An Investigation on Copper Red Glazes from Jingdezhen of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
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AN INVESTIGATION ON COPPER RED GLAZES FROM JINGDEZHEN OF THE MING AND QING DYNASTIES LI GUOZHEN*, LIU ZEYONG** AND GUO YENGYI*** *Academy of Industrial Research, Ministry of Light Industry, Fuchen Road, Beijing, Peoples' Republic of China **The Glass and Enamel Research Institute, Jingdezhen ***Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Academia Sinica, Shanghai
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ABSTRACT Copper red glazes made at the pottery center of Jingdezhen during the Ming and Qing dynasties are one of the most famous and precious porcelain products of China. They were based on earlier technology developed in the Tong-guan kiln in Tang dynasty and on the Ru and Jun wares of the Song dynasty. The earliest copper red glazes appeared as early as the late Yuan dynasty. The dazzlingly beautiful altar red and ruby red products were created at Jingdezhen in the Yongle and Xuande periods of the Ming dynasty. Other copper reds created at Jingdezhen were the Longyao red of the Kangxi period and the imitation Jun, flambe amd others of Yongzhen and Qianlong periods of the Qing dynasty. Chinese copper red glazes have been held in high regard throughout the world, and many have wondered at their complex and sophisticated technology. Through analysis, we unlock some of the technical secrets of these famous wares in order that more people may appreciate the technical excellence underlying the visual appearances of these wares and that these glazes may be replicated better by contemporary ceramic factories in Jingdezhen. Seven examples of Jingdezhen copper red glazes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, refiring tests and microprobe analysis to determine the compositions, microstructures and firing temperatures. INTRODUCTION The earliest copper red glazes yet discovered were made during the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) at the Tong-Guan kiln. At that time copper red and copper blue-green glazes were known, but not widely (1). The color in the red dots in the Tianqing glaze at Ling Ru in Northern Song period (960-1127 A.D.) was also copper [2]. These examples may well be the first signs of Chinese copper red glazes. The remains heretofore discovered by archaeologists show that underglaze red and whole red wares in the Jingdezhen area, Jiangxi province, appeared during the fourteenth century by the end of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 A.D.). In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) during the Yongle reign period (1403-1424 A.D.), altar red (a continuous tone, rich red color, on one of both sides of a vessel, Plate 1, left) and underglaze red (a brushed decoration painted beneath, but sometimes on top of the glaze) were developed. In the Xuande reign period (1426-1435 A.D.), underglaze red (Plate 2), altar red (Plate 4) and the "cut decoration" technique of producing reds developed rapidly (for instance, having a white dragon and a red background probably made by attaching an oily paper dragon cut-out to the white glaze and then misting a thin copper-containing wash evenly over the porous surface which is resisted by the paper, Plate 3). The cut decoration d
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