Linda R. Hughes on mon 11 jun 01
Hi All,
Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to have any success =
duplicating Ru Ware glazes? So far I have read the section on Ru and =
Guan Ware in Ian Currie's book "Revealing Glazes", and have read the =
information in Tichanes' book, "Blue Celadons". I have been trying to =
find some literature to help cross reference before I actually set into =
action. There is a lot of historical information out there on the =
internet, but not information on how to actually achieve success in =
firing the glazes. So far I have found a claybody (that sounds like the =
one described by Stephen Harrison in Ian's book) and have already thrown =
several pieces (they are in the kiln as I write this note). Now I am =
ready to make up the glazes and fire the ware.=20
One more question - has anyone read the article in the Materials =
Research Society Bulletin ( Jan 2001):" Technical Studies and =
Replication of Guan Ware, an Ancient Chinese Ceramic"? Copies of the =
bulletin are available for purchase, but they take 2 to 4 weeks to =
receive AFTER they receive the order. Does it have information on the =
Ru ware? Would you suggest a membership in the Society? I am afraid =
most of the information will be WAY over my head.
Thanks Always, Linda
Linda R. Hughes
mamahug@home..com
Bret Hinsch on tue 12 jun 01
Hi Linda,
I wouldn't be too concerned about the differences between Ru and. Guan. The two are extremely similar. Some scholars even argue that they should be considered the same kind of ware.
The main difference between Ru and Guan isn't the technical processes used to produce them, but merely the location of the kilns. Ru was earlier. It was made in northern China in the late Northern Song dynasty by order of the artist Emperor Song Huizong, the greatest connoisseur of ceramics in Chinese history. Although people call it porcelain, in fact Ru was fired at a surprisingly low temperature. It's basically an extraordinary glaze put over an extremely well potted mid-fire body of middling composition.
The Northern Song dynasty was overrun by fierce nomads in the early 12th century. After that, the production of imperial wares was restarted in the south, where a rump dynasty was reestablished as the Southern Song. The Ru-like celadon ware they produced is called Guan. This ware has many of the same qualities as Ru: beautiful thick iron glazes over a thin mid-temperature body.
Some people theorize that some of the original Ru potters fled south to help reestablish celadon kilns there. If so, there would probably have been considerable continuity in the techniques of Ru and Guan.
There's a lot of new information coming out about Guan and Ru. Kiln sites are being excavated and Chinese scholars are hard at work trying to sort out how these two wares were made.
If you're interested in reproducing Ru and Guan, I would say that the most important thing is a dedication to absolute perfection. Emperor Song Huizong had his potters create Ru because he was dissatisfied with the technical shortcomings of Jun (Chun). His goal was for the pots to be absolutely perfect in every respect. One assumes that only a tiny percentage of the pots were accepted for use at court - the rest probably ended up being smashed. As a result, there are only a few dozen complete Ru vessels in existence. The largest and best collection is here in Taipei at the Palace Museum. I believe that there are also a number of good pieces at Oxford.
The most unique quality of Ru is the glazed feet. When firing, the potters used small spikes to lift the pieces off the surface of the kiln furniture. This allowed them to glaze the feet. As a result, almost the entire surface of a Ru vessel is glazed with the exception of three tiny pinpricks on the bottom where the supports touched the body. It's a remarkable achievement.
Good luck!
Bret in Taipei
>From: "Linda R. Hughes"
>Reply-To: "Linda R. Hughes"
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: a question about Ru Ware
>Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 16:29:34 -0700
>
>Hi All,
>Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to have any success duplicating Ru Ware glazes? So far I have read the section on Ru and Guan Ware in Ian Currie's book "Revealing Glazes", and have read the information in Tichanes' book, "Blue Celadons". I have been trying to find some literature to help cross reference before I actually set into action. There is a lot of historical information out there on the internet, but not information on how to actually achieve success in firing the glazes. So far I have found a claybody (that sounds like the one described by Stephen Harrison in Ian's book) and have already thrown several pieces (they are in the kiln as I write this note). Now I am ready to make up the glazes and fire the ware.
