The ancient-style black pottery making craft of Linzi

The ancient-style black pottery making craft of Linzi

　　The ancient-style black pottery making craft of Linzi

　　A large number of black pottery artifacts were unearthed at the Tonglin (Tianwang) site in Linzi District, a national key cultural relics protection unit. This clay-based black pottery is delicate in texture, pitch-black and glossy, and can be regarded as a rare treasure. Since the 1980s, the ancient-style black pottery industry in Linzi District has gradually developed, inheriting and restoring some of the traditional black pottery techniques while also making improvements and innovations on the original basis.

　　Most of the black pottery produced in Linzi takes bronze ware unearthed from the Qi region as the main objects of imitation, preserving the essential characteristics of black pottery—“as black as lacquer, as bright as a mirror, and as resonant as a chime stone.” It includes various types such as zun (wine vessels), jue (wine cups), ding (tripod cauldrons), dun (food containers), and li (tripod cooking vessels). During production, premium fine Yellow River clay is selected, impurities are removed, and special ingredients are added. The mixture is soaked for over a month before being shaped by hand-molding or slip casting according to the requirements of the item. For pieces requiring manual molding, the clay is pounded and kneaded for over 20 minutes. After shaping, the surface is polished by hand to make it smoother. Once polished, carving is done based on the design of the piece. Some works require openwork carving. After carving, the items are air-dried and then fired in a kiln at 900 degrees Celsius for 12 hours. Through this special firing process, black smoke permeates the object to create its black color. Finally, a self-made pigment that mimics the patina of bronze ware is applied to the surface. At this point, a piece of black pottery is complete.