Ceramic colors are a mystery, magical, dangerous and elusive. A battle between ceramist and Gaia. A battle every mortal is doomed to lose…
It has historical, cultural and technical aspects. Scientists, philosophers, psychologists and artists all have bitten off more than they could chew. Many books have been written about color, but the truth is still elusive.
In other words, colors are a fascinating phenomenon.
Historical colors
Artists have used colors in caves more than 64,000 years ago. Their color palette consisted of red, yellow, brown, black and white. Made from ferrous soil, lime, charcoal and animal fat.
These are also the colors of the oldest ceramics some 30,000 years later. But only from around 18,000 – 7,000 BCE pots were made that have been deliberately decorated with colored slips. The oldest examples come from Jiangxi province in China. But decorated pots (shards) of unglazed ceramics have been found all over the world .
Relatively recently (from about 4,000 BCE) the number of ceramic colors exploded when objects were glazed. In China the glaze colors were so valuable that sometimes they were only reserved for the emperor.
Dangerous colors
In the Middle Ages, mixing colors in Europe was a taboo. Sunlight (white) was a gift from God, combining colors into a different color was “unnatural”.
But that didn’t stop artists from experimenting. Cennino Cennini describes the production of arsenic (-trisulfide) and white lead for paint in his book “il Libro dell’Arte” (from about 1400). This was not only dangerous in the eyes of God, but also modern medical science.
Also potters used the most exotic (and sometimes highly toxic) raw materials in their glazes in search of new colors. In 1844 Alexandre Brongniart (director of the porcelain factory in Sèvres) describes how uranium can create a “yellow-orange color of great vibrancy“.
Looking for ceramic colors
I’m also looking for new ceramic colors. Recently I started firing my ceramics at higher temperatures. From about 1220 to 1280 oC (from cone 6/7 to cone 9/10). Higher temperatures makes ceramics stronger. But also brings a whole new color palette.
A palette I need to expand further by making many tests. No even colors, but different tones mixed together, indefinable and difficult to predict. Dripping glazes on kiln shelves due to the higher temperature I take for granted. You win some and you lose some.
What I get in return? Living glazes with infinite depth. Learning more about glazes and new exciting challenges.
This is a color battle I don’t mind getting lost…
Read more about colors?
I got my inspiration from the following books:
- “Das Rätsel Farbe, Matter und Mythos” – Margarete Bruns
- “The Craftsman’s Handbook” – Cennino Cennini (translation of “Il Libro dell’Arte from 1400)
- “The Secret Lives of Colour” – Kassia St Clair
About Post Author
You write:
“In the Middle Ages, mixing colors in Europe was a taboo. Sunlight (white) was a gift from God, combining colors into a different color was “unnatural”.
This sounds eerily familiar. The following quote is from the book “The Secret Lives of Color,” by Kassia St. Clair:
“Pure white sunlight was considered a gift from God; it was unthinkable that it could be broken down… . During the Middle Ages mixing colors at all was a taboo, believed against the natural order… .”
It would be nice if you attributed these ideas to the source you clearly got them from, as this is near plagiarism.
Dear Heidi,
Thank you for you’re comment, but before you accuse someone (almost) of plagiarism, maybe you should read the article completely.
Then you would have read where I found my inspiration for this blog clearly stated: “The Secret Lives of Colour” from Kassia St Clair.
And before you accuse me of more “near plagiarism”, I also used “Das Rätsel Farbe, Matter und Mythos” form Margarete Bruns and “The Craftsman’s Handbook” – Cennino Cennini” for this blog. And yes I have stated that also at the end of this blog.
Regards,
Daniel