Wednesday, 13 October 2010
The usurper.
Monday, 2 August 2010
A water bowl for the dog in your life.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Oscar Wilde speaking earnestly......
"I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china."
Thanks to my Blue friend in Miami for all the blues.
Thanks to my Blue friend in Miami for all the blues.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Elizabeth's Mexican Blues.
These beautiful plates and jars were bought in Mexico and have a freshness and clarity which is enchanting.Thursday, 10 June 2010
Korean Celedons
Korean ceramics of the Koryo Period chiefly comprise of Celadon wares, although influenced by Chinese Song Dynasty (960-1279) Yue Celadons they are distinctly Korean, although there is a geological connection between the Yue and Korean celadon kilns which might add to the similarity in appearance between the two. The distinct colours achieved by Korean potters owe much to the raw materials employed. The presence of iron and iron oxide as well as manganese oxide in the clay, and quartz particles in the glaze give these celadons their unique appearance. Firing temperatures were commonly around 1150ºC, and the level of oxygen within the kiln was dramatically reduced at some stage of the firing; this is known as a reducing, rather than an oxidizing atmosphere. Koryo celadon are often plain, but decoration included incised, carved, impressed, or inlaid designs. The inlaid designs are distinctly Korean, metallic compounds like iron oxide (black or brown), copper oxide (red), and even occasionally gold colourings were added to slip which them was rubbed into an impressed design producing the look of an inlay.
Cobalt in all it's glory!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Hidden blue
A Song Dynasty Qingbai Ware Bowl with Carved and Combed Decoration of Peony Flowers.
One of qingbai’s most distinct features is its transparent icy-blue glaze and the names given to qingbai have attempted to capture the essence of this colour. Qing means ‘bluish green' and bai means ‘white’ to form the meaning ‘blue white.’ This ware has also been termed yingqing ‘shadow blue,’ yinqing ‘hidden blue,’ and zhaoqing ‘added blue.’ The colour was so greatly admired by the Chinese that they often likened qingbai unto their highly prized stone, jade. An exceptional colour of jade referred to as biyu or ‘bluish-white’ exists and is so reminiscent of qingbai that the porcelain was entitled jiayu or ‘imitation jade.’ Quote from internet.
One of qingbai’s most distinct features is its transparent icy-blue glaze and the names given to qingbai have attempted to capture the essence of this colour. Qing means ‘bluish green' and bai means ‘white’ to form the meaning ‘blue white.’ This ware has also been termed yingqing ‘shadow blue,’ yinqing ‘hidden blue,’ and zhaoqing ‘added blue.’ The colour was so greatly admired by the Chinese that they often likened qingbai unto their highly prized stone, jade. An exceptional colour of jade referred to as biyu or ‘bluish-white’ exists and is so reminiscent of qingbai that the porcelain was entitled jiayu or ‘imitation jade.’ Quote from internet.
Korean Celedons
A Korean Foliated Celadon Dish, the Well Divided from the Sides by the Inclusion of a Single Incised Line.
Korean ceramics of the Koryo Period chiefly comprise of Celadon wares, although influenced by Chinese Song Dynasty (960-1279) Yue Celadons they are distinctly Korean, although there is a geological connection between the Yue and Korean celadon kilns which might add to the similarity in appearance between the two. The distinct colours achieved by Korean potters owe much to the raw materials employed. The presence of iron and iron oxide as well as manganese oxide in the clay, and quartz particles in the glaze give these celadons their unique appearance. Firing temperatures were commonly around 1150ºC, and the level of oxygen within the kiln was dramatically reduced at some stage of the firing; this is known as a reducing, rather than an oxidizing atmosphere. Koryo celadon are often plain, but decoration included incised, carved, impressed, or inlaid designs. The inlaid designs are distinctly Korean, metallic compounds like iron oxide (black or brown), copper oxide (red), and even occasionally gold colourings were added to slip which them was rubbed into an impressed design producing the look of an inlay.
Korean ceramics of the Koryo Period chiefly comprise of Celadon wares, although influenced by Chinese Song Dynasty (960-1279) Yue Celadons they are distinctly Korean, although there is a geological connection between the Yue and Korean celadon kilns which might add to the similarity in appearance between the two. The distinct colours achieved by Korean potters owe much to the raw materials employed. The presence of iron and iron oxide as well as manganese oxide in the clay, and quartz particles in the glaze give these celadons their unique appearance. Firing temperatures were commonly around 1150ºC, and the level of oxygen within the kiln was dramatically reduced at some stage of the firing; this is known as a reducing, rather than an oxidizing atmosphere. Koryo celadon are often plain, but decoration included incised, carved, impressed, or inlaid designs. The inlaid designs are distinctly Korean, metallic compounds like iron oxide (black or brown), copper oxide (red), and even occasionally gold colourings were added to slip which them was rubbed into an impressed design producing the look of an inlay.
