Ceramic Terminology

The English "china" means both China and ceramics, clearly indicating that China is the "home of ceramics". As early as Europeans mastered the porcelain manufacturing technology more than a thousand years ago, the Han people have made a very fine ceramics. China is the world's earliest application of one of the countries of the pottery, and Chinese porcelain because of its high practicality and artistic and highly respected by the world.

In the long history of porcelain production, our generations of potters, according to their daily production of porcelain encountered some problems, summed up a lot of ceramic terminology. In this article, the most ceramics selected people daily easy to encounter more than fifty porcelain terminology. Hope can like ceramic artifacts of you, help.

Glossary of Ceramics

1. Blue And White

Blue and white porcelain, also known as blue and white porcelain, often referred to as blue and white, Chinese ceramics firing technology treasures. Is one of the mainstream varieties of Chinese porcelain, underglaze colored porcelain. The blue and white porcelain is used as raw materials containing oxidized put put ore, in ceramic billets depicted decoration, then covered with a layer of transparent glaze, the high temperature reduction flame once fired. Put material is blue after firing, with strong coloring power, colorful, high firing rate, color stability characteristics. Primitive blue and white porcelain in the Tang and Song Dynasty has seen the beginning of the mature blue and white porcelain appeared in the Yuan Dynasty Hutian kiln in Jingdezhen. Ming dynasty blue and white became the mainstream of porcelain. Qing Kangxi when the development of the peak.

2. Battle Color

Fighting color, also known as teasing color, Chinese traditional porcelain craft treasures. Created in the Ming dynasty during the Xuande years, the Ming Chenghua period of Duocai is the most respected, is the underglaze color (blue and white) and glaze color combination of a decorative species. Fighting color is pre-fired at high temperatures (1300 ° C) under the glaze of blue porcelain, with mineral pigments for the second application of color, fill the gaps left by the blue and white pattern and paint the space within the outline of the blue and white, and then again into the kiln after a low-temperature (800 ° C) baked and become. Bui Cai with its colorful tones, stable and old color, formed a kind of Ming people in line with the aesthetic taste of the decorative style.

3. Red under glaze

Glazed red porcelain is a traditional ceramic art treasures, belongs to the Yuan Dynasty in the middle of Jingdezhen laborers one of the important invention. Glazed red porcelain production process and the same period of blue and white porcelain is largely the same. It is to oxidized copper as coloring agent, painted on the tire decoration, covered with transparent glaze, in the atmosphere of high temperature reduction flame firing. Because the red pattern is under the glaze, it is called underglaze red porcelain.

4. Pastel colors

Also called "ancient color", is a variety of glaze color. The so-called glaze color, is in the burnt plainware glaze for painting, and then into the baking furnace by Celsius 600 degrees -900 degrees temperature baking and become. China's traditional overglaze, to the Qing Dynasty, the fifty-second year of the Kangxi (1713), the official kiln craftsmen in the inspiration and influence of enamel, the introduction of copper enamel opaque white color material, in the process of enamel and borrowed the multi-color scale of the preparation of the technique, creating a new variety of "pastel color" overglaze. This white color material is commonly known as "glass white". Due to the fusion of glass white and colorful materials, so that a variety of colors produced "pastelization". Red color becomes pink, green color becomes light green, yellow color becomes light yellow, other colors also become opaque light tones, and can control the amount of adding more or less to get a series of different shades of color, giving people a sense of pink and soft, so called this glaze color for "pastel", in the performance technique, from the flat filler has been progressed to the dark and light wash and dye; In terms of style, its layout and brushwork, have the characteristics of traditional Chinese painting.

5. New Color Porcelain

One kind of glaze color. Formerly known as yangcai, guangxu years, first from Germany and then imported from Japan, "yangcai" also known as "new color" began to prevail in jingdezhen, this kind of pigment color is pure and bright, is a kind of low-temperature glaze painting pigments (firing temperature of about 600 ℃) -900℃) made of copper, iron, tin, manganese, put and many other different metal oxides. New color painting system can be directly dipped into the color pigment with a pen on the porcelain painting, the expression is stronger, can be drawn arbitrarily thick and thin lines, and can be arbitrarily adjusted color, in the painting after firing, but also can be repeated to cover the color, repeatedly back to the furnace firing.

6. Color glaze

Color glaze, in the glaze with a certain kind of oxidized metal, after firing, it will show a certain kind of inherent color, so it is called "color glaze". Glaze material to add different metal oxides as a coloring agent, in a certain temperature and air temperature in the firing, will show a different color of the glaze, into the color glaze.

