Feat of Clay

By fish

Christie’s Auction of Ceramics in Hong Kong, by Uma Nair

Artifacts redolent of myth, mystery and majesty. Christie’s Auction of Ceramics at Hong Kong said everything about the power of perfection to the tender process of achieving the subliminal essence in the firing of age old techniques that seeked to capture the infinite in tenuous dictums of technical virtuosity.

To celebrate 20 years of their presence in Hong Kong Christie’s brought forth a collection of ceramic ware that exemplified history and embraced nostalgia. From the word go it was all eyes on the Early Ming under glaze Copper Red Vase a great masterpiece of Hongwu porcelain. Every aspect of its manufacture has been successful,’ says Rosemary Scott senior academic consultant at Christie’s Asian departments, from being thrown on the wheel, the choice and execution of its decoration ,the application of its glaze, to its final firing’,

Finally after much speculation and feverish bidding this Ming Vase went down to the hammer for an astounding HK$78,520,000, US$10,207,600.

For its pedigree and its persona this rare Yuhuchunping , Hongwu Period (1368-1398) piece was sold to Mr. Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts who has announced that he will be donating this exceptional piece to a museum in Macau. ` In view of the importance of this piece, we are particularly thrilled that it will be returning to China where it can be enjoyed and appreciated by the maximum number of students and art lovers’ said Christie’s.. The vase realized HK$78,520,000, a world record price for Ming porcelain.

The buyer, Mr. Steve Wynn (left), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wynn Resorts (Macau), and Mr. Edward Dolman (right), Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s International with the early Ming underglaze copper-red vase which realized an astonishing HK$78,520,000 in The Imperial Sale held at Christie’s Hong Kong today (30 May), setting a world auction record for any Ming porcelain.

What makes this piece a gem of purest ray serene? The use of copper to produce red on high fired ceramics has from its first appearance in the Tang dynasty provided a formidable challenge to the potter. The process of producing the desired colour is so sensitive that great care has to be taken with the composition of the base glaze, the percentage of copper, the temperature and degree of reduction in the firing and the placement of vessels within the kiln. In fact research shows that the copper red decoration was discovered empirically or by accident. This vase is undoubtedly is one of the finest examples of under glaze porcelain to have been made during the Hongwu reign.`It is remarkable that it has fired so perfectly and even more remarkable that it has survived in excellent condition to the present day,’ says Scott.

Collectors in Hong Kong seemed to be excited to hear the news of the new world record set by the Ming ware and soon they sat and went back in time talking of the yesteryear. How Hong Kong’s impending change from British to Chinese Communist rule had led to an exodus of Chinese art, with residents sending their collections overseas out of fear that China may prevent the export of items deemed to be cultural patrimony.
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The Armenian Art Center

By fish

Almost four decades after David Ohannissian of Kutahya stopped ceramic making in Jerusalem, the Armenian Art Center was established by the Sandrouni brothers in 1983.

       The years following the establishment of this institution and the Sandrouni ceramic workshop, were fruitful years of intensive research and study in the works of David Ohannissian, the father of the original Armenian ceramics of Jerusalem.  Our dedicated work, whether in research of traditional methods and techniques or observing the Ohannissian masterpieces that decorate historic buildings in Jerusalem, set the course and the goals of the Sandrouni workshop.  During the many years of labor of love, we stayed the course and continue to achieve our goals in restoring the uncompromised and high standards of originality to the Armenian ceramic tradition of Jerusalem.

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The story of Armenian ceramics

By fish

The story of Armenian ceramics would have been told so differently had it not been for the “Pro-Jerusalem Society”. This committee, founded by Sir Ronald Storrs, the first military governor and his advisor Charles Robert Ashbee, undertook the restoration and preservation of Jerusalem’s historic sites during the British mandate. For the restoration of the centuries old glazed tiles decorating the Dome of the Rock, the “Society” located David Ohannessian of Kutahya, a master ceramist whose works enhanced the splendour of palaces in Turkey, Syria and Egypt, and were much in demand in Europe and the Middle East. David Ohannessian established Jerusalem’s first Armenian ceramic workshop in 1919. The workshop never accomplished the restoration project of the Dome of the Rock tiles. However, it was not long before it started catering for Jerusalem’s big international as well as the elite of its local communities. In spite of its short lived production, (1919-1948), the grace and beauty of Ohannessian’s tiles changed the face of the city by decorating its mansions, institutions and public places, and influenced Jerusalem’s arts and crafts till this present day and time.

Ancient Chinese Art

By fish

          Perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century was made accidentally in 1974 when farmers digging a well in central China unearthed the first figure in what turned out to be a terra-cotta army near the ancient tomb of Chinas first emperor Qin Shihuang. As excavated today, the site is bigger than a football field and is populated by some seven thousand life-sized warriors, six hundred horses, more than one hundred chariots, and tens of thousands of bronze weapons. Eleven of these figures form the set piece in an exhibition of 115 works of art on view at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California until October 18.

