Black pottery originates in the Yellow River basin in China. As an ancient ceramic of Han nationality, black pottery enjoys a good reputation. It sounds like bell, and is as black as ink, as thin as paper, as bright as a mirror and as hard as a porcelain. With its diversified types, exquisite shapes and strong stereoscopic effects, plus lifelike and distinct patterns, black pottery is of high ornamental value, especially for collectors. Making black pottery is highly demanding, as the clay must be delicate and uniform in respect of granule size and density. And then, after many processes of traditional ceramics, black pottery is refined by kneading clay by hand, throwing, modification, painting, carving, pressing and grinding, firing, etc.
Material selection is a main part of quality assurance of black pottery, of which the biggest characteristic is to turn pottery black by a unique sintering process. Good ceramic materials should be dried, frozen, washed and deposited. From many unearthed black potteries, most raw materials of potteries are pure and delicate colloid soil is flushed by the Yellow River. And the red puddle has been used ever since because of its excellent plasticity.
At present, Shandong area is the main producing area of black pottery in China. Master Yin Junting is a current national master and also an inheritor of black pottery ceramics. In addition, there is a provincial master Liu Degong in the area. They all have their own local workshops, and have made prominent contributions in this field.