7. Composite color

Is the use of a variety of techniques combined with a new form of decoration. Is the Qing dynasty Qianlong dynasty rise of the decorative craft. According to the needs of the work, the use of a variety of techniques combined with the form of decoration, the use of different raw materials (glaze, underglaze pigments), different methods of expression (carving, painting, color glaze) and different firing techniques (high and low temperature) combined to achieve the overall design effect, so that the porcelain decoration is more perfect. Composite color] also known as "comprehensive decoration". Is the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Dynasty decorative process. According to the needs of the work, the use of a variety of techniques combined with the form of decoration, the use of different raw materials (glaze, underglaze pigments), different methods of expression (carving, painting, glaze) and different firing techniques (high and low temperature) combined to achieve the overall design effect, so that the porcelain decoration is more perfect.

8. Linglong Porcelain

Linglong, meaning clear and thorough. Blue and white Linglong porcelain is in the Ming Xuande years on the basis of hollow craft creation and development, has more than five hundred years of history. The production method is, first in the raw billet according to the pattern design of the flower, carving a millet hole, so that the two walls of the hole, such as a small window; and then paste on the special transparent glaze, like the window paste paper; and then glazed all over the body. After baking, the openwork is bright and clear, but not holes do not leak.

9. Tang San Cai

Tang Sancai, ancient Chinese ceramics firing technology treasures, full name of the Tang Dynasty three-color glazed pottery, is prevalent in the Tang Dynasty, a low-temperature glaze pottery, glaze with yellow, green, white, brown, blue, black and other colors, and yellow, green, white three-color as the main, so people are accustomed to call it "Tang Sancai". Because the earliest and most Tang Three-Color was unearthed in Luoyang, it is also known as "Luoyang Tang Three-Color".

Ceramic Terminology

1. Porcelain carving

The raw materials used in porcelain carving are from a wide range of countries. Strong plasticity, rich themes. Fired porcelain crystal clean, easy to clean, loved by people, is the most in-depth into people's lives in a kind of folk art and crafts.

2. Carve Porcelain

The use of diamond engraving knife engraved yin flower pattern of porcelain. Carved porcelain is a set of painting, calligraphy, carving in a body, set pen, ink, color, knife as a body of traditional art. With special knives in porcelain, porcelain plate surface carving, engraving various images and patterns, usually also refers to the porcelain, porcelain plate engraved into the sculpture crafts.

3. Open light

Open light is one of the traditional decorative techniques of my porcelain, the original is an ancient form of window protection on some kind of building evolved. That is, in order to make objects on the decorative changes in the multi-Oceanic or highlight a certain image, often in the object of a shape (such as fan, banana leaf shape, diamond, heart, peach, round, etc.) of the space, which is decorated with patterns, known as the open light. Generally white open light, but also colored open light.

Seen in the Song Dynasty Jizhou kiln underglaze color painting, Yuan Qinghua and the Qing Dynasty Kangxi five-color porcelain decoration, through the light will be different painting situations set in one body, giving rise to a sense of story chapters, so that the painting is rich in the flow of interest in the light of each other.

4. Expenses

Open piece of porcelain glaze is a natural cracking phenomenon. There are two reasons for cracking: one is molding billet mud along a certain direction, affecting the arrangement of molecules; two is billet, glaze expansion coefficient is different, baking after cooling when the glaze layer shrinkage rate is large. Therefore, the original crack is a defect in the firing of porcelain; but people mastered the laws of cracking and the production of open glaze (i.e., crackle glaze), into a special decoration for porcelain. Sung dynasty of jun, ru, official, kao kilns have this kind of products. Open piece also known as ice crack, according to the color of eel blood, gold wire, light yellow caviar pattern, according to the shape of the net-shaped pattern, plum blossom pattern, fine broken pattern.

5. Cold texture

A defect that occurs when porcelain is fired out of the kiln. Porcelain fired out of the kiln suddenly affected by the cold air, and the production of fine cracks called cold lines.

6. Caviar pattern

Caviar pattern, crackle glaze in the extremely valuable glaze, belongs to the kiln change glaze series. The Qing dynasty Yongzheng official kiln production, due to the complexity of the technology, the firing difficulty is extremely high, the amount of survival is extremely rare. Major markets can not be seen, even in museums are rare. Therefore, the appreciation of space is quite wide. As the saying goes, "even if you have a family fortune, not as good as a piece of porcelain". But I have to say, caviar pattern its ornamental value is incomparable to other porcelain, its collection value can match even porcelain.