         The exhibition was organized by the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio, where it was earlier on view. It is entitled Eternal China: Splendors from the First Dynasties and treats the pre-Qin period (383-221 B.C.), the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.), Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 9), Xin era (A.D. 9-23), and Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25-220). The objects in the exhibition were discovered in Shaanxi Province, where the Qin and Han rulers established their capitals. Many were excavated during the past twenty years and are exhibited and discussed in the catalogue in the archaeological context in which they were found. Aside from the terra-cotta soldiers, the exhibition includes stone and bronze sculptures and objects of gold, jade, and earthenware.
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Ancient Egyptian Faience

By fish

Unlike the tin-glazed earthenware of the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, Egyptian faience is not clay but a ceramic consisting almost entirely of quartz, the silica material of which glass is made. Egypt produced small-scale masterpieces of faience from about 3500 B.C. until the first century A.D. (see Pls. I, Ia, VII). Some two hundred of these works of art are the subject of the first major exhibition devoted to this medium. The details are given in the note at the end of this article.

The immediate charm of Egyptian faience is the glaze, often blue-green - the result of adding ground copper as the colorant to the ground quartz (sand, quartz pebbles, or flint). To this were added an alkali, a little lime, and a little water to create what ceramists today call Egyptian paste. The copper-based blues and greens and the ceramic forms and decoration often recall life in the marshes and along banks of the Nile, which swelled each year with the river’s flood until the building of the Aswan High Dam in 1970.

The palette of faience expanded over the millennia to include carnelian reds, lemon yellows, and rich cobalt blues and violets - each color with its own symbolic meaning. These glazes could be created by dipping the object in a slurry or coating it with a powdered glaze before firing. Most often the color resulted from efflorescence or self-glazing in which the colorant was mixed with the quartz body and became part of it. While drying, the salts migrated to the surface, taking the colorant with them. The object entered the kiln almost colorless, with a matte finish. On firing the piece was glazed automatically. It emerged in dazzling color, charged with light (see Pl. II). The dramatic transformation was probably responsible for the central role of faience in Egyptian ceramic art for more than three thousand years.

Faience objects are generally small, like the funerary figurine and charming hippo shown in Plates II and III. But a few unusually large works survive, such as a six-foot high scepter in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which is a tantalizing reminder of the large artifacts, now lost, that were created for Egypt’s monuments.
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Barium in Ceramics

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Edouard Bastarache discusses the dangers of barium in ceramics.

Compounds:

The main water soluble salts are the:
- acetate,
- chloride,
- hydroxide,
- oxide,
- nitrate.

The main insoluble salts are the:
- arsenate,
- carbonate,
- chromate,
- fluoride,
- oxalate,
- sulphate.

Uses:

- Rodenticide, insecticide, fungicide
- Manufacture of glass
- Manufacture of ceramics
- Vulcanization of synthetic rubber
- Production of pigments
- Manufacture of electronic components
- Manufacture of detergents for lubricating oils
- Purification of industrial waters
- Industry of painting
- Industry of paper
- In pottery
- Coating of welding electrodes
- Surface treatment in the metallurgical industry
- Barium sulphide is used in the production of certain types of fluorescent tubes
- Barium sulphate is used in medical radiology and in the manufacture of white pigments (litophone)
- Etc.

Exposure:

1 - Environmental:

Barium naturally occurs at low concentrations in ambient air, usually < 0.05 µg/m3, but is found at relatively high concentrations in soils , nearly 500 mg/kg. In fresh surface water, concentrations may vary from < 5 to 15,000 µg/L. and it contributes to water hardness. Foodstuffs provide also barium and the daily human intake has been estimated to be in the order of 1 mg.

2 - Industrial:

The pulmonary route of entry is the most significant in the industrial setting (see exposure limit recommendations).

Routes of entry:

Soluble barium salts are well absorbed by pulmonary and oral routes of entry.
Insoluble salts inhaled and deposited are eliminated only slowly and can accumulate in the lungs as a result of long - term exposure. Barium compounds are not reputed to penetrate by skin unless the cutaneous barrier is broken as in chemical burns; a case has been described in the relevant medical literature which had been caused by barium chloride in fusion.

Toxicity:

1 - Solubility:

The toxicity of barium salts is related largely to their solubility, which conditions their digestive absorption and bioavailability. Water and acid soluble salts are very toxic when ingested.

The carbonate BaCO3 is insoluble in water at neutral pH, it becomes soluble in acid environments, which is not without consequence in vivo because of the gastric pH. There would be under this condition, production of barium chloride BaCl2 from the solubilized carbonate; barium chloride is one the most toxic of soluble barium salts.

