MA Yanying ¹, CHEN Chao ², LI He ¹, KANG Baoqiang ¹

(1. Department of Conservation Science, the Palace Museum, Beijing 100009, China; 2. Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China)

Abstract: Energy dispersion X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (ED-XRF) was used to analyze the composition and content of the body and glaze of white porcelain samples unearthed from Lieshan kiln in Huaibei area, Anhui province, in order to study the porcelain techniques of Lieshan kiln. The origin of Lieshan kiln porcelain techniques was also discussed by comparing with white porcelains produced in the same period from Ding and Guantai kilns in Hebei Province. Firstly, composition and content of the white porcelain body in Lieshan kiln in Song-Yuan period are consistent with the characteristics of high aluminum content in the porcelain body from northern China. Lieshan porcelain also has a layer of engobe. Secondly, the content of K₂O is increased in the glaze of the white porcelain from Lieshan kiln, while that of CaO is decreased, which is in line with the law of glazing technology. Thirdly, by comparison, it is found that there are certain differences in raw materials between the porcelains from the Lieshan kiln and Ding and Guantai kilns, which is inevitable due to the use of their respective local materials. Fourthly, the negative correlation between Ca and Sr in the white porcelain glazes of the three kilns indicates that their porcelain techniques were changed synchronously. In other words, there could be technical exchanges among them. Finally, the content of CaO in the glaze from Lieshan kiln was higher than that in those from Ding and Guantai kilns in the same period, suggesting that the technique evolution pace of Lieshan kiln was relatively slower than that of Ding and Guantai kilns.
Key words: Lieshan kiln; white porcelain; Ding kiln; Guantai kiln; porcelain techniques