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Clay & Glaze Types

Ceramics books use numerous approaches to categorizing glazes, from color (white, black, etc.) to predominant coloring oxide (iron, cobalt, etc.) to firing temperature.

One must be careful when categorizing recipes. If categories are too specific it becomes more difficult to search, while very broad categories become less meaningful.

Glazy categorizes clay bodies by type and then usage, for instance: Porcelain - Slipcasting

For glazes, Glazy originally adopted the format of John Britt’s The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes, Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 . The categories in this book are based on a combination of glaze color, coloring oxide, surface and firing type.

Top-level Types

Clay Body Types

Slips & Engobe Types

  • Slip : Liquid clay used for decoration or bonding clay pieces together.
  • Engobe : A slip that is layered on ware, usually colored & vitreous after firing. Similar to a mix of glaze and slip.
  • Terra Sigillata : A refined slip made of very fine particles used to create a soft, satin surface finish.

Overglazes 

Overglaze enamels are applied on top of a previously fired and glazed surface, then fired again at a relatively low temperature. Because these decorations fuse at lower temperatures, around 1300-1500°F (700-800°C), a broader range of vibrant colors and metallic effects is possible, including gold or luster treatments. Overglaze techniques are common in fine porcelains and historically were used to add intricate detail and polychrome designs that might not survive a hotter firing.

Examples of overglaze decoration

Underglazes 

Underglaze decoration is applied to bisqued or sometimes unfired clay, before the final glaze coat. When covered with a transparent or translucent glaze, the colors appear beneath a glassy layer, hence the name. A famous example is blue and white porcelain that uses cobalt oxide for the blue pattern. Underglazes are often formulated to stay in place and not blur too much under a glaze, particularly when the firing schedule reaches relatively high temperatures. Light-colored clay bodies typically highlight underglaze decorations more sharply.

Examples of underglaze decoration

Glazes

Glazes  is Glazy’s top-level category for all glazes. Sometimes people don’t add a glaze sub-type to their recipe, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for in a sub-type, you can try searching this top-level category.

Glaze Sub-Types

Clear 

Transparent glaze, often used to highlight underlying clay or decoration.

Clear Glaze Examples

Clear glazes are a type of “Base Glaze”. They don’t have any colorants or opacifiers. They are usually Glossy, but can also have a Satin finish.

Clear glazes are located in the middle “Bright” region of the Stull Chart. When too much Alumina or Silica is added to a Clear glaze, then it often changes to a Matte Glaze.

Clear Glazes plotted on the Stull Chart

In the Silica:Alumina Stull Chart above, you can see that most Clear glazes fall within the middle “Bright” region.

White, Off-White 

Glazes with varying shades of white. Usually don’t contain additives like colorants, but may include opacifiers like Tin & Zircopax.

White Glaze

Iron 

Glazes rich in iron oxide, producing colors ranging from blue, green, yellow, amber, brown, and black.

Iron: Celadon 

Pale, translucent green glaze, traditionally used in Chinese ceramics.

Wikipedia: Celadon 

Iron: Celadon: Blue 

Especially high-purity celadons with low titania and iron that have a blue tint.

Blue Celadon Glaze Typical blue celadon glaze.

Ancient Ru-type Chinese celadon. Ancient Ru-type Chinese celadon.

Iron: Celadon: Green 

Green celadons typically include more iron oxide (about 1-2%) than blue celadons, and may contain color modifiers or impurities like titania.

Green Celadon Glaze Typical green celadon glaze. 

Ancient Chinese Yaozhou kiln celadon. Ancient Chinese Yaozhou kiln celadon.

Iron: Celadon: Yellow 

Yellow-tinted celadons produced by particular glaze chemistries or firing in oxidation atmosphere.

David Leach Yellow Celadon David Leach Yellow Celadon 

Oxidation yellow celadon Oxidation yellow celadon 

Iron: Celadon: Chun/Jun 

A type of traditonal Chinese high-fire blue glaze, often with opalescent quality.

Jun/Chun Celadon Glaze Wikipedia: Jun ware 

Nigel Wood Jun Nigel Wood Jun 

Iron: Amber 

A warm, golden-brown glaze. Often has about 4% iron oxide.

Amber Glaze

Iron: Tenmoku 

Dark brown to black glaze, often with a glossy finish. Contains high iron amounts of around 8%.

Tenmoku Glaze Jian tea bowl with “hare’s fur” glaze, southern Song dynasty, 12th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Wikipedia: Jian ware 

Wikipedia: Tenmoku 

Tenmoku Glaze Song Dynasty Inspired Tianmu/Tenmoku Glaze 

Iron: Tenmoku: Tea Dust 

Traditional Chinese glaze with speckled crystals.

Tea Dust Glaze Chinese Tea Dust glazed vase, via Sotheby’s

Tea Dust Glaze Various shades of teadust glazes on Chinese antiques.

Tea Dust Glaze Coleman Tea Dust Black 

Iron: Tenmoku: Hare’s Fur 

Traditional Chinese glaze with streaked effect, resembling a hare’s fur.

