Raw Materials for Making Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Five Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

This is a study of 66 pieces of Jingdezhen porcelain bodies and their relation to 13 raw materials, three of which are kaolin and the rest porcelain stones from Jingdezhen. For Jingdezhen porcelains, the results show that the alumina content increases and silica content decreases as a function of time, except during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, when this trend was reversed. For raw materials, although kaolin could never be used alone for porcelain production, four of the porcelain stones could be used alone for this purpose during the Five Dynasties and part of the Song Dynasty. However, all porcelains made thereafter have varying amounts of kaolin added to the porcelain stone. Except for a reversal during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, we found that the amount of kaolin added was a function of time, reaching as high as about 60% during the Qing Dynasty.