In addition to the three-color camels and horses, the pottery figurines in the Tang Dynasty's three-color paintings also have the characteristics of the times. It can be said that they have unique characteristics that have not been seen in previous generations.
In particular, the terracotta warriors with red beards and blue eyes, wearing narrow-sleeved shirts and turned-brimmed hats, reproduce the image of life of the Hu people in Central Asia.
It reminds people of the scene of camels walking on the "Silk Road".
Therefore, the most classic imitation is definitely the three-color camel.
Chen Wenzhe also had a complete range of materials used to make this kind of three-color pottery, especially kaolin. He had previously bought a large amount of high-quality kaolin.
After all, Li Jinli was not a professional. The high-quality kaolin he purchased at that time came not only from the former site of Ru kiln, but also from the former site of Tang Sancai.
The old Tang Sancai kiln site is over there in Yangluo.
The high-quality kaolin clay unearthed there,
Just suitable for firing Tang Sancai pottery.
Although Tang Sancai is pottery, few people know that Tang Sancai is made of fine white clay.
This kind of mud uses lead-containing oxides as fluxes to lower the melting temperature of the glaze.
During the firing process, metal oxides containing copper, iron, cobalt and other elements are used as colorants and melted into the lead glaze to form glaze colors of yellow, green, blue, white, purple, brown and other colors.
However, many utensils are mainly yellow, green, and white, and some even have only one or two of the above colors. These are collectively called "Tang Sancai".
To make Tang Sancai, white clay that has been pounded, washed, and other processes is first kneaded into a certain shape.
Then it is trimmed, dried, and then placed in a kiln and fired at 1000°C.
After cooling, apply glaze and paint, and then bake it in the kiln to 800°C.
It's easy to say and not difficult to do, but the production process is a bit complicated.
Because Tang Sancai is made of finely processed kaolin as the body, and minerals containing copper, iron, cobalt, manganese, gold, etc. are used as colorants of the glaze.
And add an appropriate amount of lead smelting slag and lead ash into the glaze as additives.
The final fired fine multi-glazed pottery.
After the tire is made, the blank is first fired in the kiln. After the pottery is fired, it is then glazed and fired again in the kiln to around 800°C.
Due to the strong fluidity of lead glaze, the glaze surface spreads and flows around during the firing process, and the various glaze colors infiltrate and blend with each other, forming natural, mottled and brilliant colors.
Only in this way can a traditional handicraft with a unique style be formed.
Since it is a traditional handicraft, there must be people imitating it now.
Chen Wenzhe even knew that the copying and imitation craftsmanship of Tang Sancai has a history of hundreds of years in Yangluo.
Otherwise, it would be really difficult for Li Jinli to buy qualified production materials, especially pottery clay and glaze minerals.
Nowadays, through the research and development of artists of the past dynasties, the technology of Tang Sancai has been gradually improved, and the firing level has been continuously improved, which has brought the craftsmanship and artistic level of "Yangluo Tang Sancai" to a certain height.
Therefore, even if it is a modern artwork produced,
Don’t worry about selling either.
Especially in the international market,
Tang Sancai has become an extremely precious work of art.
It has been used in more than 80 countries and regions,
It was rated as an excellent tourism product at the international tourism conference it participated in and was hailed as an "Oriental Art Treasure".
Tang Sancai horses and camels were presented as national gifts to heads of state and government in more than 50 countries.
Since the founding of New China, with the increase in people's attention to Tang Sancai and the development of Tang Sancai restoration technology, people are keen on studying furnishings, which are good gifts for relatives and friends.
Tang Sancai was not only popular in China during the Tang Dynasty, but also sold well overseas.
This is not only today, but also in ancient times Tang Sancai was famous and exported to foreign countries.
The evidence is that Tang Sancai paintings have been discovered in more than ten countries including India, Japan, North Korea, Iran, Egypt, and Italy.
Looking at Tang Sancai now, it is still a kind of exquisite art, let alone in ancient times.
If it weren't for Chen Wenzhe's deepening of various skills, it would be really difficult for ordinary people to perfectly bake Tang Sancai.
Not to mention other things, the production of Tang Sancai has a history of more than 1,300 years. It absorbs the characteristics of traditional Chinese painting, sculpture and other arts and crafts. However, ordinary people cannot copy it.
Among them, the most classic types are definitely camels, horses and human figurines.
These types of vessels are not only valuable for their rich and magnificent glaze colors, but also for their vivid and expressive shapes, which are full of the flavor of life.
This kind of low-temperature lead-glazed pottery adds different metal oxides to the colored glaze, and after baking, it forms a variety of colors such as light yellow, ocher yellow, light green, dark green, sky blue, brown red, eggplant purple, etc.
The production process mainly involves the application of colored glaze on the pottery blank.
Chemical changes occur during the baking process, and the color glaze changes in shades, infiltrates each other, and becomes mottled. The colors are naturally coordinated and the patterns are smooth.
However, Tang Sancai was used for burials and as a dead vessel. Because of its brittle texture and poor waterproof performance, its practicality was far inferior to the celadon and white porcelain that had appeared at that time.
Even so, the production process of Tang Sancai is very complicated.
First, the mined mineral soil must be selected, pounded, washed, precipitated, and dried. After that, it is made into a mold and fired in a kiln.
When firing, the secondary firing method is used.
Judging from the raw materials, its carcass is made of white clay.
In the glaze color, various oxidized metals are used as colorants, and various colors appear after calcining.
After the glaze is fired, some characters need to re-open their faces.
The so-called face opening means that the character's head is not glazed with antique products. It needs to go through the process of drawing the eyebrows, dotting the lips, and painting the hair.
Then this Tang Sancai product will be considered complete.
It sounds simple to say this, but it is really troublesome to do it.
To sum up, the basic forming methods of Tang Sancai include wheel making, molding and sculpture.
On an object, several methods are often used in combination.
Wheel making is a method of making ceramics using a wheel. Chen Wenzhe is very familiar with this.
However, many classic types of Tang Sancai cannot be wheel-made.
For example, camels, horses, and character shapes cannot be made using the drawing method.
Therefore, molding is also needed to make Tang Sancai.
This is also similar to the extrusion method in modern ceramic manufacturing, which is mostly used to make small items with simple shapes.
Molding is divided into two types: single mold and closed mold.
The single mold is made by putting mud into a mold and then extruding it. This single mold is suitable for decorative decals and other small accessories on utensils.
The double mold is formed by pressing two half molds and then butting them together. The closed mold is suitable for daily utensils, household utensils, animals and more complex utensil components.
The last step is to directly sculpt and shape. This method is mostly suitable for large-scale objects and complex vessels.
The production of a more complex three-color ware requires a variety of molding methods.
This is the production process. After sorting it out, Chen Wenzhe can definitely do it very well.
However, if you want to imitate Tang Sancai, you must understand the characteristics of Tang Sancai.