7. flint red

Flint red, commonly known as "kiln red" or "loquat red", refers to the ancient porcelain, especially the Yuan, Ming, Qing Jingdezhen porcelain and Longquan porcelain exposed tire appeared at the orange-red or orange-yellow phenomenon, which is actually due to the presence of iron molecules in the soil at high temperatures in the mobile Gathering, kiln at the end of the cooling process and the second oxidation process and present the hue, generally attached to the porcelain tire glaze combination. Its distribution is characterized by the combination with the tire glaze into a parallel, wide and narrow flint red circle, the closer to the surface of the porcelain tire glaze combination line, flint red crystal density is greater, the more intense color, with the far away from the glaze, exposed tire parts of the density and color of flint red crystals will be lighter until disappeared.

Generally speaking, the real flint red by the glaze combined with the precipitation, soft and bright color, harmonious and natural, the farther away from the glaze at the flint red luster is lighter and lighter; and false flint red in the bottom of the artifacts can be seen everywhere, the color shade is not uniform, or overly thick or too light, very unnatural. Observed under a magnifying glass, the real flint red crystalline and shiny, deep into the tire, and the tire soil into one body; while the false flint red lack of vitality, floating on the surface of the tire.

8. Sandy bottom

The bottom of a porcelain vessel that is unglazed and has an exposed tire. The foot is the most informative place of ancient porcelain. Through the foot, you can see its tire, its glaze, you can see its tire glaze bonding, firing process, the degree of aging and so on.

9. Knife cut bottom

The foot is a square rib, such as a knife cut one ocean.

10. Loach's back

Loach back, porcelain term, Ming and Qing dynasty official kiln porcelain, the back of the foot are cut to roll round, to the Yongzheng ware is the most typical, the back of the foot is rounded smooth and smooth, commonly known as the loach back.

11. Turn over.

Refers to the bottom of the porcelain. Look at the turn over, meaning look at the bottom of the porcelain.

12. Rivet

The shape of the spike is in the shape of a mountain character, the top is pointed and the bottom is rounded, there are different numbers of spikes on the round shaped cushion cake, and there is also only one spike. Porcelain burnt with pins, the bottom are left with small pins burn marks. Spike firing is famous for the Ru kiln. It is estimated that the emperor of the Song dynasty pursuit of excellence, can not tolerate the foot of the porcelain without glaze, Ru kiln porcelain workers came up with this extreme firing method. Ru kiln support firing there are two kinds, one is to use clay in the bottom of the porcelain stick a few pins, the second is to put the porcelain on the pins of the clay cake, and then a single burning, burning and then knocked off the pins. In all the porcelain, Ru kiln firing is the least unglazed area.

13. Fading

Double stroke pattern, double outline, generally seen in blue and white wares. With more elegant table material outline lines, not water, not rendering, similar to the white drawing in Chinese painting, with elegant and gentle decorative effect.

14. Color heads

Refers to color.

15. Earthworms walking in the mud

One of the characteristics of the Twan glaze. Jun glaze glaze layer, there is often a zigzag line, like an earthworm walking mud, so the name. This is due to the glaze layer in the dry or firing cracks, after the high temperature stage and glaze into the filling and formation. Jun glaze glaze layer is particularly thick, porcelain tires in the glaze before the firing, resulting in cracks and shrinkage of the glaze and other phenomena.

16. Wire

Porcelain tattoos (Sung Kiln tattoos) are either yellow, called gold wire, or black, called iron wire.

17. Purple mouth and iron feet

Purple mouth and iron foot is one of the characteristics of the kilns of the Imperial, Brother and Longquan kilns. As a result of milky thick glaze, the mouth at the thin glaze, a slightly lighter purple than black tires; foot unglazed is the color of the current tires. It is used in conjunction with the green glaze, which not only brings out the beauty of the green glaze, but also gives the thick-glazed product an uplifted and beautiful texture. Porcelain on the mouth along the thin glaze reveals gray-black purple, foot unglazed at the iron brown phenomenon, called "purple mouth and iron foot".

18. Milk glaze

White glaze color like milk like rich, especially refers to the Song Ding kiln porcelain.

19. Shredding glaze

Porcelain glaze feet, feet do not show the tire, generally for the branch pin firing method.

20. Draped glaze

Porcelain into the kiln firing, glaze due to excessive mobility and downstream, in the lower part of the object cohesion into wax tears or glass beads, this phenomenon is known as glaze. Ancient porcelain, especially before the Tang Dynasty products, often seen hanging glaze. Draped down the glaze drops, usually called "tear marks".

21. Shrink Glaze

In the ceramic production process, due to a variety of reasons, often after firing glazed products on the surface will appear localized unglazed defects, that is, shrinkage glaze. Generally speaking, the ceramic glaze shown on the glaze defects can be caused before firing or firing.

