Manmade Gems: Four Famous Jingdezhen Porcelains
There are bamboo-like lines at the foot of the porcelain. The body is
connected to the foot before the glaze is coated. The body is decorated with
lotuses, clouds and flowers. Dense decorations were not only applied to
blue-white porcelain but also to picture weaving and stone carving, reflecting
the unique characteristics of the time.
The major producer of blue-white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty was
Jingdezhen. In addition, there were kilns for blue-white porcelain production in
East China's Zhejiang
Province and Southwest China's Yunnan
Province .
Blue-white porcelain actually belongs to color-glazed
porcelain and the coloring agent used is called cobalt oxide. First, using
cobalt oxide, paint the unbaked mould, then apply a layer of translucent glaze
over it and bake it at 1,300 degrees Celsius. The cobalt oxide will be reduced
under the high temperature into a blue hue, which will be very bright and
durable without poisonous lead. Each piece of monochrome-glazed porcelain has a
single bright color with an exquisite design. A very good mastery of controlling
temperature changes and content composition is required. Blue-white porcelain is
most famous among the four traditional types of porcelain produced in
Jiangdezhen, and is renowned as the "ever-lasting blue flower."
In 1979 Jingdezhen blue-white porcelain won a national golden prize and in
1985 it was honored with three gold medals at international fairs held in
Leipzig, Brno, etc. Since then, the name "Jingdezhen Blue-white Porcelain" has spread far and wide.
By far, it is a top product in the porcelain business, boasting the most prizes
and highest standards.
Color-glazed porcelain
Color-glazed porcelain was one of Jingdezhen's major products
during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was colored using both
high-temperature and low-temperature glazes, with copper, iron, or gold as the
color agent. From the time of the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, iron has
successfully been utilized for its even, clear and stable glaze qualities. Red
porcelain has always been the most popular since the Chinese consider red an
auspicious and precious color.
|