It is difficult to control the temperature of a wood kiln itself, which causes problems of too high and too low temperatures.
This means that the firing temperature cannot be well controlled, which will naturally cause losses.
Among them, yellow-glazed porcelain is even more difficult to grasp.
Therefore, after leaving the kiln, not to mention kiln treasures (small exquisite products fired in one kiln), even if they are more qualified, they can surprise people.
As for how to determine whether the firing is qualified, the method is also very simple. The simplest is to listen to the sound.
The sound of high-quality products is clear and loud, and the echo lingers after the cup body and lid collide.
The sound of inferior products is heavy and muffled, and the echo is unclear and crisp.
Secondly, look at the luster. The color of high-quality products is like jade, while the color of inferior products is gray and dark.
Then there is the light transmittance. The high-quality products have strong light transmittance and good gloss.
Under the illumination of the light, it shines with golden light like an emperor's yellow robe.
Inferior products have extremely poor light transmittance or even no light transmittance.
In addition to the hard characteristics of sound, luster, jade texture, and light transmittance, there are also thickness and weight.
Because the high-quality products are made of good clay, the porcelain is very light and thin, as soft as jade, while the inferior products are thick and heavy.
Finally, look at the craftsmanship. Whether the craftsmanship is exquisite or not can be seen in the details.
In terms of yellow glaze operation, the yellow glaze process is very delicate in certain parts of the product, such as the bottom of the cup and the mouth of the cup, while inferior products are not meticulous.
Among the royal porcelain, the more special ones are delicate yellow glaze, lemon yellow glaze and tea powder glaze.
These glaze colors can be called the best among yellow glaze porcelain.
These unique yellow-glazed porcelains each have their own artistic charm and style of the times.
You must know that these glaze colors are generally monopolized by the royal family, and ordinary people will not make them because they dare not make them.
Especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, imperial power was still very strong.
Most of the yellow-glazed porcelain in these two periods was fired in official kilns.
Because the word "黄" has the same pronunciation as the word "皇", most of the porcelain fired is monopolized by the royal family and has become a special porcelain for the royal family. However, private kilns are not allowed to fire yellow glazed porcelain.
As long as it involves monopoly, problems will generally arise.
Therefore, the yellow glazed porcelain of the Ming Dynasty is particularly worth mentioning, but the folk stuff is not worth mentioning!
In the Ming Dynasty, especially during the reign of several emperors who enjoyed great prosperity and prosperity, all kinds of porcelain were fired very well.
Because only when national strength is at its peak, there will still be money to invest in side businesses, and they can still do well.
Take the delicate yellow glaze, for example, which is a low-temperature yellow glaze. Its glaze color is pure, delicate and elegant, and its glaze surface is bright and pleasing to the eye.
Because it is made using the pouring glaze technique, it also has the reputation of "poured yellow glaze".
This beautiful porcelain was first fired during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty.
Most of the yellow glazes at this time had orange peel patterns, which can be said to be a distinctive characteristic of Xuande yellow glaze porcelain.
Xuande yellow glaze utensils handed down from generation to generation are very rare, so they are extremely precious.
The Hongzhi yellow glaze of the Ming Dynasty is a type of yellow porcelain fired during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. It is as yellow as chicken fat yellow.
This kind of porcelain is finer and smoother than the Xuande yellow glaze, and has a delicate beauty. The production process is very exquisite and is well known to future generations.
The Zhengde yellow glaze of the Ming Dynasty inherited the tradition of the Hongzhi period, but the glaze color was more intense and the level of fineness and smoothness was far less than that of the Hongzhi period artifacts.
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, many people liked to combine yellow glaze with other colored paintings, which reflected the outstanding artistic charm.
The yellow glaze of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty no longer has the delicate yellow color, and the glaze color mostly reflects the deep beauty.
The Ming Dynasty ended and the Qing Dynasty came next.
The Qing Dynasty also began to imitate this yellow glaze, but the imitation effect was still somewhat different from the Hongzhi yellow glaze.
For example, during the Kangxi period, more emphasis was placed on imitating the style of the Hongzhi period.
During the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, attempts were made to imitate the combination of yellow glaze and other colored paintings.
During the Daoguang period, there was a greater tendency to imitate some yellow-glazed study utensils.
Among the yellow glaze porcelain, the most precious is the delicate yellow glaze, followed by the lemon yellow glaze.
Lemon yellow glaze is a kind of yellow glaze porcelain fired during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. Its creation is based on the delicate yellow glaze of the Ming Dynasty.
This kind of yellow-glazed porcelain has an elegant and pleasant glaze color, no obvious color difference, and a very uniform glaze layer.
In terms of styling, it is mainly composed of various exquisite small utensils.
Common ones include bowls, plates, cups, bottles, saucers, etc., which embody the dignified and elegant artistic style.
Finally, there is the tea powder glaze known as the royal yellow glaze porcelain, which is a high-temperature yellow glaze.
The glaze color is like the fine powder of tea leaves, green with yellow and small spots.
The final effect of this kind of glaze color is very good, generally simple and elegant, with extraordinary meaning.
Of course, the characteristics are also very obvious.
Tea powder glaze, generally the glaze surface is mostly opaque.
This is due to the difference in firing atmosphere, which causes the glaze color to show diverse characteristics.
For example, common ones include eel yellow, crab shell green, snake skin green, old monk's clothes, etc.
These glaze colors are all worth mentioning because they are all characteristics of the times.
For example, eel yellow is a type of crystal glaze.
Because the glaze contains iron, magnesium and silicic acid, crystals precipitate when fired by high-temperature oxidation flames.
This kind of glaze has a yellowish color with black or yellowish-brown spots, just like the color of eel skin, hence its name.
The key point here is that if you want to make eel yellow, the selected glaze must contain iron, magnesium and silicic acid, and then it can be obtained by firing it at high temperature.
It's easy to say here, but when it comes to actual firing, if you want to get the desired results, you must have in-depth research on glazes.
In ancient times, these crafts generally existed in the form of secret recipes and techniques.
But now, after research and understanding of its firing principle, it can be fired 100%.
Also, often a kind of glaze will form various glaze colors due to different firing temperatures. The same is true here.
Let’s talk about Crab Armor Green, which is one of the crystallized glaze varieties fired in the official kilns of the Yongzheng Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty.
It evolved from the powdered tea glaze. It is dark green and slightly yellow or yellow and green, which is called "crab shell green" or "crab shell green".
The glaze application method is to apply glaze on the green body, then enter the kiln and fire it through high-temperature reduction flame.
Variable colors due to different temperatures, such as crab shell green, eel yellow, snake skin green, etc., are all produced by the same glaze at different temperatures.
Therefore, the same glaze appears in these three colors due to differences in temperature.
In addition to crab shell green and eel yellow, there is also snakeskin green. This glaze color is well made and very beautiful.
Among the snake-skin green works that exist today, one is very exquisite. It is a snake-skin green-glazed jade pot spring from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.
The size is 30.3cm high, which is the standard shape of official kilns during the Qianlong period, with an extravagant mouth, a girdle neck, sloping shoulders, a bulging belly and drooping belly, and circle feet.
The tire quality is hard and delicate, the tire repair is neat, and the lines are smooth and beautiful.
White glaze is applied inside the bottle, which is as white as gelatin.
The whole exterior of the bottle is covered with snakeskin glaze. The green color is a bit dark, but it looks very comfortable and doesn't feel dark at all.