Sunday, May 04, 2008

Celadonia


Does everyone know where the name celadon comes from? My two favourite versions [i.e. nobody knows for sure] are:
1] the name of a shepherd in d'Urfe's 1627 play,L'astree,who seems to have dressed in pale green ribbons [one hopes not only]
2] A corruption of Salah al-Din [a.k.a. Saladin,] the Muslim ruler of Egypt who sent some celadon pieces to Syria in 1171 before capturing Jerusalem,which led to the third crusade under Richard 1,in whose absence there were widespread massacres of Jews in England,leading up to their expulsion in 1290. Saladin offered his personal physician to the ailing King Richard- and guess who that renowned healer was? Yup,you got it- the Rambam [Maimonides]. Small world,eh?
In Hebrew,with a bit of imagination,celadon could be taken to mean "the Shadow of God",which seems appropriate for the coolest of glazes.
Here's my current recipe [for you,Kate];

Potash Feldspar 967
Quartz 440
Whiting 255
China clay 180
Barium Carbonate 150
Ochre 5
Red iron oxide 15

Glaze THICK on porcelain [it's not runny],fire to cone 9 reduction,let me know what happens. The recipe is untidy [doesn't add up to 100] because it's a combination of 2 celadon glazes.
"Celadonia",a word I thought I might have made up,is a girl's name,and means "swallow" [as in the bird]. If I'd been blessed with daughters....

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