>One more question - has anyone read the article in the Materials Research Society Bulletin ( Jan 2001):" Technical Studies and Replication of Guan Ware, an Ancient Chinese Ceramic"? Copies of the bulletin are available for purchase, but they take 2 to 4 weeks to receive AFTER they receive the order. Does it have information on the Ru ware? Would you suggest a membership in the Society? I am afraid most of the information will be WAY over my head.
>Thanks Always, Linda
>Linda R. Hughes
>mamahug@home..com
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
iandol on wed 13 jun 01
Dear Linda R. Hughes,
Nigel Woods, in his book about Chinese Glazes, that is the new one, has =
extensive information about both Ru and Guan glazes. Superb =
illustrations.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
Stephen Grimmer on wed 13 jun 01
Linda,
There' s good information in Nigel Wood's Chinese Glazes regarding Ru
and Guan wares and their production.
The toughest part is getting the glaze on thick enough.
Best,
Steve
--
Stephen Grimmer
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
>From: "Linda R. Hughes"
>Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 16:29:34 -0700
>
>Hi All,
>Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to have any success
duplicating Ru Ware glazes? So far I have read the section on Ru and Guan
Ware in Ian Currie's book "Revealing Glazes", and have read the information
in Tichanes' book, "Blue Celadons". I have been trying to find some
literature to help cross reference before I actually set into action. There
is a lot of historical information out there on the internet, but not
information on how to actually achieve success in firing the glazes. So far
I have found a claybody (that sounds like the one described by Stephen
Harrison in Ian's book) and have already thrown several pieces (they are in
the kiln as I write this note). Now I am ready to make up the glazes and
fire the ware.
>One more question - has anyone read the article in the Materials Research
Society Bulletin ( Jan 2001):" Technical Studies and Replication of Guan
Ware, an Ancient Chinese Ceramic"? Copies of the bulletin are available for
purchase, but they take 2 to 4 weeks to receive AFTER they receive the
order. Does it have information on the Ru ware? Would you suggest a
membership in the Society? I am afraid most of the information will be WAY
over my head.
>Thanks Always, Linda
>Linda R. Hughes
>mamahug@home..com
>
Linda R. Hughes on wed 13 jun 01
Thanks Ivor,
Just picked the book up yesterday and yes it is full of really good
information. Between the information from Ian Currie's books and the
information I picked up from a GOOGLE search, I think I may be able to sit
down to a session with a good glaze calculation program and figure something
out. After all, livening in different areas we do have different materials.
So we will give a try. Wish me luck and THANKS again, Linda
P.S. I did find a good website with photos of sherds picked up at the
Xiuneusu Guan kilnsite.....very interesting....
http://chineantique.20m.com/xiuneisi.html...well ....worth viewing!!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "iandol"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 11:21 AM
Subject: a question about Ru Ware
Dear Linda R. Hughes,
Nigel Woods, in his book about Chinese Glazes, that is the new one, has
extensive information about both Ru and Guan glazes. Superb illustrations.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Linda R. Hughes on wed 13 jun 01
Hi Khaimraj,
In Ian Currie's book "Revealing Glazes" on page 82, he discusses the
difficulties in firing these Ru or Ju glazes, it seems that a clay body
which is rough or porous will help prevent the common problem of the piece
shattering because of the crazing. Nigel Wood, in his book gives the
chemical analysis of the clay bodies that were used at the time, hopefully
you have access to it, there really is a lot of good information in it !!!!
Good luck. Linda
From: "Khaimraj Seepersad"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 8:12 AM
Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
Good day to All ,
Bret ,
could you expand a bit more on the body of the Ru [ same as Ju ? ]
and the actual temperature of the - " surprisingly low temperature ."
I remember reading in - The Chinese Potter - Ms. M.Medley - page 122 ,
that the body - " appears to be an earthenware , although relatively
high fired ."
However when I asked at the Percival David library , the librarian
denied this as being so . Sadly Ms. M. Medley , had recently [ back
then ] suffered a stroke or something terrible like that and there was no
point to getting permission to visit and chat .
