One way to quickly distinguish the authenticity of copper-red glaze porcelain is to identify the color difference between high and low-temperature red glazes.
The thickness of low-temperature glaze is extremely thin, with no sense of thickness, no layering, no glass texture, and no brightness of high-temperature red glaze;
Observed under a microscope, it can be found that there are many deep black spots on the surface of the low-temperature glaze;
It is difficult to perform post-processing on the surface of low-temperature glaze, such as painting, gold painting, etc. Counterfeit products are mostly fired at around 700c.
A layer of glass gold is applied to the surface and fired at about 400c.
Therefore, the adhesion is not strong, the storage time is not long, and the glaze and gold are easy to fall off.
Chen Wenzhe has figured out how to play with copper red glaze. He can easily control whether copper is red or green, and can also make copper red and patina appear on the same porcelain.
Not to mention the combination of blue and white and red glaze.
After completing another batch of red-glazed porcelain, Chen Wenzhe stopped with satisfaction.
Among the single-color glazes, celadon glaze is also a large variety. I always said it was imitated from the Longquan kiln, and I happened to imitate it this time.
Longquan kiln is a famous kiln in the history of our country, one of the six major kiln families in the Song Dynasty, and a treasure in the traditional porcelain making craftsmanship of the Han nationality.
It is named after its main production area in Longquan City, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
It was founded in the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasty and ended in the Qing Dynasty. It has a history of producing porcelain for more than 1,600 years, making it the longest porcelain kiln system in the history of porcelain making in my country.
Its products sell well in many countries and regions in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and have a profound influence.
Longquan kiln is famous for firing celadon. Before the early Northern Song Dynasty, the style of its products was influenced by Yue kiln, Ou kiln and Wuzhou kiln, and its characteristics were similar to those of the three kilns.
The products of Longquan kiln have a coarser texture, a thicker carcass, a bluish glaze color, and a slightly thinner glaze layer.
The glaze color of Longquan kiln is green, mostly pink-green in the Northern Song Dynasty, and green in the Southern Song Dynasty.
If there is no opening at the turning point of the vessel, the body is often exposed and the body color appears, and the glaze is thick and moist.
Carvings and scratches are rarely used for decoration, but decals and reliefs are popular.
For example, a picture of Pisces is often placed on the plate, and a picture of peonies is often posted on the bottle.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, two brothers, Zhang Shengyi and Zhang Sheng, set up a kiln factory in Longquan. The kiln they fired was named "Liutian Kiln", also known as "Ge Kiln";
The kiln fired by Sheng Er was named "Longquan Kiln", also known as "Di Kiln".
Chen Wenzhe has never copied these two kiln mouths before, mainly because the Ge kiln is technically difficult and the scope of the Longquan kiln is too wide.
For example, what kind of kiln is the mouth of other kilns, but what about Longquan kiln?
It is not a single kiln mouth, but a kiln system.
If it is tied, it is definitely not a building, but a series.
Therefore, the Longquan kiln system has been passed down to the present, and the kiln sites known to us include Dayao, Jincun, Xikou, Songxi and many other places.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were more than 20 kiln sites, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were more than 40 kiln sites.
Among them, Dayao and Jincun have the most kilns and the best quality.
Judging from the unearthed specimens, it began in the Five Dynasties, flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, declined in the Ming Dynasty, and finally ended in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. It has a history of nearly 800 years of porcelain firing.
After such a long time, the products of each era are still different.
Therefore, it is not easy to imitate Longquan kiln porcelain.
Even if you only choose a few glorious periods, it is not easy.
For example, the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty was an important period for the development of Longquan, and it began to form its own style from this period.
Although its carcass is relatively thick, its shape is regular and its glaze color changes from bluish green to greenish yellow.
The products are mainly daily necessities, including bowls, plates, cups, pots, bottles, cans, etc.
The decorative techniques include engraving, scratching and grating.
The patterns include flowers, birds, fish, insects, and babies playing.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Longquan kiln achieved unprecedented development, and Longquan celadon entered its heyday.
