Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), flourished from Song Dynasty (960–1279)
traditional crafts
National Heritage
East China
active
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province has been China's porcelain capital for over 1,000 years, producing the finest ceramics for imperial courts and global trade. The "Porcelain Capital" specializes in blue-and-white porcelain, famille rose, and monochrome glazes. The process uses local kaolin and porcelain stone, shaped on the wheel, painted with cobalt oxide (for blue-and-white), and fired at 1300°C. Jingdezhen ware was exported along the Maritime Silk Road to markets worldwide.
Stories & Legends
The Porcelain Road: Jingdezhen and the World
historicalA remote town in Jiangxi produced the finest ceramics the world had ever seen for over a thousand years.
Skills & Techniques
Jingdezhen Porcelain Making expand_more
The craft of producing the finest Chinese porcelain using local kaolin and porcelain stone, shaped on the wheel, painted by hand, and fired at extreme temperatures.
Steps
- Mix kaolin with porcelain stone and refine the clay body
- Shape the vessel on a potter's wheel or by mold pressing
- Trim the leather-hard piece and attach handles or spouts
- Apply a white slip or paint underglaze decoration in cobalt blue
- Apply a transparent glaze by dipping or spraying
- Fire in a kiln at 1280–1350°C for vitrification
- Apply overglaze enamels and fire again at lower temperature
Tools
potter's wheel, trimming tools, painting brush, glaze bucket, kiln, pyrometer
Materials
kaolin (Gaoling clay), porcelain stone, cobalt oxide, feldspar, quartz, enamel pigments
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