Firing Enamelled Ware in Muffle Kiln
1780
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1780
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Firing Enamelled Ware in Muffle Kiln is a 1780 paint by Unknown, a Rococo painting work, depicting Jingdezhen Kiln, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
The painting shows potters firing enamelled ware in a muffle kiln. This scene is interesting because it's part of a set of 24 paintings about the porcelain industry in China. Europe couldn't make true porcelain before the 18th century, so these paintings were made to show Europeans how it was done. To learn more about this kind of art, look up the technique of sfumato.
This rectangular watercolor painting, rendered in muted tones, depicts workers transporting ceramic pieces into a structure containing a muffle kiln for firing. It is one of a set of 24 works illustrating different stages of the porcelain industry in China. The series was likely created to satisfy European curiosity about Chinese porcelain production methods before Europe could replicate the material.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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