Hares fur Glaze View of the “hare’s fur” glazing effect on a Jian bowl Wikipedia: Jian ware 

Iron: Tenmoku: Kaki, Tomato Red 

Iron-saturate glazes with large amounts of iron (often over 10%) that develop a red, crystalline surface. There’s a long history of iron-saturate glazes running from Chinese Song Dynasty through modern Japanese pottery.

Iron Kaki Tomato Red Glaze Persimmon-Glazed Bowl, Northern Song Dynasty  via Sotheby’s.

Iron Kaki Tomato Red Glaze Cylindrical stoneware vase by Hamada Shoji  via Sotheby’s.

Iron Kaki Tomato Red Glaze Kaki Biaxial D4 

Iron: Tenmoku: Oil Spot 

Traditional Chinese iron glaze with dark background and lighter “spots” that resemble oil spots.

Jian ware Oil-spot Glaze Wikipedia: Jian ware 

Oil-spot Glaze John’s Oil Spot #3 , by John Britt

Iron: Slip-Based 

Glazes formulated with high iron content clays like Albany, Alberta, and Redart.

Slip-based Iron Glaze Andies Handful of Earth , image by Hette Hillsdon.

Shino 

Traditional Japanese high-feldspar/high-alkali, opaque, fatty glaze.

Shino Glaze

Shino ware tea bowl furisode, Azuchi-Momoyama to Edo period, 16th-17th century Wikipedia: Shino ware 

Shino: Traditional 

Glazes formulated with historical or classic techniques and materials.

Shino: Carbon Trap 

A Shino that traps carbon during firing, creating various surface effects & colors.

High-alumina Shino Glaze Gustin Shino  via John Britt.

Shino: High-Alumina 

High-alumina Shinos.

High-alumina Shino Glaze Mino Shino  via John Britt

Shino: White 

White Shinos.

Red 

Red-colored glazes developed via a number of mechanisms.

Red: Copper 

Glazes that obtain their red color through the effect of copper.

Red: Copper: Oxblood 

Sub-type of traditional Chinese copper-red glaze.

Oxblood Glaze Wikipedia: Sang de boeuf glaze 

Oxblood Glaze Pete’s Red  via Sid Henderson

Red: Copper: Flambe 

Sub-type of traditional Chinese copper-red glaze.

Flambe Glaze Flambe-glazed Three-handled Vase, Qianlong  via Christie’s

Red: Copper: Peach Bloom 

Sub-type of traditional Chinese copper-red glaze.

Peachbloom Glaze Qing Dynasty Water pot 

Red: Pink 

Pink glazes are often created using small amounts of Chrome or by using stains.

Pink Glaze 20ish x5 Pink  via Andy Taylor.

Red: Stain 

Glazes using commercial ceramic stains for red color.

Red stain

Green 

Green glazes developed via a number of mechanisms.

Green: Copper 

Green: Oribe 

Green is the typical colour of Oribe ware, along with white. The original Chinese green was a smooth, even colour like celadon. Oribe, however, tried to use different shades of more natural green, in order to reflect green mountains or riverside scenes. For the brilliant green color, wares are fired using oxidation at 1220 degrees Celsius.

Wikipedia: Oribe ware 

oribe glaze An Oribe Bottle  via Christie’s.

Green: Chrome 

Green glazes can be obtained with small amounts of chrome (1% or less).

Green chrome glaze Rivulet Green  via Matt Kelleher

Green: Titanium 

Titania often acts as a color modifier, turning celadons with iron green, working with copper for beautiful greens, even turning cobalt a shade of green.

Green titanium glaze Vert CoTi  via Jean-Pierre Prieto showing cobalt and titania producing green.

Green titanium glaze Чунь №1  via Alexandra Shcherbakova showing copper and titania greens.

Green: Nickel 

Green: Stain 

Turquoise 

Blue 

Blue: Cobalt 

Cobalt can be added in small increments of 0.1% to 1% to obtain blue glazes.

Cobalt Line Blend Line blend adding Cobalt Oxide

Blue: Rutile 

Either alone or in combination with cobalt, rutile can produce the “floating blue” effect.

Rutile blues Bleu de rutile  via Jean-Pierre Prieto showing rutile producing a floating blue.

Rutile blues Floating Blue  via Joe Thompson combining rutile with cobalt.

Blue: Barium 

In combination with cobalt, barium can produce vivid, intense blues.

Barium Blue Intense Blue  via erik ragni

Blue: Strontium 

Stontium Blue Strontium Blue  via chance taylor

Blue: Nickel 

Nickel Blue Lively Lavender  via Alexander Kuttel using nickel with cobalt

Nickel Blue Nickel blue strontium matte  via Jeannine Vrins using only nickel

Blue: Stain 

Various blue stains can be added to a base glaze to produce blue.

Blue Stain

Purple 

Purple: Magnesium 

A range of colors from lavendar to purple can be produced when using cobalt in magnesium-fluxed glazes.

Magnesium Purple Glaze No Zinc No Pink  via david tsabar

Magnesium Purple Glaze WPG19 Emily’s Purple  via whitecourt.potters

Purple: Nickel 

Nickel Purple Glaze Nickel Purple  via TSUMAGI NITTOOOH

Purple: Manganese 

A range of colors from aubergine to purple can be obtained by using manganese, or manganese with cobalt.

