How did enamel firing blue develop in the Tang Dynasty?

After the Tang Dynasty, the enameling process developed in two directions. One is applied to jewelry, later became "silver blue enamel" based on the blue firing process.

The other direction of development is based on the copper, silver tire, gradually expanding to porcelain tires, the production process both the use of bronze technology, and the use of porcelain technology, but also combines the traditional painting and carving techniques, creating a blue-based style, and eventually formed the world-famous "cloisonné" enamel process.

From the point of view of the process of this horse, the Tang Dynasty enamel blue glaze process is relatively primitive, mainly reflected in two aspects:

One is the color glaze, although there is also a big blue, rhubarb, dark green, and reddish-red violet compound color, but the tightness is not enough, the surface of the air holes and open flakes.

The second is the process is different, the latter mature enameling process to go through the cleaning, drying, in the decoration on the dressing point of glaze, the body together into the furnace firing, grinding, polishing and other processes.

The process is very complicated, the first quartz, feldspar and other raw materials, adding soda ash, borax and other solvents, titanium oxide, antimony oxide, fluoride and other emulsions, and then add metal oxides and other coloring agents, after crushing, mixing, fusing, pouring into the water into the water cooled into the enamel paste.

Enamel paste will be coated on the surface of the metal products to fill, get the furnace baking, so that the color glaze by the sandy solid melted into liquid, after cooling to become solid with the body of the gorgeous color glaze. In order to make the color glaze and pinch the height of the same level, need to be repeated four or five times this color filling and sintering.

And from the physical to analyze, the Tang Dynasty enamel firing process is relatively simple, the process is only cleaning, drying, in the body directly on the point of fused enamel color glaze. Therefore, the enamel will appear in the filigree decoration within the dressing point is not complete, the phenomenon of unevenness of the glaze.

This shows that the enamel process in the Tang dynasty is still in the growth stage, it is not uniform compound color glaze, resulting in the same glaze color shades of different shades of color and chromaticity of the changes, but also appears to be richer glaze color, more natural, adding a primitive beauty. Therefore, this horse, has for people to study the development of enamel color glaze provides valuable physical information.