So your the second person saying something along these lines.
The stilts would make sense , as I could see them puncturing through
the bottom of stoneware.
M.Medley also mentions this as - " three or five spurs ."
I thought since I fire a single item at a time [ kiln internally is 9"
cubed ] ,
perhaps I could try for a Ru [ Ju -yao ] piece , alla Behrens modified
soft stone ware body .
Khaimraj
-----Original Message-----
From: Bret Hinsch
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: 12 June 2001 21:32
Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
Hi Linda,
I wouldn't be too concerned about the differences between Ru and. Guan.
The two are extremely similar. Some scholars even argue that they should be
considered the same kind of ware.
The main difference between Ru and Guan isn't the technical processes
used to produce them, but merely the location of the kilns. Ru was earlier.
It was made in northern China in the late Northern Song dynasty by order of
the artist Emperor Song Huizong, the greatest connoisseur of ceramics in
Chinese history. Although people call it porcelain, in fact Ru was fired at
a surprisingly low temperature. It's basically an extraordinary glaze put
over an extremely well potted mid-fire body of middling composition.
The Northern Song dynasty was overrun by fierce nomads in the early 12th
century. After that, the production of imperial wares was restarted in the
south, where a rump dynasty was reestablished as the Southern Song. The
Ru-like celadon ware they produced is called Guan. This ware has many of
the same qualities as Ru: beautiful thick iron glazes over a thin
mid-temperature body.
Some people theorize that some of the original Ru potters fled south to
help reestablish celadon kilns there. If so, there would probably have been
considerable continuity in the techniques of Ru and Guan.
There's a lot of new information coming out about Guan and Ru. Kiln
sites are being excavated and Chinese scholars are hard at work trying to
sort out how these two wares were made.
If you're interested in reproducing Ru and Guan, I would say that the
most important thing is a dedication to absolute perfection. Emperor Song
Huizong had his potters create Ru because he was dissatisfied with the
technical shortcomings of Jun (Chun). His goal was for the pots to be
absolutely perfect in every respect. One assumes that only a tiny
percentage of the pots were accepted for use at court - the rest probably
ended up being smashed. As a result, there are only a few dozen complete Ru
vessels in existence. The largest and best collection is here in Taipei at
the Palace Museum. I believe that there are also a number of good pieces at
Oxford.
The most unique quality of Ru is the glazed feet. When firing, the
potters used small spikes to lift the pieces off the surface of the kiln
furniture. This allowed them to glaze the feet. As a result, almost the
entire surface of a Ru vessel is glazed with the exception of three tiny
pinpricks on the bottom where the supports touched the body. It's a
remarkable achievement.
Good luck!
Bret in Taipei
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Khaimraj Seepersad on wed 13 jun 01
Good day to All ,
Bret ,=20
could you expand a bit more on the body of the Ru [ same as Ju ? ]
and the actual temperature of the - " surprisingly low temperature ."
I remember reading in - The Chinese Potter - Ms. M.Medley - page 122 ,
that the body - " appears to be an earthenware , although relatively
high fired ."
However when I asked at the Percival David library , the librarian=20
denied this as being so . Sadly Ms. M. Medley , had recently [ back=20
then ] suffered a stroke or something terrible like that and there was =
no=20
point to getting permission to visit and chat .
So your the second person saying something along these lines.
The stilts would make sense , as I could see them puncturing through
the bottom of stoneware.
M.Medley also mentions this as - " three or five spurs ."
I thought since I fire a single item at a time [ kiln internally is 9" =
cubed ] ,=20
perhaps I could try for a Ru [ Ju -yao ] piece , alla Behrens modified
soft stone ware body .
