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Ceramics
Glossary

Celadon

(Pronunciation: "SELL-ah-dahn") Ceramic with an iron oxide glaze fired in a reduction atmosphere, producing range of colors from yellow to grey-green, olive, blue, or blue-green.

Chün

(Pronunciation: "JOON") A Song dynasty ware produced in Honan province, characterized by a thick, velvety glaze that appears in light blue, lavender blue, light green and blue with purple splashes. Their aesthetic appeal is rooted in their rich, deep, opalescent glazes.

Ch'ing-Pai

(Pronunciation: "CHING-bye") A popular early porcelain covered with a thin, lustrous glaze that ranged in color between light blue and white.

Ch'ing-te-chen

(Pronunciation: "CHING-duh-ZHUHN") A city in southeastern China (Kiangsi province) which became the center of porcelain production for China and much of the world.

Ch'i-t'ou

(Pronunciation: "CHEE-toh") "Earth Spirits," a common early form of Chinese burial sculpture.

Earthenware

Any type of ceramic that remains porous (not waterproof) when it has been fired (baked) in a kiln.

Feldspathic

A clay with a high feldspar content.

Glaze

A shiny glass-like layer baked onto the surface of an object made of clay, used to add color or make the object waterproof.

High-Fired

A ceramic that is fired (baked) at a very high temperature, generally producing a very durable material.

Iron Oxide

One of several chemical compounds formed of iron and oxygen, often lending a reddish color to a substance.

Kaen-shiki

(Pronunciation: "KAH-en-shih-kee") The "fire-flame" pattern sometimes found on early Japanese ceramics, which resembles rolling and leaping flames.

Kaolin

(Pronunciation: "COW-lin") A very pure white clay that is one of the main ingredients in porcelain.

Kuan

(Pronunciation: "GWAHN") Ceramics produced by the Imperial kilns in present-day Kaifeng and Hangchou, made with a dark iron-rich clay covered with a thick translucent, pale blue-gray glaze. A distinguishing feature of this refined ware is the crackle pattern of its glaze, which was purposely induced during the cooling process.

Kutsu-gata

(Pronunciation: "KOO-tsoo-gah-tah") A "shoe-shaped" teabowl—commonly associated with the Takatori kilns—in which the sides are purposefully pressed in.

Loess

(Pronunciation: "LESS") A yellowish brown, earthen material whose low clay content prevents distortion during drying and firing.

Low-Fired

Ceramic that is fired (baked) at a comparatively low temperature, generally producing a porous (non-waterproof) object unless glazed.

Lung-Ch'uan

(Pronunciation: "LOONG-chwahn") The most refined greenware of Sung dynasty China, manufactured at several sites in southwestern Chekiang. It evolved as a beautiful blue-green tactile glaze on a fine, durable porcelain body.

Ming-ch'i

(Pronunciation: "MING-chee") Chinese burial sculptures—"spirit articles"—that were placed in tombs to accompany and protect the dead in the afterlife.

Monochrome

Consisting of, or decorated with, only one color—such as celadon or Ting ware.

Overglaze

Color that is applied after an object has been fired once in the kiln.

Oxidation

A firing process in which extra oxygen is present in the kiln to change the chemical composition of the glazes on clay objects while they are being fired, producing a range of special effects.

Petuntse

(Pronunciation: "buh-DOON-tsuh") Feldspar—a mineral containing silicon and oxygen—used as one of the main ingredients in porcelain.

Porcelain

A fine grained clay that is fired at high temperatures to create a white, non-porous, and extremely hard ceramic ware. First produced in China about 900 A.D. during the T'ang Dynasty.

Reduction Atmosphere

A process in which the kiln is sealed from the outside in order to deplete the oxygen during firing, used to control chemical reactions in the glaze to produce a range of special effects.

San-Ts'ai

(Pronunciation: "SAHN-tsye") The "three-color" ware that furnished the tombs of the aristocracy for more than a hundred-and-fifty years of the T'ang dynasty.

Sgraffito

(Pronunciation: "skrah-FEE-toh") A method of decoration where designs are produced by scratching or cutting away parts of a top layer (such as a glaze or slip) to form a pattern by revealing a contrasting color or texture underneath.

Takatori

(Pronunciation: "tah-kah-TOH-ree") Ceramic wares produced by several kilns in northern Kyushu, Japan, by émigré Korean potters beginning in the late 16th century.

Ting

(Pronunciation: "DING") The best known of the Sung dynasty "white wares," featuring mold-impressed and incised floral designs on high-fired, grey-bodied ware covered over with ivory-white slips and clear glazes.

Tz'u-chou

(Pronunciation: "TSUH-joh") A wide range of northern Chinese stonewares, typified by a white slip applied over coarse clay. Tz'u-chou ceramics consisted primarily of inexpensive wares for everyday use.

Yao-chou

(Pronunciation: "YOW-joh") An important kiln center in Northern China (Shansi province) during the Sung dynasty (960-1279). It produced thin-walled grey-bodied ware with mold-impressed or hand carved decoration under a translucent olive-green glaze.

Yueh

(Pronunciation: "YOO-e") High-fired celadon wares produced in southern China dating from as early as the Warring States period (480 - 221 B.C.) to the early Sung dynasty (10th century).