2 - Metabolism:

The biological half - life of barium varies between 2 and 20 hours. Absorbed barium is mainly deposited in bones, which accounts for 93% of the body burden in man. It is mainly excreted in feces and a small part (1 to 10%) in urine.
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China ceramic floor tiles and ceramic wall tiles from Guangzhou Foshan

By fish

We are a Guangzhou and Foshan City area specialized ceramic tiles adviser and direct export company. We choose and export with additional services a complete range of tiles from our selected factories network.May we introduce us with some reasons why we enjoy the confidence of worldwide customers:

Over 3000 producers of ceramic tiles are located in Foshan area and it is quite arduous for a foreign buyer, even if he comes to China, to know which ones are the best to choose.

There is not always an English speaking person in the sale department.

Some factories manufacture only a very few number of models.

Some customers need to visit the factory but how to be sure the models they see in the showroom are actually produced by the factory.

How to be sure the chosen tiles models will be the delivered ones with the same production batch color nuance in the cartons

How will be the deliveries accordance for orders sent from the buyer overseas office

How long the importer can expect to get the same contact in the export department

How to mix tiles from several factories and manage a reliable shipping

How to complete the ceramic tiles containers with other Chinese products than tiles

China Geoffering customers services and advantages

An up-to-date Web catalogue to know exactly our products range from overseas
A wide range of quality ceramic tiles; most of products standard are over European requirements.
A range of tiles suitable for customers home market needs
Possibility to supply at one or 2 containers order as well at large one in a reasonable time all year long.
Attractive prices because Geoffering is an important buyer, in position to negotiate directly in Chinese all year long the best rates and to know once any special opportunity.
Possibility for our customers to get tiles from several producers with a single interlocutor to deal with and one shipping.
A business contact who can be reached easily in English by email, fax and phone and who has the ability to decide.
An actual personalized service with a personalized order control and a personalized inspection of any loading in the factories.
We load for each delivery different series of tile samples from our Website or according to customer’s requirement
Exclusive opportunity to complete the tiles containers with many other Chinese products to reduce the shipping cost impact
We supply tiles as well towards Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa; feel free to ask for some references.

We welcome all our present partners and our new customers in this field to visit our products pages and send enquiries which will be follow up once personally by our export manager.
Geoffering China ceramic tiles Web catalogue
All sizes below are in cm

Ditte Fischer ,Ceramic Design,Stylish and exclusive ceramics

By Porcelain

Stylish and exclusive ceramics

Ditte Fischer Keramisk Design is 100% Danish. Ditte Fischer graduated from Danmarks Designskole in 1995 and has since then designed and produced high quality ceramics at her workshop in Copenhagen. All of Ditte Fischer’s products are manufactured in Denmark. It is Danish design – made in Denmark.

All products from Ditte Fischer Keramisk Design are moulded in china and are handmade. Every single detail has been thoroughly considered and all work processes are carried out with precision and dedication. It is good craftsmanship with a stylish finish and a very high degree of exquisiteness. The silky surface in matt, dyed china provides the products with a beautiful and very lush materiality – one of the special characteristics of Ditte Fischer’s ceramic design.

Ditte Fischer Keramisk Design is clean curves without any unnecessary trim. The design is striking and powerful with soft curves and sharp edges. The base colours are black and white supplemented with a wide range of contemporary colours – from a delicate ice blue, a raw army green to a fresh orange. Colours, which add to the classic forms, and create a trendy twist.
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Ceramics with Attitude -Kevin Murray

By fish

Ceramics with Attitude -

Kevin Murray

“Chat ‘n’ chuck” seems the epitome of the throwaway mentality The disposable mobile phone means that consumers can now purchase a device for making calls from a vending machine, along with a candy bar and crisps. Like phone cards, the paper mobiles come with a limited number of calls; once these are made, the device is only good for the bin. The castaway phone is one more contribution to the growing mountain of landfill, along with disposable cameras, clothes, cutlery and cups. While such items offer convenience, the concern is that they encourage an irresponsible attitude to the rest of the world. If disposable products, why not throwaway friendships or a disposable environment? Ceramics seems the antithesis of this reckless mentality. While more food outlets are replacing metal and clay with plastic implements, potters maintain a craft culture of environmental responsibility, longevity, perseverance and the slow accretion of mastery. In an age of instant gratification, their commitment seems heroic. Yet without some means of exchange with the world of crass consumerism, ceramics is in danger of becoming isolated and self-regarding.

In Australia, there are signs that clay is losing its appeal for a younger generation. Ceramics departments are closing in teaching institutions throughout the country. The common understanding is that younger students are reluctant to commit themselves to the intensive study required to master ceramics. Why spend three years to learn just one art form when you can pick up PhotoShop in less than a week? The pottery wheels lie idle as students flock to the computer labs. Yet far from signifying the death of ceramics, this exodus might create the conditions for its re-birth.
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Robert Winokur–Houses, Wedges and Figures

By fish