A new friend who is a specialist in Eastern Ceramics and V.P. at Sotheby's sent me a copy of this amazing Nigel Wood book on Chinese Glazes. At a party a couple of months ago we got into a conversation about Ru ware and the fact that no one has ever been able to duplicate it. When I got home I did some research in some of my old books and on line and since they know the body makeup and glaze makeup the only thing left to the mystery, was the firing temperature, kiln and wood used. I made some notes on this and now have to figure out where I put them.
After doing that bit of research, it made me wish I were twenty years younger and still had my wood kiln. This puzzle will have to be solved by someone younger, but it was nice to dream.
Now I'll slink back into healing mode and watch some of the Australian Open tennis that I taped overnight. There's plenty of leftover chicken soup for tonight - good food medicine. It's taking me longer to get over this bug but so far, I'm doing it without antibiotics and that's a good thing.
I've been increasingly intrigued by the nature of wood firing. Does it make the wares any more/less durable than when fired in an electric kiln? I have a small electric kiln in my home studio.
ReplyDeleteShawna
jsbarts.blogspot.com
No Shawna. The durability depends on the composition of body and how well it is fired to the temperature it was designed to be fired to.
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds really fascinating! Have you ever had the chance to go to the Peabody Essex Museum? They not only have a literal Chinese house from I cannot-remember-what-century, but they have recently been installing their exhibition on Chinese porcelain. They have some fabulous scroll drawings of porcelain being excavated and the process for making porcelain- including the glazing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought you might enjoy this on Chinese glaze and decorations from the V&A:
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art463095
Thanks for the link. I have never been to the Peabody Essex Museum. It sounds like a wonderful place. Many decades ago the Metropolitan Museum in New York built a Chinese room or series of rooms at the Museum. They brought all the Chinese worker to New York, along with a Chinese chef to cook for them. It was an amazing project.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link!