Khaimraj=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Bret Hinsch
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: 12 June 2001 21:32
Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
=20
=20
Hi Linda,
I wouldn't be too concerned about the differences between Ru and. =
Guan. The two are extremely similar. Some scholars even argue that =
they should be considered the same kind of ware. =20
The main difference between Ru and Guan isn't the technical =
processes used to produce them, but merely the location of the kilns. =
Ru was earlier. It was made in northern China in the late Northern Song =
dynasty by order of the artist Emperor Song Huizong, the greatest =
connoisseur of ceramics in Chinese history. Although people call it =
porcelain, in fact Ru was fired at a surprisingly low temperature. It's =
basically an extraordinary glaze put over an extremely well potted =
mid-fire body of middling composition.
The Northern Song dynasty was overrun by fierce nomads in the early =
12th century. After that, the production of imperial wares was =
restarted in the south, where a rump dynasty was reestablished as the =
Southern Song. The Ru-like celadon ware they produced is called Guan. =
This ware has many of the same qualities as Ru: beautiful thick iron =
glazes over a thin mid-temperature body. =20
Some people theorize that some of the original Ru potters fled south =
to help reestablish celadon kilns there. If so, there would probably =
have been considerable continuity in the techniques of Ru and Guan.
There's a lot of new information coming out about Guan and Ru. Kiln =
sites are being excavated and Chinese scholars are hard at work trying =
to sort out how these two wares were made. =20
If you're interested in reproducing Ru and Guan, I would say that =
the most important thing is a dedication to absolute perfection. =
Emperor Song Huizong had his potters create Ru because he was =
dissatisfied with the technical shortcomings of Jun (Chun). His goal =
was for the pots to be absolutely perfect in every respect. One assumes =
that only a tiny percentage of the pots were accepted for use at court - =
the rest probably ended up being smashed. As a result, there are only a =
few dozen complete Ru vessels in existence. The largest and best =
collection is here in Taipei at the Palace Museum. I believe that there =
are also a number of good pieces at Oxford.
The most unique quality of Ru is the glazed feet. When firing, the =
potters used small spikes to lift the pieces off the surface of the kiln =
furniture. This allowed them to glaze the feet. As a result, almost =
the entire surface of a Ru vessel is glazed with the exception of three =
tiny pinpricks on the bottom where the supports touched the body. It's =
a remarkable achievement.
Good luck!
Bret in Taipei=20
Linda R. Hughes on wed 13 jun 01
Brian,
You are wealth of information !!!!! Where did you learn this stuff???? Are
there other books out there for us to find and read to help us better
understand what we are doing? The historical aspect is very interesting as
well. Do you know of any historical novels that could help us understand
what was going at the time?This adventure has been a distraction for me, I
have been studying Islamic ceramics looking for new decorative designs to
decorate my pots with, and have been fascinated with the Iranian Seljug
period, which is not far off in time and space from this whole Ru, Guan
thing. It is very interesting that this was happening at approximately the
same time in history. You never know what you are going to discover around
the corner do you? Or what is behind a pretty picture. THANKS, Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bret Hinsch"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
> Hi Khaimraj,
>
> Yes, Ru is the same as Ju. Ru is the new spelling; Ju is the old
spelling.
>
> Since Ru and Guan were made in different places using local materials, the
> bodies are quite different. The Ru body is very fine, grey, and slightly
> buff colored. The glaze is very thin compared to Guan. The places where
> the spur marks touch the body are different from both the body and glaze -
> they are yellowish-white. The spurs were broken off at the tips, and the
> end of the spurs embedded in the body among the glaze. Then the end of
the
> spur jutting out of the body was carefully ground down. The spurs were
> obviously made from a more refractory substance than the body, so they are
a
> different - and lighter - color.
>
> I don't know what temperature Ru and Guan were fired at - I doubt that
> anyone does. I don't think we can precisely calculate the exact firing
> temperature of historic ceramics - the firing temperatures you read in
books
> are probably educated guesses based on the chemistry of the glazes and
> bodies. But the Ru shards I've seen don't ring when you tap them, which
> suggests that they weren't fired at the highest temperatures that we
> associate today with true porcelain. And the high iron body of Guan wares
> suggests that these also weren't fired at the very highest temperatures.
>
> The northern Chinese kilns allowed very slow cooling, so Ru glazes contain
> lots of micro-crystals that grew during the cooling process. These
crystals
> are the key to the Ru look. They give the glazes a gentle opacity and
> complexity. Anyone trying to duplicate Ru should be sure to cool as
slowly
> as possible.
