Painted Pottery

Painted pottery is a kind of crockery made by painting patterns on greenware surface with mineral materials and firing it in a kiln. It is an artwork prevailing in the middle and late Neolithic Age in China.

Large quantities of painted potteries were discovered in many cultural relics of the Neolithic Age, such as the famous cultural relics of Ho-mu-tu, Yang Shao, Ta-wen-kou and Hung-shan. Painted potteries made in different periods present different features.

Painted potteries made at early stage are featured by a reddish-brown broad band line painted along the external rim of the vessel's opening. Such primitive wizard-suggesting phenomenon is commonly seen in painted potteries made in early periods in many regions in China. In contrast, painted potteries made in middle and late periods are characterized by decorative patterns, rather than totem-related ones. At the same time, the purpose of painted potteries has converted from wizardry to appreciation.

Painted potteries have three main colors: reddish brown, black and white. Reddish brown pigment is made from ochre, and the principal coloring elements of black pigment are iron and manganese. It is conferred that iron was extracted from laterite with high iron content, while white pigment was extracted from porcelain clay. Painted potteries with the richest colors (made in approx. 2500-1800 BC) ever been discovered are those unearthed from the Taosilong Mountain Cultural Relics in Xiangfen, Shanxi Province. All clay basins, pots, kettles, bottles and trays have black or red thin coating on ceramics, and were usually painted in red, yellow and white (with black ground) after firing.

 Painted pottery age in China came to an end in the Shang-Zhou Period (the Bronze Age). Around two thousand years prior to and after the Bronze Age, painted pottery was evolved into colored painted pottery which was made by directly painting vessel surface with glue pigment. With the popularization of lacquer and unglazed porcelain, craftwork of colored painted pottery declined rapidly after prevailing in China for approximately 5000 years.