WU Juan, WANG Yuxu, WU Junming, ZHANG Maolin, LI Qijiang

(Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen 333403, Jiangxi, China)

Abstract: In the firing process, the kiln atmosphere has important influence on ceramic color and quality. Literature review and induction analysis reveal that the simple classification of kiln atmosphere as oxidizing or reducing is difficult to accurately interpret its influence on the quality of ceramics. This paper proposes a new concept of "multiple atmosphere" in the firing process and examines its effect on ceramic coloration through experiments in which the influence of this atmosphere produced in gas- and wood-fired kilns under the same or much similar firing system on the most sensitive and the most widely used Fe and Cu glazes are studied.

Key words: ceramics; kiln atmosphere; multiple atmosphere; coloration