>
> In contrast, Guan (formerly spelled Kuan) has a darker body than Ru. The
> range of Guan bodies is much greater than Ru. Guan was produced in
> infinitely greater quantity, so the bodies are more diverse. Guan bodies
> range from dark grey to blackish grey. The glaze was applied much more
> thickly than in Ru. Apparently the southern Chinese kilns cooled more
> rapidly than the Ru kilns, so they couldn't duplicate the Ru
microcrystals.
> To compensate, they used extremely thick glazes that were applied in
layers
> and probably fired to bisque temperature after each application. A final
> firing at a higher temperature was probably used to set the piece by
> bringing it up to stoneware temperature. This process allowed the glaze
to
> be extremely thick. For example, on one Guan shard I've seen, on the
> exterior the glaze is 1/2 as thick as the body; on the interior it is 1/3
as
> thick as the body. On another shard the glaze is even thicker. The
> interior glaze is slightly thicker than the body and the exterior is as
> thick as the body. The sheer thickness of the glaze gave the Guan
celadons
> their beautiful translucency.
>
> However, in my own humble opinion the most beautiful of the Song celadons
is
> Longquan (formerly spelled Lung-ch'uan). Because Longquan wasn't a purely
> imperial ware, it wasn't as highly regarded as Ru or Guan in the official
> ceramics hierarchy. But although Chinese connoisseurs might stress how
> closely a ware was associated to the imperial court, such things don't
> matter much to potters. All we care about is how things look. And in
> purely aesthetic terms, Longquan is amazing. Longquan glazes were
opacified
> by trapping huge numbers of CO2 bubbles in the glaze matrix. (Some
whiting
> in the glaze should reproduce this effect.) I think that the opacity from
> bubbles in Longquan is more subtle and beautiful than either the Ru
> micro-crystal glazes or the thick layered Guan glazes.
>
> To summarize, you basically have three options to give your celadons a
Song
> look:
>
> 1. The Ru method - slow cooling to grow microcrystals
> 2. The Guan method - multiple glaze applications and firings to build up a
> very thick glaze
> 3. The Longquan method - CO2 bubbles from whiting
>
> No matter which one you choose, you can't go wrong. Ru, Guan, and
Longquan
> are all magnificent.
>
> Hope this makes things clearer.
>
> Bret in Taipei
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Bret Hinsch on wed 13 jun 01
Hi Khaimraj,
Yes, Ru is the same as Ju. Ru is the new spelling; Ju is the old spelling.
Since Ru and Guan were made in different places using local materials, the
bodies are quite different. The Ru body is very fine, grey, and slightly
buff colored. The glaze is very thin compared to Guan. The places where
the spur marks touch the body are different from both the body and glaze -
they are yellowish-white. The spurs were broken off at the tips, and the
end of the spurs embedded in the body among the glaze. Then the end of the
spur jutting out of the body was carefully ground down. The spurs were
obviously made from a more refractory substance than the body, so they are a
different - and lighter - color.
I don't know what temperature Ru and Guan were fired at - I doubt that
anyone does. I don't think we can precisely calculate the exact firing
temperature of historic ceramics - the firing temperatures you read in books
are probably educated guesses based on the chemistry of the glazes and
bodies. But the Ru shards I've seen don't ring when you tap them, which
suggests that they weren't fired at the highest temperatures that we
associate today with true porcelain. And the high iron body of Guan wares
suggests that these also weren't fired at the very highest temperatures.
The northern Chinese kilns allowed very slow cooling, so Ru glazes contain
lots of micro-crystals that grew during the cooling process. These crystals
are the key to the Ru look. They give the glazes a gentle opacity and
complexity. Anyone trying to duplicate Ru should be sure to cool as slowly
as possible.
