Study On Compoment Of Jingdezhen Ceramic Body During Song And Yuan Dynasty

In the southern part of China deposits of china stone was found suitable for making porcelain bodies. Jingdezhen kilns were firing the very high quality porcelain bodies made from this china stone that was mined close to the surface. During the southern Song dynasty, the high quality china stone was mined out, leaving only deeper deposits. This inferior china stone, when fired to the same temperature showed signs of warping. Jingdezhen craftsmen gradually created a new porcelain body by adding kaolin to this china stone creating the’dual’ formula.This thesis uses previously published research into the chemical analysis of the mineral content of porcelain bodies found in the Jingdezhen area from Song through to the Ming dynasty and how those mineral ratios of kaolin to feldspar to quartz changed over that period.The findings of the study were hereby;1、Due to the large size of the kilns in the Song dynasty firing temperatures varied widely.The narrow firing range of the china stone single mineral body meant that many porcelain pieces were found to be under-fired and over-fired throughout the kiln. This lead to potters experimenting with the mineral content of the clay body to extend the firing range.2、From the evidence, Jingdezhen potters must have been introducing small amounts of secondary clay, with a higher alumina content, since the Wudai dynasties.3、After the Song dynasty, due to these changes made to the porcelain body, shapes could be made on a larger scale possibly to suit the taste of the court. During the Yuan dynasty, the content of native primary kaolin was gradually increased and finally during the Ming Dynasty the porcelain body was finally stabilized and translucency achieved.