Manganese Purple Glaze Aubergine  via Mine Aytekin

Manganese Purple Glaze Shadow  via Tamas Ferencz

Matte 

There are a few ways to get matte glazes, but one must be careful not to assume a glaze is truly matte just because of its surface. Underfired glazes can often appear matte, but they may have issues and be unsuitable for functional use.

Matte Glaze

Silky Matte  via Michael Newsome

Matte: Magnesium Matte 

Magnesium Matte Glaze Coleman Magnesia Glaze for Porcelain 

Black 

Black: Slip-Based 

Black: Glossy 

Glossy Black Glaze Coleman Jet Black Shiny with Metallic Spots 

Black: Satin 

Yellow 

Yellow: Iron 

Iron in amounts of around 1-4% can result in some beautiful yellows.

Yellow Iron Glaze OU Yellow Salt  via IU Southeast Ceramics, one of many variations of this recipe

Yellow Iron Glaze Iron Yellow  via Benjamin Wren

Yellow: Barium 

Yellow Barium Glaze Yella  via Alexander Kuttel

Yellow: Manganese 

Yellow: Stain 

Yellow: Nickel 

Crystalline 

Glazes that develop visible crystals during cooling.

Crystalline: Micro 

This category describes glazes that develop networks of small crystals.

Micro-Crystalline Glaze Fabius Blue  via Clara Giorello

Crystalline: Aventurine 

Aventurine Crystalline Glaze John’s Goldstone Zinc  via Clara Giorello

Crystalline: Manganese 

Crystalline Manganese Glaze Pinnell Manganese (EU)  via Lauge Brimgiest

Crystalline: Macro 

Glazes that develop large, macro, crystals.

Macro-Crystalline Glaze Norkin White (+Colbalt +Copper +Titanium)  via Shannon Yeung

Single-Fire 

Glazes applied to greenware, formulated to be fired in a single step.

Wood 

Glazes specifically developed for wood firing, often displaying atmospheric surface effects.

Salt & Soda 

Raku 

Special glazes used in the low-temperature Raku firing process.

Raku Glaze

Raku B  via Himmelsholm

Ash 

Glazes containing or imitating wood ash, often with earthy qualities, often traditional.

Wikipedia: Ash Glaze 

Ash Glaze

Frasca-Aerni Basic Ash 

Ash: Nuka 

Traditional Japanese rice-husk ash glaze.

This recipe is from a comment by John Baymore in Ceramic Arts Daily:

“Nuka” is the Japanese word for the husk (or hull) of the rice kernel. It is a by-product of the milling of white rice. The Japanese version is from a short grain rice.

Potter parlance (in Japanese) uses this term for glazes based upon rice HUSK ash (not rice straw ash… different chemical composition). The agricultural waste is piled in the fields and is then burned. The piles smolder more than burn, and a good ash for glaze use is actually dark grey to black. You don’t want it to burn cleanly. This color comes from carbon residue in the ash. SO the ash has a high L.O.I. The chemical composition of rice husk ash (after L.O.I.) is almost colloidally fine silica. (TJR I’d call it more of a semi-gloss.)

Nuka glazes are high calcium fluxed glazes (from the washed wood ash) what use the rice husk ash for a lot of the silica content, and bringing in the silica in a very fine particle size. They fire a bluish white and are slightly milky opaque where thicker due to the unmelted silica particles.

Nuka ash Glaze Toms Nuka 3  via Tom Demeranville

Ash: Synthetic/Fake 

Glazes that use modern glaze materials to emulate the chemistry of ashes.

Fake ash Glaze Fake Ash 1 ^6  via Will Steinhoff

Ash: Slip-Based 

Slip ash Glaze Bruce’s Yellow Ash  via John Britt

Majolica 

Traditional opaque tin glaze, often used as a ground for overglaze decoration.

Wikipedia: Majolica  Wikipedia: Maiolica 

majolica dish Polychrome majolica dish with paintings of a fish, flowers, and fruit. Lodi, Italy, 1751. Wikipedia: Maiolica 

majolica dish San Diego State U Majolica (modified)  via David Sackett.

Bristol 

A glaze that relies on the fluxing action of Zinc Oxide for fully melting, even at lower temperatures without the need for boron.

Bristol Glaze Bristol glaze base  via Eric P.

Specialty 

Specialty: Crackle 

Crackle Glaze Snowflake Crackle #8  via Clara Giorello

Specialty: Crawling 

Glazes that pull away from the clay body during firing, creating a crawling effect.

Crawling Glaze Brain Coral Crawl / Lichen Crawl  via Jake Glaze

Specialty: Gloop 

A glaze that sits between glaze and clay, with drips.

Gloop Glaze Gloop Biaxial with B2O3 0.3 

Specialty: Crater 

Glazes that form craters or pits on the surface.

Crater Glaze Akiko’s crater glaze  via kenneth ibbett

Specialty: Metallic 

Glazes with metallic sheen, often through the use of high amounts of colorants/additives like manganese.

Metallic Glaze Gold  via Kim Ulrick

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