In contrast, Guan (formerly spelled Kuan) has a darker body than Ru. The
range of Guan bodies is much greater than Ru. Guan was produced in
infinitely greater quantity, so the bodies are more diverse. Guan bodies
range from dark grey to blackish grey. The glaze was applied much more
thickly than in Ru. Apparently the southern Chinese kilns cooled more
rapidly than the Ru kilns, so they couldn't duplicate the Ru microcrystals.
To compensate, they used extremely thick glazes that were applied in layers
and probably fired to bisque temperature after each application. A final
firing at a higher temperature was probably used to set the piece by
bringing it up to stoneware temperature. This process allowed the glaze to
be extremely thick. For example, on one Guan shard I've seen, on the
exterior the glaze is 1/2 as thick as the body; on the interior it is 1/3 as
thick as the body. On another shard the glaze is even thicker. The
interior glaze is slightly thicker than the body and the exterior is as
thick as the body. The sheer thickness of the glaze gave the Guan celadons
their beautiful translucency.
However, in my own humble opinion the most beautiful of the Song celadons is
Longquan (formerly spelled Lung-ch'uan). Because Longquan wasn't a purely
imperial ware, it wasn't as highly regarded as Ru or Guan in the official
ceramics hierarchy. But although Chinese connoisseurs might stress how
closely a ware was associated to the imperial court, such things don't
matter much to potters. All we care about is how things look. And in
purely aesthetic terms, Longquan is amazing. Longquan glazes were opacified
by trapping huge numbers of CO2 bubbles in the glaze matrix. (Some whiting
in the glaze should reproduce this effect.) I think that the opacity from
bubbles in Longquan is more subtle and beautiful than either the Ru
micro-crystal glazes or the thick layered Guan glazes.
To summarize, you basically have three options to give your celadons a Song
look:
1. The Ru method - slow cooling to grow microcrystals
2. The Guan method - multiple glaze applications and firings to build up a
very thick glaze
3. The Longquan method - CO2 bubbles from whiting
No matter which one you choose, you can't go wrong. Ru, Guan, and Longquan
are all magnificent.
Hope this makes things clearer.
Bret in Taipei
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
Des Howard on thu 14 jun 01
Bret
I love this part of Clayart, when an answer for question you
didn't ask causes you to slap your forehead & say "Bugger! I haven't tried that".
I certainly will next time I fire my rhyolite/limestone celadon type glaze.
Thanks
Des
Bret Hinsch wrote (in part):
> The glaze was applied much more
> thickly than in Ru. Apparently the southern Chinese kilns cooled more
> rapidly than the Ru kilns, so they couldn't duplicate the Ru microcrystals.
> To compensate, they used extremely thick glazes that were applied in layers
> and probably fired to bisque temperature after each application. A final
> firing at a higher temperature was probably used to set the piece by
> bringing it up to stoneware temperature. This process allowed the glaze to
> be extremely thick. --
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
LUE NSW 2850
Australia
Ph/Fax 02 6373 6419
http://www.luepottery.lisp.com.au
Bret Hinsch on thu 14 jun 01
Hi Linda,
I'm interested in the history of Chinese ceramic technology, so I read and
talk to local experts. Most of my knowledge either comes orally or else
from looking at historic pieces and shards. There are more fine historic
Chinese ceramics in Taipei than anywhere else in the world, so it's easy to
pick things up on the street. The shard collection at the Chang Collection
here in Taipei is a potter's treasure trove. Unfortunately, most of this
information isn't written down in English. Nigel Wood's book is probably
the best. However, the very best way to learn about historic ceramics is to
find some Ru and Guan shards and study them yourself.
By the way - although Nigel Wood's book contains a wealth of information,
beware of trying to recreate historic ceramics by reproducing the chemical
analyses of old shards. It almost never works. The materials, kiln
atmosphere, and techniques of today are too different from the Song dynasty
to just slap together some pure modern materials and come up with Ru.
Chances are, you'll end up with something very different from Ru or Guan.
The results aren't necessarily unpleasant - one of my favorite glazes is
based on the chemical analysis of Jizhou ware - it looks nothing like
Jizhou, but is a great temmoku nonetheless. However, if you want to come up
with a substitute for Ru or Guan, it would probably be a better use of your
time to start from the basic celadons in Tichane's books or elsewhere and
tweak the recipes until you get the look that you want.
