Chapter 1964 The sky covers the earth, the earth covers the sky
The specific operation method of making ancient painted pottery is not difficult, because the making of pottery cannot be more difficult than porcelain.
Of course, this is because of the rapid development of modern technology.
In ancient times, no technology was simple.
It would not be easy to completely restore ancient painted pottery according to the technical level of the ancients.
The specific method is to first place the inner mold on a wooden pad or a flat stone slab, and sprinkle a layer of fine dry soil on the surface of the mold to facilitate separation of the finished pottery body from the mold.
When applying mud, place the mold on the backing plate with the big end facing down for easy operation.
Straight-cylinder tanks, deep-belly tanks, etc., because the inner mold wall is steeply sloped, the mud should be applied from bottom to top. Otherwise, if applied from top to bottom, the fetal heart will easily fall or break.
The inner mold wall of the bowl is in the shape of a gentle slope. You can apply it from the center from top to bottom, or you can start from the edge and finish from bottom to top.
The most critical first step in applying mud is to apply the first layer of fetal heart mud.
Use the squeezing method to squeeze the mud with your hands so that it adheres firmly to the mold without falling off, and then continue to apply mud layer by layer.
The mud sheets applied in layers must have a certain overlapping relationship.
The adhesive surfaces between each other should be uneven, so that the mud pieces applied one after another can be firmly bonded together.
After the pottery body is formed, the mold is removed, and then a layer of muddy clay is applied by hand on the inner and outer surfaces of the pottery body.
On the inner walls of some pottery, finger marks were found from bottom to top, indicating that the surface was made of mud.
When smearing mud, place your hands inside and outside the utensil, pull and squeeze hard, which will not only eliminate the air bubbles formed in the indirect mud layer, but also eliminate and smooth the gaps in the wall of the utensil.
As a result, the structure of the pottery body is further closely integrated, and the surface of the vessel becomes smooth and flat.
The legs of the three-legged pottery vessels are assembled by splicing.
It is kneaded by hand and is easy to operate when the water evaporates and becomes slightly dry and hard.
Insert the pre-made feet into the holes drilled in the bottom of the device, then paste mud strips on the inner and outer soles respectively, squeeze the joints flat, and then smooth them with mud.
From the study of the pottery from the Dadiwan Period I, it can be seen that the pottery makers at this time not only used the inner mold of the pot body, but also used the outer mold of the collar (rim) of the pot.
He is also familiar with the different properties of muddy mud and sandy mud, and uses the two kinds of mud alternately on the same utensil.
These facts show that people already have rich experience, indicating that this method of applying clay on molds is not the most primitive method of making pottery.
Its origin is not yet clear and needs further research to be solved.
However, due to the complicated manufacturing process of the mold coating method, and the shape and size of the body are limited by the mold, it is difficult to make large utensils.
Moreover, the shapes of the manufactured utensils are monotonous and the production efficiency is low.
During the firing process, cracking and delamination often occur, resulting in many scraps and defective products, which greatly restricts the further development of pottery.
The increase in population and economic development have brought about a large demand for pottery.
In the continuous production practice, the pottery making technology gradually developed, so that this relatively backward pottery making method was replaced by the subsequent new technology-the clay strip building method.
The clay strip-building method is a typical and mature hand-made molding method. It was the most widely used and longest-lasting pottery molding technology in the Neolithic Age.
This method is to roll the mud into mud strips first, and then use the mud strips to build the body.
In Gan Province, from the beginning of the Yangshao Culture about 7,000 years ago until the Bronze Age, the clay strip-building method has always been the main method of pottery making.
In other words, except for the Dadiwan culture, Gan Province's painted pottery basically uses this production technology.
It should be pointed out that in the early Yangshao culture, the above two types of methods were used together.
Most of the bowls and basins with round bottoms are made of painted pottery, and the mold coating method is still used.
Their pottery sherds are still layered, so they prove to be made in the same way as Dadiwan Phase I.
The difference is that at this time, the pottery quality of each layer is the same, and they are all fine clay pottery, and the layers are more tightly bonded.
The flat-bottomed and pointed-bottomed vessels that are widely used are constructed using mud strips instead.
In flat-bottomed vessels, there are sometimes seams between mud strips, and in the inner bottom of pointed-bottomed bottles, circles of circling mud stripes can be seen.
By the mid-Yangshao period, the round-bottom device had basically disappeared, and the mud strip-building method finally completely replaced the mold application method.
It can be seen that this is a long development process.
The mud strip building method is divided into two methods: plate building and circle building.
Pan building is to connect the mud strips one by one to build the body in a spiral;
Circle construction involves connecting each mud strip end to end to form a mud circle, and then stacking the mud circles to form a body, so there are often gaps between the mud strips on the inside of the tire wall.
Of the two methods, the plate construction method is more common, and the circle construction method is sometimes used in Machang period painted pottery.
In specific operations, there are two methods: inverted construction and main construction.
In inverted construction, the body is made from the top to the bottom.
Build the wall first and then the bottom, which is used for bottles with pointed bottoms, etc.;
The formal construction method is to make the bottom of the vessel first and then build the walls, which is used for flat-bottomed vessels.
The bottom of the vessel is a mud cake made in advance, and then mud strips are used to build the wall from the outer edge of the bottom, commonly known as "Tian Bao Di".
Sometimes the bottom of the vessel is made into a shallow dish shape, and the belly of the vessel is connected from the inside, commonly known as "the earth covers the sky".
This kind of production is done on a fixed workbench, with mud strips one after another, and they are added or piled up as needed.
The changes in various parts of the wall are controlled and shaped by the fingers pinching the mud strips.
By pointing your fingers inward or outward, you can expand or reduce the diameter of the object.
Inclined inward, the diameter of the wall gradually increases to form the abdomen;
Tilting outward, the diameter of the wall gradually decreases to form a shoulder;
Perpendicular to the workbench, the diameter of the vessel wall remains unchanged, forming a straight abdomen or neck.
Because the thickness of the wall depends on the thickness of the clay strips and the strength of the hand.
Therefore, in the entire process of building the mud strips into a body, the operating skills of the hands play a decisive role.
Painted pottery is a unity that combines the beauty of shape and decoration. The harmony of shape depends entirely on the superb skills of the craftsmen.
The beauty of shape refers to the beauty of the outline and image of an object, the primary condition of which is the coordination of proportions between various parts.
The ratio of base diameter, abdominal diameter to caliber, abdominal diameter to overall height, ratio of organ height to collar (or mouth rim) height, etc.
The inclination of the lower abdomen is different, and the shape of the utensils is different.
For example, the curved abdominal basin in the middle Yangshao period has a larger inclination and forms a curved abdomen;
The Majiayao type flat-bottomed bottle has a small slope and a long straight belly;
A mid-mountain type painted pottery urn with a steep slope and a round belly.
Different shapes show different graceful curves and harmonious and unified artistic styles.
After the ceramic blank is made, it needs to be properly trimmed.
This can make all parts of the utensil regular and beautiful, the rim and surface become smooth, and the shape becomes more symmetrical.
When trimming, use a piece similar to a bone dagger to scrape off excess mud;
Blocks such as pottery mats can also be used to pad the inner wall to adjust the curve of the utensil;
Or add mud by hand and process it to make the pottery body reach its best shape.