22. Cigarettes

Smoking, also known as "eating smoke" "smoking", refers to ceramics fired by smoke, in the glaze of the partial or full gray-black, brown spots of defects.

23. Maneye

Similar to the shrink glaze, but the hole is smaller, like a needle's eye.

24. Orange peel glaze

Porcelain glaze uneven as orange peel.

25. Wave Glaze

Also known as wave glaze, porcelain glaze like waves rippling one.

26. Spit Glaze

During firing, small air bubbles like spit bubbles are produced within the glaze of the body.

27. Frying the bottom

One of the damage of porcelain. Fried bottom is a kind of fried pattern, is more serious fried pattern. Refers to the porcelain due to bumping and caused by the bottom of the glaze or tire glaze cracks, serious fried bottom cracks generally appear radial, there are three to four or more, tire tire can be seen outside the cracks.

28. Soba fields

Also known as buckwheat points, tiny dark brown spots on the glaze in ceramics, the reason is that the high temperature of firing dust attached to the glaze, the phenomenon of this production.

29. Lamps

Monochrome glaze porcelain due to the thin glaze along the mouth appeared like a narrow white edge of the lantern grass.

30. Fly wing

The green glaze of the Lang kiln has intermittent silver flashes within the flakes, much like the wings of a fly.

31. Bad pit

Kiln change a type of porcelain glaze, open flake is very fine, after years of use, some open flake within the small glaze intermittently fall off, forming bad pits all over the body.

32. Collapse

A bruise on the mouth or foot that does not yet show a crack is called a "chipping".

33. Bright brocade skin

For the age of the higher artistry, color glaze bright and not hurt the color, not hurt the glaze of a kind of praise.

34. Water showers

Metaphorical glaze gloss, as if the water just drenched one.

35. Fire

New porcelain or warehouse out of the old porcelain because there is not after a certain period of time by the old degree, bright full, often use this term as a metaphor.

36. Fire

Metaphorically, the glaze is very colorful or the decoration is very lively.

37. Soyaki

The need for a second firing of ceramics, both first into the kiln at a low temperature of 750-950 degrees will be a billet burned once, known as the plain firing.

38. Astringent circles

Porcelain billet stacked before firing the inside of the vessel first scraped off a circle of glaze, no glaze at both known as "Shibu ring". Popular in the Jin Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty.

39. Flaming

Fire, also known as "test piece", is used to determine the kiln temperature. Song kiln fire is the use of bowl billet changed, flat on the bottom of the tip, generally V-shaped. The lower tip is inserted into a tray full of sand grains, which is placed in the kiln chamber and can be seen in the fire watching hole. There is a round hole at the upper end of the fire, when the kiln worker determines the temperature of the kiln, he will use a long hook to reach into the fire hole and hook the fire out of the sagger bowl. Every kiln should test the fire several times, and every time the test is done, a fire will be hooked out.

The fire is half glazed, can only be used once. When firing porcelain, fire photo socket placed in the kiln bed at the front near the kiln door, so that in the firing process kiln workers can use a long hook deep into the fire hole, through the middle of the fire photo of a small hole, will be hooked out of the test piece to see, to determine the kiln temperature and glaze color.

40. Anti-ceramics

Anti porcelain, also known as "raw porcelain", not glazed porcelain. Is a kind of porcelain clay as a tire, tire carving decoration, plain tire fired porcelain. It began in the Ming dynasty Wanli period of jingdezhen kiln, in the qing dynasty tongzhi, guangxu years prevalent, in order to burn the study room utensils common.

41. Natural expenses

Natural expenses - non-crash, bump and other external factors, simply due to the age of the porcelain, glaze localized or the whole of the ice crack pattern, it is called natural expenses. These patterns are different from the glaze openings of the Ru kiln, Jun kiln, Ge kiln, kiln and other official kilns.

42. Injury to color, loss of color

Injury color, loss of color - glazed color porcelain common damage one. Where the glazed porcelain, such as five-color, pastel, enamel, etc., due to long-term use, resulting in color flaking, or color of the surface or local, was scratched to injury.

43. Pearl glaze

It is a special kind of high-temperature color glaze, which has the artistic effect of lightness and purity, with raised particles.

44. Punching and flushing lines

Mouth due to touch with it and the appearance of fine cracks, length varies, some small cracks are often not easy to see. Cracks tend to extend gradually and naturally, if the cold and heat excitation or external shock, it will be cracked along the lines (to the plate, bowl type is most common). Punching the mouth is serious, then the edge of the wound, both to the detriment of aesthetics, but also affect the use.