Blue and white history of cobalt.
- Enquire - YUAN DYNASTY 1279 - 1368.
Early Blue and White Porcelain
A Small Yuan Blue and White Porcelain Jar and a Matched Cover c.1330 - 1350. Decorated with Scrolling Chrysanthemum, the Cover in the Form of a Lotus Leaf.
The origins of Chinese blue and white porcelain start, not in China, but in the Middle East, decoration using blue and white was originally developed in Mesopotamia. The source of the first cobalt blue pigment used in China was also not Chinese and the dynastic power in charge of China at the time, the Mongol's of the Yuan dynasty, was a foreign power. Yet blue and white porcelain will for ever be linked to China because of the ceramics produced at Jingdezhen from the beginning of the 14th century.
Blue cobalt pigment was sometime used in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) nearly always as an additional colour in Sancai pottery but the first use on porcelain was at the start of the 14th century. It was used in a very different way, unlike the Tang where splashes of cobalt were used to add colour, the Yuan potters used it to create carefully painted designs. This would have been very difficult to achieve using the the high-flux lead-glazes of Tang pottery.
The body developed for blue and white porcelain at Jingdezhen was almost from the very beginning of exceptionally high quality, as was the glaze, which was midway between a Qingbai and Shufu glaze. This true lime-alkaline glaze was less fluid than Qingbai glazes so the blue was less likely to run and less opaque than Shufu glazes so the painting appeared more brilliant. Most of the imported cobalt blue pigment used for Chinese blue and white porcelain of the 14th and 15th centuries came from Kashan in Persia.
For further reading about early Chinese blue and white porcelain see : Chinese Glazes, Their Origins, Chemistry and Recreation (Nigel Wood, A & C Black, London, 1999).
Early Blue and White Porcelain
A Small Yuan Blue and White Porcelain Jar and a Matched Cover c.1330 - 1350. Decorated with Scrolling Chrysanthemum, the Cover in the Form of a Lotus Leaf.
The origins of Chinese blue and white porcelain start, not in China, but in the Middle East, decoration using blue and white was originally developed in Mesopotamia. The source of the first cobalt blue pigment used in China was also not Chinese and the dynastic power in charge of China at the time, the Mongol's of the Yuan dynasty, was a foreign power. Yet blue and white porcelain will for ever be linked to China because of the ceramics produced at Jingdezhen from the beginning of the 14th century.
Blue cobalt pigment was sometime used in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) nearly always as an additional colour in Sancai pottery but the first use on porcelain was at the start of the 14th century. It was used in a very different way, unlike the Tang where splashes of cobalt were used to add colour, the Yuan potters used it to create carefully painted designs. This would have been very difficult to achieve using the the high-flux lead-glazes of Tang pottery.
The body developed for blue and white porcelain at Jingdezhen was almost from the very beginning of exceptionally high quality, as was the glaze, which was midway between a Qingbai and Shufu glaze. This true lime-alkaline glaze was less fluid than Qingbai glazes so the blue was less likely to run and less opaque than Shufu glazes so the painting appeared more brilliant. Most of the imported cobalt blue pigment used for Chinese blue and white porcelain of the 14th and 15th centuries came from Kashan in Persia.
For further reading about early Chinese blue and white porcelain see : Chinese Glazes, Their Origins, Chemistry and Recreation (Nigel Wood, A & C Black, London, 1999).
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
Friday, 8 January 2010
An amazing collection of Blue and White ceramics in Bali.
There is a wonderful collection of Blue and White ceramics on at Jenggala Keramics in Bali at the moment. They belong to Rodolpho Gusti, the founder of the Lotus Restaurants through South East Asia.
Most potters have dabbled with the cobalt in one form or another and many people love the blue and white concept.
My favourites are the Export Plates which were sent by sailing ship all around south east Asia. The have an unglazed ring in the centre which is where the next plate sat in the kiln. Very understated, they range in colour from white to a pale khaki/green glaze and usually feature cobalt banana stamps.
Most potters have dabbled with the cobalt in one form or another and many people love the blue and white concept.
Blue and White ceramic passions.
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