¡ö¡¡Fire
stone in red at the bottom of the
modeled product
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In the two
articles about fire stone in red issued in Collections (4th and 12th
edition, 2002), its cause of formation, its type and the usage in
discernment of ancient porcelain were described in detail.
During ten years' collection, I paid much attention to the research
on fire stone in red and collected several such objects. Based on
my own experience, I believe that fire stone in red cannot be regarded
as a reliable method for discerning the ancient porcelain, the reasons
are as follow:
First of all, the phenomenon of fire stone in red is quite difficult
to study. Till now, traditional ways in firing ceramics are still
being used. As we all know, the content of iron, arts and crafts,
fuel and temperature are the basic elements in the formation of fire
stone in red. If the content of iron in the body is appropriate, the
temperature in the kiln is suitable, fire stone in red is not hard
to get nowadays. In addition, the perfect combination of tradition
and modern technology made the difference between modern and ancient
fire stone in red less than ever.
Secondly, according to the modeled objects, there is little difference
between modern and ancient products. Mr. Ma once pointed out in his
article that the technique in producing body red and kiln red could
also be regarded as the standard for the discernment of ancient ceramics.
The reason was that these two forms were hard to be modeled. Moreover,
he emphasized that " disperse effect" was the most difficult
part for imitating. This opinion was used in the appraisal of ceramics
which could be reviewed in Collections (P94, 4th edition, 2003). I
once bought a vase in underglaze red of Hongwu period, Ming dynasty,
to my surprise, the body red and "disperse effect" were
well imitated. Accordingly, it is obvious that these elements could
not be viewed as reference for the discernment of ancient ceramics.
Picture: Fire stone in
red at the bottom of the modeled product
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