What is Celadon?
Celadon pottery, with its characteristic clear jade color and elegant curves, originated in Korea hundreds of years ago. The glazing process was perfected through precisely mixed clay, wood ash glaze, and double firing in a specially sealed kiln. The valuable celadon pottery of ancient Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand are preserved in many museums and cultural centers. All earthenware begins as wet, molded clay that can be fired with or without glaze. Yet celadon pottery bakes twice in a kiln to give it that unique color and sheen. Early potters found that special river clay kept its shape and also supported glaze. First they formed the shape of the vase, bowl or box. Then the plain object was fired in a large kiln at 1400° F (750° C). After the piece hardened, it was removed and coated with a glaze rich in calcium carbonate. Returning to the kiln for a second firing at 2400° F (1300° C), the muddy glaze fired to a gorgeous sage green. Ceramicists had to be very careful about the temp
Celadon is the best-known of the three main Thai ceramic styles. Its most celebrated feature is the cracked-glaze finish on its surface, which is caused by the difference in temperature between the clay and the glaze as the piece cools after firing. The word celadon comes from the Sanskrit words sila and dhara, meaning green and stone respectively. Although traditional celadon is – as its name suggests – a shade of green, thats not to say that all ceramics made using the same process are green. In fact, celadons can be white, blue, grey or yellow depending on how thickly the glaze is applied and what kind of clay it is being applied to. In all cases, the colour comes from iron oxide which is found either in the glaze or clay mixture. It came to prominence in the West in France, Europe in the 17th century and has retained its popularity ever since.
