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Deeper Knowledge · Materials

Materials

Earth, Fire, Chemistry

← Porcelain

Jingdezhen porcelain begins with its materials — the specific clay bodies, glaze compositions, pigments, and firing atmospheres that define each tradition. Porcelain stone from Gaolin, cobalt from Zhejiang, copper-red from controlled reduction firing: these are not interchangeable. Every material decision constrains what is possible in form, surface, and colour.

The material is the first author. The potter is the second.

Porcelain stone refinement, glaze preparation, pigment composition, forming technique, drying conditions, and firing sequence determine structural outcome. Small variations produce visible differences.

Understanding porcelain requires attention to:

Clay body density and refinement

Glaze chemistry and application thickness

Underglaze and overglaze pigment behaviour

Firing atmosphere and temperature control

Post-firing inspection and correction

Material logic precedes decorative expression.

Throughout history, technical mastery shaped the emergence of decorative systems such as Qinghua, Doucai, Wucai, and Fencai. Process is not background — it is foundation.

Clay Bodies

Porcelain Stone

Porcelain Stone

The feldspathic rock that formed the foundation of Jingdezhen porcelain bodies long before modern standardized recipes.

Kaolin Clay

A refractory, alumina-rich clay whose increasing use transformed the strength and firing behaviour of Jingdezhen porcelain bodies.

Petuntse

The prepared “white bricks” of refined porcelain stone described in historical accounts of Jingdezhen production.

Local Jingdezhen Clay

Local Jingdezhen Clay

景德镇本地泥料

The local and regional clay resources that formed part of Jingdezhen’s evolving porcelain-body recipes.

Glaze Systems

Sky-blue (Tianqing) Glaze

Sky-blue (Tianqing) Glaze

A quiet sky-blue glaze developed at Jingdezhen’s imperial kilns in imitation of Song-dynasty Ru ware.

Sacrificial Blue (Jilan) Glaze

Sacrificial Blue (Jilan) Glaze

祭蓝釉 / 霁蓝

A deep, even cobalt-blue glaze with a ceremonial past, associated in the Ming with the worship of Heaven.

Rice-yellow Glaze

Rice-yellow Glaze

A pale, warm yellow touched with white, recalling cooked millet.

Qingbai / Yingqing Glaze

Qingbai / Yingqing Glaze

青白釉 / 影青

A luminous white glaze touched with blue-green, characteristic of the Song-dynasty Hutian kilns at Jingdezhen.

Black Glaze

A deep, reflective black glaze, fired across China since ancient times and refined at Jingdezhen under Kangxi.

Sweet-white Glaze

Sweet-white Glaze

A softly luminous white glaze, valued for its warmth and depth rather than brilliance.

High-Fire Transparent Glaze

High-Fire Transparent Glaze

高温透明釉

The clear high-fired glaze that seals the porcelain surface while allowing the white body and underglaze decoration to remain visible.

Celadon Base Glaze

Celadon Base Glaze

青釉基础釉

An iron-bearing high-fired glaze whose green and blue-green tones emerge through glaze chemistry and firing atmosphere.

White Porcelain Glaze

White Porcelain Glaze

White and near-white glaze systems in which body, glaze thickness and firing combine to produce a restrained monochrome surface.

Copper Red Glaze

Copper Red Glaze

A high-fired copper-bearing glaze capable of extraordinary reds, but exceptionally sensitive to kiln conditions.

Iron-Based Glazes

Iron-Based Glazes

High-fired glazes in which iron can generate surfaces ranging from warm brown to dense black.

Crystalline Glazes

Crystalline Glazes

Glazes whose visual character is created by crystals forming within or on the glaze during controlled firing and cooling.

Crackle

A network of fine cracks in the glaze, formed by tension between glaze and ceramic body — sometimes arising naturally, sometimes deliberately developed.

Cobalt Systems

Cobalt

The colourant behind Jingdezhen’s blues, from painted blue-and-white to blue glazes and blown powder blue.

Sumaliqing (Su Ma Li Qing)

Sumaliqing (Su Ma Li Qing)

Imported cobalt traditionally known as Sumaliqing, associated with Yuan and early Ming blue-and-white

Domestic Ming Cobalt

Domestic Ming Cobalt

明代本土青料

Chinese cobalt sources that increasingly shaped the softer and more varied blues of Ming blue-and-white after the early fifteenth century.

Qing Refined Cobalt

Qing Refined Cobalt

Refined cobalt pigments used in Qing blue-and-white, capable of clear, controlled tonal variation under a transparent glaze.

Modern Industrial Cobalt

Modern Industrial Cobalt

现代工业青料

Modern cobalt colourants formulated for greater consistency and repeatability in contemporary porcelain production.

Copper Systems

Langyao Red Glaze

Langyao Red Glaze

郎红釉 / 郎窑红

A brilliant high-fired copper-red glaze developed at Jingdezhen’s imperial kilns under Lang Tingji in the Kangxi reign.

Copper Red

Copper-bearing colourant used for demanding high-fired red decoration and glaze systems.

Continue exploring

Techniques

See how these materials are formed, painted, glazed and fired →

Decorative Systems

See how glaze and pigment become a decorative system →