Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation [Hardcover]

Nigel Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1999

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book for 2000

Chinese glazes have been admired throughout history for their extraordinary qualities and colors—not least in China itself, where their appearance has been compared variously to jade, to tea-dust, to hare's fur, or to the "color of the sky after the rain." Some Chinese glazes are vibrant and brilliant in tone, while others are deep, complex, and subtle, their properties seeming to change according to ambient light. Chinese glazes have long presented a technical challenge to Western potters, and this book is the most complete account yet of their nature and their reconstruction. The story of Chinese glazes is also the story of Chinese ceramics itself, one of the most fascinating and influential traditions in ceramic history.

Chinese Glazes traces the development of China's great high-fired glaze tradition from its roots in the Bronze Age, through the famous monochrome stoneware glazes of the Song dynasty, to the fine porcelain glazes of southern China. The book also examines in detail the story of China's low-fired glazes, from the time of China's first emperor to the present day. The book shows clearly how the potters of ancient China were able to work their ceramic miracles from the simplest recipes, and how modern potters can use and adapt these principles for their own work. The book contains hundreds of recipes for formulating Chinese glazes with Western materials, simple and advanced calculation techniques, as well as efficient blending procedures with local materials.

The book is lavishly illustrated, with nearly three hundred photographs, one hundred in full color. These depict examples of the Chinese arts as found in pottery ranging from simple earthenware jars excavated at Neolithic sites to exquisitely designed dishes found in imperial tombs. They also show examples of modern Western ware that employ these remarkable glazing techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A valuable reference for potters as well as scholars and collectors."—American Craft

"A must for not only potters but for anyone interested in the history of Chinese ceramics."—Antique Review

"[An] extraordinary volume. . . . In a well documented text, beautifully illustrated by both color and black-and-white photographs, Wood describes Chinese ceramic development, from the Bronze Age through Tang and Song dynasty monochrome stoneware glazes, to the fine porcelains of southern China."—Choice

About the Author

Now retired from teaching, Nigel Wood was Professor of Ceramics at the University of Westminster, Harrow; Honorary Research Associate at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University; and Visiting Tutor at the Royal College of Art, London. His current research interests include Middle Eastern ceramics and eighteenth-century European porcelain.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (August 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812234766
• ISBN-13: 978-0812234763
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,407,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glazing Pots, October 2, 2000

By 

Timothy A Ebert (Wooster, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation (Hardcover)

This is a good book about glazes used in China (with a few from neighboring countries). It puts the glazes and their use into historical context within the lineage of Chinese emperors/dynasties. It includes pictures of pottery decoration for functional pieces (bowls, plates, etc..). It includes a large number of glaze recipies in a very condensed format at the end of the book. I look forward to trying a few of them soon.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars expert quality, February 4, 2006

By 

YIP Alex - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation (Hardcover)

As an ardent Chinese antique ceramics for more than 5 years, I can confirm that Mr Wood's knowledge is vast and its information would be most useful for all parties interested in this aspect of art collecting. As a non-Chinese it is not at all easy to become an expert in this field, and the author must be congretulated on the production of such a superb book. The quality of the photos is exemplery.

Alex Yip, Hong Kong.