By this time, the Yue kiln celadon industry that had been so prosperous in the Tang and Five Dynasties had withered away, but the quality of Longquan celadon had significantly improved.
The famous pink blue and plum celadon glaze colors at home and abroad were successfully fired in the Longquan kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty, and pushed the beauty of celadon glaze colors to its peak.
Judging from the porcelain pieces at the kiln site, the products can be divided into two categories: white body (gray white) and black body thick glaze.
Among them, white body celadon accounts for about 90%, and black body celadon is only a small amount, but the quality is very good.
The thick glaze of the body book has the characteristics of purple mouth and iron feet, which has many similarities with the porcelain of the official kiln in the suburbs of the Southern Song Dynasty.
This should be from the first year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty to the 19th year of Shaoxing, and for a long period of time after that. The Southern Song Dynasty court ordered the local prefectures to burn official kiln porcelain for the palace.
The types of Longquan kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty include bowls, plates, basins, saucers, cups, pots, jars, slag hoppers, water pourers, water bowls, pen holders, stoves, congs, pots, bottles, etc.
The Longquan Kiln of the Yuan Dynasty was several times larger than that of the Song Dynasty.
In Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, more than 200 kiln sites have been discovered on both sides of the Oujiang River.
The characteristic of Longquan kiln porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty is that most of the shapes have thick bodies.
In addition to continuing to produce the types of utensils from the Song Dynasty, innovative varieties include goblet cups, rhombus mouth plates, lotus leaf lid jars, ring-ear bottles, phoenix tail bottles, etc.
However, the quality is not as good as that of the Southern Song Dynasty. The texture is rough, the glaze is bright, and the glaze is as moist as jade.
Decorative techniques include scratching, printing, decals, stacking flowers, engraving, stippling, etc.
The decorative themes are rich, including clouds and dragons, flying phoenixes, flowers and birds, fish and insects, eight immortals, eight auspicious things, miscellaneous treasures, etc. Some of them are decorated with text.
Under the influence of Longquan kiln's exquisite skills, exquisite glaze color and superb quality, many kiln sites appeared in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Such as Dayao, Jincun, Xikou, Dabai'an, Xiaobai'an, Wutongkou, Bijiashan, Xianghu, Daotai, Shantouyao, Songxi, Malali, Anfukou, Anrenkou, Dafang, Daqi, Xiacun , Wuxi and more than 300 places outside.
There are also many kiln sites in Xijiang and Hujian provinces that imitate Longquan celadon.
A huge Longquan kiln system was formed.
This is one of the few porcelains from Song and Yuan folk kilns and ranks among the best.
In other words, Longquan kiln was created in the early Northern Song Dynasty, reached its peak in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, and gradually declined after the middle Ming Dynasty.
The lower limit of the Longquan celadon handed down from ancient times to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.
The entire firing history spans seven to eight hundred years.
Longquan celadon from the Northern Song Dynasty had thicker fetal bones and gray soil.
Ocher brown kiln red can be seen at the exposed part of the bottom foot, the tire is slightly fired, the glaze has a good degree of vitrification, the glaze layer is transparent, and the glaze surface has a strong luster.
The decorative patterns are relatively simple, and common patterns include fish patterns, banana leaves, gold branches, lotus flowers, etc.
The decorative style tends to be unrestrained.
Longquan celadon, which was at its peak during the Southern Song Dynasty, formed its own unique artistic style and showed its unique charm.
The shape of Longquan celadon in the Southern Song Dynasty has also developed its own style, which is steady and generous, simple and elegant yet elegant.
The shapes of the vessels are rich and diverse, and the decoration generally adopts carving and pile molding methods, which is quite artistic and ingenious.
Longquan celadon was produced in large quantities in the Yuan Dynasty, and its style was very different from that of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The shape of the vessel is tall and the carcass is thick;
The fetal color is white with gray or light yellow;
The glaze color is pink-green with yellow-green, strong luster, and the glaze layer is translucent;
There are various decorative techniques, including engraving, scratching, printing, pasting, molding, etc.