Firing process and colouring mechanism of black glaze and brown glaze porcelains from the Yuan and Ming dynasties from the Qingliang Temple kiln in Baofeng, Henan, China

Abstract

Black glaze and brown glaze porcelains were an important part of ancient Chinese iron-based high temperature glazes. The excavation of black glaze and brown glaze porcelains from the Yuan and Ming dynasties at the Qingliang Temple kiln site in Baofeng, Henan, China, in 2014, enriched the firing history of this kiln site and history of Chinese ceramics. In this study, black glaze and brown glaze porcelain samples from the Qingliang Temple kiln site from the Yuan and Ming dynasties were selected and analysed via optical microscopy, laser Raman spectroscopy, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy combined with EDS and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence to determine their microscopic morphology, microzone composition, microstructure and chemical composition. Moreover, the main wavelength range of the brown glaze porcelain samples were measured by UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer systems. The main conclusions of this study are as follows. The brown glaze porcelain from the Yuan and Ming dynasties at the Qingliang Temple kiln site has two different colour layers, with the surface is brown and the bottom is black. The presence of a glass phase and α-Fe2O3 phase in the black glaze porcelain samples, and a rare ε-Fe2O3 phase in the brown glaze porcelain samples. The brown colour was a result of ε-Fe2O3 precipitation, whilst the black base layer also enhanced the brown-colouring effect. Different glaze formulations were used for brown glazed porcelain, some of which were similar to those used for black glaze porcelain and derived from the transformation of black glaze porcelain through different firing atmospheres and cooling rates. Although the formula of the brown glaze porcelain samples exhibited differences, the main wavelength difference was not large, was within the 645–682 nm range and belonged to the visible red region.