Underglaze

paperweight with chrysanthemums and plum blossoms, underglaze blue and brown, 19th-century – DSC04735 Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely durable, and it also allows the production of pottery with a surface that has a uniform sheen. Underglaze decoration uses pigments derived from oxides which fuse with the glaze when the piece is fired in a kiln. It is also a cheaper method, as only a single firing is needed, whereas overglaze decoration requires a second firing at a lower temperature. Many historical styles, for example Persian mina'i ware, Japanese Imari ware, Chinese doucai and wucai, combine the two types of decoration. In such cases the first firing for the body, underglaze decoration and glaze is followed by the second firing after the overglaze enamels have been applied. However, because the main or glost firing is at a higher temperature than used in overglaze decoration, the range of colours available in underglaze is more limited, and was especially so for porcelain in historical times, as the firing temperature required for the porcelain body is especially high. Early porcelain was largely restricted to underglaze blue, and a range of browns and reds.…

paperweight with chrysanthemums and plum blossoms, underglaze blue and brown, 19th-century]] – DSC04735]] Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely durable, and it also allows the production of pottery with a surface that has a uniform sheen. Underglaze decoration uses pigments derived from oxides which fuse with the glaze when the piece is fired in a kiln. It is also a cheaper method, as only a single firing is needed, whereas overglaze decoration requires a second firing at a lower temperature. Many historical styles, for example Persian mina'i ware, Japanese Imari ware, Chinese doucai and wucai, combine the two types of decoration. In such cases the first firing for the body, underglaze decoration and glaze is followed by the second firing after the overglaze enamels have been applied. However, because the main or glost firing is at a higher temperature than used in overglaze decoration, the range of colours available in underglaze is more limited, and was especially so for porcelain in historical times, as the firing temperature required for the porcelain body is especially high. Early porcelain was largely restricted to underglaze blue, and a range of browns and reds. Other colours turned black in a high-temperature firing. Examples of oxides that do not lose their colour during a glost firing are the cobalt blue made famous by Chinese Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain and the cobalt and turquoise blues, pale purple, sage green, and bole red characteristic of İznik pottery – only some European centres knew how to achieve a good red. The painting styles used are covered at (among other articles): china painting, blue and white pottery, tin-glazed pottery, maiolica, Egyptian faience, Delftware. In modern times a wider range of underglaze colours are available. An archaeological excavation at the Tongguan kiln Site proved that the technology of underglaze colour arose in the Tang and Five Dynasties periods and originated from Tonguan, Changsha. However cobalt blue was first used in Persian pottery. The technique has been very widely used for earthenware and porcelain, but much less often on stoneware.

Faience

Most styles in this group, such as Delftware, mostly used blue and white pottery decoration.

Islamic world

Classical İznik pottery from the Ottoman Empire has a stonepaste or frit body, and uses lead glazing rather than tin, and has usually been painted in polychrome. Persian pottery, which was aware of Chinese styles throughout the period, made great use of underglaze decoration, but mostly in a single colour, often blue using the local cobalt, but also black.

Notes

References

Fournier, Robert, Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Pottery (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1973) Hamer, Frank, and Hamer, Janet, The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques (A&C Black/University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004) Hughes, G Bernard, The Country Life Pocket Book of China, 1965, Country Life Ltd Savage, George, Pottery Through the Ages, Penguin, 1959 Lee, H. (2003). Institutions and Vessels in East Asia: Exploring a New Approach for the Study of Medieval and Early Modern Wares, Applied to the Origin of Early Ming Imperial Underglaze Blue Ceramics and Their Introduction into Korea. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Mason, R. B., Proctor, P., Reilly, E., Golombek, L., & Royal Ontario Museum. (2014). Persian pottery in the first global age : the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Brill. Gökçe, C., & Feyzoğlu, E. (2024). A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF PORTRAIT WORKS ON CERAMIC SURFACES. Turkish Online Journal of Design Art and Communication, 14(3), 763-784.

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