Available online
Description
The structure of the programme is built round a dialogue between Margaret Medley, the Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of ...London), and Henry Hodges, Senior Lecturer in Conservation at the Institute of Archaeology. They cover the early history of stoneware in China, the discovery of the secret of porcelain, and the attempts in Europe to imitate it, using many precious examples from the Foundation's collections and from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The availability of raw materials and their manufacture into finished, glazed and decorated porcelain is compared on film with the equivalent processes in today's Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory in Denmark.
The structure of the programme is built round a dialogue between Margaret Medley, the Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of ...London), and Henry Hodges, Senior Lecturer in Conservation at the Institute of Archaeology. They cover the early history of stoneware in China, the discovery of the secret of porcelain, and the attempts in Europe to imitate it, using many precious examples from the Foundation's collections and from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The availability of raw materials and their manufacture into finished, glazed and decorated porcelain is compared on film with the equivalent processes in today's Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory in Denmark.
| Module code and title: | TS251, An introduction to materials |
|---|---|
| Item code: | TS251; 16 |
| First transmission date: | 22-09-1973 |
| Published: | 1973 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:20 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Colin Robinson |
| Contributors: | Henry Hodges; Margaret Medley |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Chinese stoneware history; European imitations; Manufacture; Raw materials; Royal Copenhagen porcelain manufactory |
| Footage description: | Shots of an art auction: a piece of porcelain is sold for 210,000 guineas (chinese vase). Shots of several examples of porcelain. Commentary by Henry Hodges introduces the course unit. He gives a definition of porcelain. Hodges and Margaret Medley discuss early Chinese pottery before procelain. They examine a jug which is an example (8th century). They then look at and discuss the proto-porcelain produced in China before the secret of real porcelain was discovered. Hodges and Medley now look at and discuss early Chinese porcelain. Shots of China clay being quarried at a site in Cornwall. Commentary explains the process. Shots of clay being mixed with other ingredients at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory in Denmark. Shots of the mixture being prepared and purified, then dried. Hodges and Medley look at and discuss the moulding of decorative motifs on porcelain. Shots of the moulding process in action. Further examples of procelain pieces which were moulded. Shots of mechanical moulding of simple procelain pieces. Shots of moulded porcelain ware after first firing. The problem of the effect of high temperature firing on under-glaze colouring is discussed. Shots of porcelain being painted using cobalt blue only. The painting technique is described briefly. Shots of the glazing process for porcelain. Commentary explains. Hodges and Medley discuss the kilns used by the Chinese in their porcelain production. Picture of a Chinese down-draft kiln. Commentary explains how it was operated. Shots of a modern porcelain kiln. The firing process is described in the commentary. Shots of porcelain pieces being machined after firing. Hodges and Medley examine some pieces of Chinese pottery which went wrong during firing Shots of quality tests being conducted in the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory. Commentary explains Hodges and Medley look at examples of Middle Eastern pottery similar to porcelain. They discuss the techniques used and its spread to Europe. Examples of Guelf ware examined. Hodges and Medley examine and discuss examples of European proto-porcelain and porcelain. Porcelain imitations are examined and discussed. The technique of after-glaze painting is shown and explained. Some classic porcelain designs are shown. Commentary explains why these are copied over and over. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/71161 |
| Production number: | 00525_5042 |
| Videofinder number: | 1568 |
| Available to public: | no |