Bret in Taipei
>From: "Linda R. Hughes"
>Reply-To: "Linda R. Hughes"
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
>Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 22:17:56 -0700
>
>You are wealth of information !!!!! Where did you learn this stuff???? Are
>there other books out there for us to find and read to help us better
>understand what we are doing? The historical aspect is very interesting as
>well. Do you know of any historical novels that could help us understand
>what was going at the time?This adventure has been a distraction for me, I
>have been studying Islamic ceramics looking for new decorative designs to
>decorate my pots with, and have been fascinated with the Iranian Seljug
>period, which is not far off in time and space from this whole Ru, Guan
>thing. It is very interesting that this was happening at approximately the
>same time in history. You never know what you are going to discover around
>the corner do you? Or what is behind a pretty picture. THANKS, Linda
_________________________________________________________________
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Linda R. Hughes on fri 15 jun 01
Hi Bret,
Are there any of those images from the Chang Collection found on the
internet? Since there are so few pieces from that period it would be nice to
see as many as possible !!!!!
Have you tried to reproduce the glazes? I would have thought by using
today's materials, trying to get as close to the chemical analysis might be
a good place to start. The other choice of a starting point, for now, would
be to try the recipe found in Ian Curie's book. Experience makes all the
difference !!!!
In his book, Wood made the hypothesis that the difference may have been the
cooling cycle, with the Ru ware cooling much slower than the Guan ware.
Lucky for me, we have two kilns at the Center where I fire, one cooling
much longer than the other. Just keep on trying !!!
Thanks Again, Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bret Hinsch"
To:
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2001 8:35 AM
Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
> Hi Linda,
>
> I'm interested in the history of Chinese ceramic technology, so I read and
> talk to local experts. Most of my knowledge either comes orally or else
> from looking at historic pieces and shards. There are more fine historic
> Chinese ceramics in Taipei than anywhere else in the world, so it's easy
to
> pick things up on the street. The shard collection at the Chang
Collection
> here in Taipei is a potter's treasure trove. Unfortunately, most of this
> information isn't written down in English. Nigel Wood's book is probably
> the best. However, the very best way to learn about historic ceramics is
to
> find some Ru and Guan shards and study them yourself.
>
> By the way - although Nigel Wood's book contains a wealth of information,
> beware of trying to recreate historic ceramics by reproducing the chemical
> analyses of old shards. It almost never works. The materials, kiln
> atmosphere, and techniques of today are too different from the Song
dynasty
> to just slap together some pure modern materials and come up with Ru.
> Chances are, you'll end up with something very different from Ru or Guan.
> The results aren't necessarily unpleasant - one of my favorite glazes is
> based on the chemical analysis of Jizhou ware - it looks nothing like
> Jizhou, but is a great temmoku nonetheless. However, if you want to come
up
> with a substitute for Ru or Guan, it would probably be a better use of
your
> time to start from the basic celadons in Tichane's books or elsewhere and
> tweak the recipes until you get the look that you want.
>
> Bret in Taipei
>
>
> >From: "Linda R. Hughes"
> >Reply-To: "Linda R. Hughes"
> >To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> >Subject: Re: a question about Ru Ware
> >Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 22:17:56 -0700
> >
>
> >You are wealth of information !!!!! Where did you learn this stuff????
Are
> >there other books out there for us to find and read to help us better
> >understand what we are doing? The historical aspect is very interesting
as
> >well. Do you know of any historical novels that could help us understand
> >what was going at the time?This adventure has been a distraction for me,
I
> >have been studying Islamic ceramics looking for new decorative designs
to
> >decorate my pots with, and have been fascinated with the Iranian Seljug
> >period, which is not far off in time and space from this whole Ru, Guan
> >thing. It is very interesting that this was happening at approximately
the
> >same time in history. You never know what you are going to discover
around
> >the corner do you? Or what is behind a pretty picture. THANKS, Linda
>
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