china, black and jasper ware
• The stone china was of exceptional quality, semi-porcelain and frequently translucent
• Transfer-printing in blue and other colors was one of the foundations of their prosperity

Toft Ware

• Slip-decorated pottery made by Thomas Toft in Staffordshire in the latter half of the 17th century
• The material of this ware was usually coarse reddish clay and the decorating is done in a rather crude manner

American Ceramics

• American ceramics was centered on three main sites: Pennsylvania, Bennington, Vermont, and Jersey City, New Jersey
• Sgraffito Ware was produced in Pennsylvania by the Germans during the middle of the 18th century
• John Norton, in Bennington, Vermont, produced utilitarian terra-cotta slip with and salt glazed stoneware

Chinese Ceramics

• Chinese art today represents a living tradition with more than 3,000 years of history behind it
• The Neolithic Period (5000-2200 B.C.):
  • Pottery was made by coiling and then beating the shapes with a paddle
  • Toward the end of the period, vessels were begun using the handbuilt technique, then finished on a wheel
  • Pottery recovered from excavations all over China included the beautifully painted YANGSHAO and the black LUNGSHAN
• The Shang Period (1570-1045 B.C.):
  • The Neolithic prototypes became the basis for bronze vessels during this period
  • Shang ceramic molds for bronze casting, made of high-quality clay, have been found

Wedgwood Ware

• Named after its creator, Josiah Wedgwood
• He was one of the first men to unite art and industry
• Perfected cream ware in 1762, which improved upon the earlier product and was to be copied by other potters

Jasperware

• This fine, hard, unglazed white bisque made by Wedgwood and other potters was perfected about 1775
• Made in various surface colors introduced about 1777, known as dip jasper

Cream Ware

• The term applies to all light-colored English earthenware from about 1750 to the present time
• Perfected by Wedgwood by the use of Cornwall clay and adopted as the standard earthenware of Staffordshire

Queen’s Ware

• Original cream-colored earthenware named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III

Staffordshire

• A generic term applying to the products of many potteries in Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Cobridge, Etruria, Burslem, Fenton, Tunstall, Longport, Shelton, Lane End, and some other lesser known places
• Produced a variety of wares, including slip wares, agate, tortoise-shell, black basalt, and jasper ware

Period of Warring States

• The Chou Dynasty (1122-255 B.C.):
  • Produced utilitarian pottery like funerary urns, cooking vessels, and libation jars
  • The body of the Chou vessels was made of hard grey clay which had no glaze on its surface
• The Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.):
  • In the middle of this period, there appeared glazed pottery fired at a low degree
  • Ceramics of this period include earthenware mortuary vessels and glazed wares

T'ang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.)

• Following the Han dynasty, marked by great power and prosperity
• Most surviving pieces have been gathered from tombs, since many pottery pieces from the Tang dynasty were used as tomb figures and furnishings for prominent members of Tang society
• The full and vigorous shapes, including some Western forms, attained a new splendor with the invention of colored glazes### Ancient Chinese Stoneware
• Celadon ware originated during the Six Dynasties period (907-960 AD) and is characterized by simple yet refined shapes, jade-like glaze, and solid substance.
• Longquan County, Zhejiang Province, is famous for producing high-quality celadon ware, also known as Longquan Qingci.
• Qingci means "greenish porcelain" in Chinese.

Northern Song Celadons (12th century)

• Gray stoneware body covered in transparent olive or light brown glaze.
• shapes were mostly vases or incense burners.

Southern Song Celadons (Lung-ch'uan)

• White porcelain with light bluish-green jadelike crackled glazes.
• Shapes were varied, inspired by ancient bronzes, Middle Eastern metalwork, and glass.
• Many were exported.

B.Tzu Chou ware

• Characterized by underglaze black decoration on white or glazed porcelain.
• High-quality ware with bold slip painting, sgraffito, carving, incising, impressing, and molding, as well as polychrome overglaze enameling.

C.Ru or Ju ware

• Famous and extremely rare type of pottery produced for the Imperial court around 1100 AD.
• Fewer than 100 pieces survive.
• Distinctive pale "duck-egg blue" glaze and otherwise undecorated.
• Considered one of the Five Great Kilns of the Sung dynasty.

D.Chi-Chou or Jizhou ware

• Originated from Jiangxi Province.
• Simple shapes in stoneware with a strong emphasis on subtle effects in the dark glaze.
• Often combined with other decorative effects, such as leaves or paper-cut-outs to create resist patterns in the glaze.

E.Kuan ("official") or Guan

• Rare type of ware with a stoneware body washed with brown slip and glaze varying from pale green to lavender blue with a wide-meshed crackle.
• Considered one of the Five Great Kilns of the Sung dynasty.

Materials of Decoration

February - June 2020

• Ke Yao or Ge: related to KUAN ware with a dark stoneware body and grayish-white glaze.
• Ting or Ding: white and coarse, with a transparent green glaze, often decorated with motifs like dragons, fish, lotuses, and peonies.
• Qingbal or Ch'ing Pai ware: white with a bluish-green tint, with a body that is not translucent.
• Chun or Jun: grayish-white stoneware covered with a thick glaze ranging from blue to lavender and suffused with crimson purple.
• Chien Yao (Jian): dark ware with a very dark brown, almost black glaze, often decorated with leaves or paper-cutouts.

Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD)

• Many Sung wares continued, with the development of underglaze, a new porcelain-making art.
• White ware called SHU FU appeared, with the development of blue and white wares.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1643 AD)

• Blue and white ware became a major export item.
• Ceramic art flourished, with fine white porcelain as the staple product.
• Painting on pottery and porcelain became richly colorful.
• Brush painting directly on the baked clay reached its zenith in China.

Materials of Decoration - February-June 2020

Ming Dynasty (1368-1643 AD) (continued)

• Delicate Tou-ts'ai ware: a glassy porcelain with overglaze enamel painting.
• Overglaze technique, which evolved over two centuries, demanded correct preparation of the enamels, skill in application, and proper firing temperature.

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD)

• A vast number of fine porcelain vessels were produced for both domestic and foreign markets.
• Popular polychrome enamel styles were famille verte (green, yellow, and aubergine purple) and its derivatives: famille noir (black ground) and famille jaune (yellow ground).

Sang de Boeuf (Oxblood Glaze)

• A glossy, rich, blood-red glaze, often slashed with streaks of purple or turquoise, used to decorate pottery, particularly porcelain.

Peach Bloom

• A glaze of pinkish-red mottled with russet spots and tinged with green.

Tea-dust

• A dark green or brownish and often speckled glaze, likely discovered by accident.

Claire de lune

• A high-fired soft, pale, or lavender-blue glaze, reserved exclusively for Imperial Porcelains.

Quiz about different materials used in ceramics and pottery, including their characteristics and production processes.