Inside the making

Hands, tools, material and heat

Eight workshop views of clay, turning tools, painted line, liquid glaze and the kiln.

Hands shaping a porcelain form at the wheel
Shaping a porcelain form at the wheel

Studio archive · Jingdezhen

The object begins at human scale.

A wheel turns beneath the hands. Tools meet the wall, the brush follows the curve and the kiln changes what came before.

Ask about the making of a particular work.

Watch the painted line at working distance

Eight views from the workshop

Move through the actions, material and heat.

Read each frame for the action in front of you, then return to the finished object with a closer eye.

Ask about a specific piece
Pale blocks of clay being cut by hand on a workshop table
01Preparing clay
Hands shaping a porcelain form at the wheel
02Shaping the form
A porcelain form being refined with a hand tool
03Refining the wall
Undecorated porcelain forms arranged on workshop shelves
04White forms
A fine brush drawing decoration across a porcelain surface
05Drawing the line
Liquid glaze being poured into a working container
06Preparing glaze
Porcelain forms arranged on shelves inside an open kiln
07At the kiln
A gloved hand holding a finished blue-and-white porcelain vase
08The finished surface

From the archive

Clay and kiln, held in the printed page.

Two leaves from Jingdezhen Taolu show clay preparation and kiln loading. Read them beside separately labelled photographs from a present-day Jingdezhen workshop, then return to the object with a closer eye.

Read the archive note

Historical printed leaf

Printed spread from Jingdezhen Taolu with vertical text and figures working around circular basins
Jingdezhen Taolu, PDF page 14 · Preparing clay

Present-day workshop

Pale blocks of clay being cut by hand on a workshop table
Clay at working distance in Jingdezhen

Then look at the object

Ethereal Wings · CD-035

Move around the cup, from its full profile to the underside, decoration, mark and presentation.

Open the work
01

Silhouette

See the balance between the cup, handle and foot.

02

Decoration

Follow the composition as it moves across the curved surface.

03

Object details

Move closer to the underside, mark and presentation.