My system is not decent

Chapter 1965 The sky covers the earth, the earth covers the sky

The production of ancient painted pottery, the specific operation method is not too difficult, because the production of pottery cannot be more difficult than porcelain.

Of course, this is because of the rapid development of modern technology.

In ancient times, no technology was simple.

It is not easy to completely restore ancient painted pottery according to the technical level of the ancients.

The specific method is to first place the inner mold on a wooden backing plate or a flat stone slab, and sprinkle a layer of fine dry soil on the surface of the mold so that the finished pottery body can be separated from the mold.

When applying mud, place the mold on the backing plate with the big end facing down for easy operation.

Straight tanks, deep belly tanks, etc., because the walls of the inner mold are steep slopes, the mud should be applied from bottom to top, otherwise, if it is applied from top to bottom, the fetal heart will easily fall or break.

The wall of the inner mold of the bowl is in the shape of a gentle slope, which can be applied from the center from top to bottom, or from the edge to bottom to top.

The most critical first step in applying mud is to apply the first layer of fetal heart mud.

Squeeze the mud with your hands to make it firmly attached to the mold without falling off, and then continue to apply mud layer by layer.

The mud sheets applied in layers must have a certain overlapping relationship.

The adhesive surfaces between them should be uneven, so that the successively applied mud sheets can be firmly bonded together.

After the pottery body is formed, it is demoulded, and then a layer of muddy clay is applied on the inside and outside of the pottery body by hand.

Finger marks from bottom to top were found on the inner walls of some pottery, which just shows that the surface layer is made of mud.

When plastering the mud, put your hands inside and outside the utensils, pull and squeeze hard, not only to eliminate the air bubbles formed in the indirect stubble of the mud layer, but also to eliminate and smooth the gaps in the utensil wall.

As a result, the structure of the pottery body is further tightly combined, and the surface of the vessel becomes smooth and flat.

The tripods in painted pottery are completed by splicing and installing the feet.

The foot is kneaded by hand, and it is easy to handle when the water evaporates and becomes slightly dry and hard.

Insert the pre-made feet into the drilled holes in the bottom of the device, and then paste mud strips on the inner and outer soles respectively, squeeze the joints and flatten them, and then smooth them with mud.

It can be seen from the research on the pottery of the first phase of Dadiwan that the potters at this time not only used the inner mold of the body, but also used the outer mold of the collar (mouth edge) of the pot.

And he is familiar with the different properties of muddy mud and sandy mud, and alternately uses the two kinds of mud on the same utensil.

These facts show that people have already had relatively rich experience, which shows that this method of applying mud to molds is not the most primitive method of making pottery.

Its source is not yet clear and needs to be further studied.

However, due to the complicated production process of the mold mud coating method, and the shape and size of the green body are limited by the mold, it is difficult to make large-scale utensils.

And the shape of the utensils made is monotonous, and the production efficiency is low.

During the firing process, cracking and delamination often occur, resulting in many waste products and defective products, thus greatly restricting the further development of pottery.

The increase in population and the development of the economy have brought about a large demand for pottery.

In the continuous production practice, the pottery making technology gradually developed, so that this relatively backward pottery making method was replaced by the new technology that followed - the mud strip construction method.

The mud strip building method is a typical and mature hand-made molding method. It was the most widely used and longest-lasting pottery blank molding technology in the Neolithic Age.

This method is to knead the mud into mud strips first, and then use the mud strips to build the green body.

In Gan Province, from the Yangshao Culture about 7000 years ago to the Bronze Age, the clay strip construction method was always the main method of pottery making.

That is to say, except for the Dadiwan culture, painted pottery in Gansu basically uses this production technique.

It should be pointed out that in the early Yangshao culture, the above two types of methods were used together.

Most of the bowls and basins with round bottoms are painted pottery, and the method of applying mud with molds is still used.

Their sherds are still layered, thus proving to be the same method as that of Dadiwan Phase I.

The difference lies in that the pottery of each layer is the same at this time, all of which are fine clay pottery, and the bonding between each layer is more tightly and firmly.

The flat-bottomed and sharp-bottomed utensils used in large quantities are made of mud strips.

In flat-bottomed vessels, there are sometimes joints between mud strips, and on the inner bottom of pointed-bottomed bottles, circles of circles of mud streaks can be seen.

In the mid-Yangshao period, the bottom-shaped utensils basically disappeared, and the method of building with mud strips finally completely replaced the method of applying molds.

It can be seen that this is a long development process.

The mud strip construction method is divided into two methods: plate construction and circle construction.

Pan building is to connect the mud strips one by one to build up the green body in a spiral form;
The ring building is to connect each mud strip end to end to make a mud ring, and then use the mud rings to build a green body, so there are often gaps in the inner side of the tire wall.

Among the two methods, the plate-building method is more common, and the painted pottery of the Machang period sometimes uses the circle-building method.

In specific operation, there are two methods of inverted construction and positive construction.

Upside down is to make the green body from the upper part to the lower part.

First build the wall and then build the bottom, which is used for pointed bottom bottles, etc.;
The orthodox building method is to make the bottom of the vessel first and then build the wall, which is used for flat-bottomed vessels.

The bottom of the utensil is a mud cake made in advance, and then the outer edge of the utensil bottom is built with mud strips to form the utensil wall, commonly known as "tianbaodi".

Sometimes the bottom of the device is made into a shallow dish shape, and the belly of the device is connected from the inside, commonly known as "ground covering the sky".

This kind of production is completed on a fixed workbench, and the mud strips are added one by one, and are continuously added or piled up as needed.

The changes of various parts of the wall are controlled and changed by the fingers pinching the mud strip.

The diameter of the utensil can be enlarged or reduced by pointing the finger inward or outward.

Inclined inward, the diameter of the wall gradually increases to form the abdomen;

It slopes outward, and the diameter of the wall gradually decreases to form a shoulder;

Perpendicular to the table, the diameter of the wall remains unchanged, forming a straight abdomen or neck.

Because the thickness of the wall depends on the thickness of the mud strip and the strength of the hand.

Therefore, in the whole process of building the body from the mud strips, the operating skills of the hands play a decisive role.

Painted pottery is a unity that combines the beauty of shape and beauty of decoration, and the harmony of shape depends entirely on the superb skills of craftsmen.

The beauty of shape refers to the beauty of the outer contour and image of the utensils, and the first condition is the coordination of the proportions of the various parts.

Bottom diameter, ratio of abdominal diameter to caliber, ratio of abdominal diameter to overall height, ratio of vessel height to collar (or rim) height, etc.

The inclination of the lower abdomen is different, and the shape of the utensils is different.

For example, the curved abdomen basin in the middle Yangshao period has a large inclination and a curved abdomen;
Flat-bottomed bottles of the Majiayao type have a small inclination and thus a long straight belly;
The painted pottery urn of the Banshan type has a large inclination and a round belly.

Different shapes compete to show different graceful curves, as well as a harmonious and unified artistic style.

After the pottery blank is made, it needs to be properly trimmed.

This can make all parts of the utensils regular and beautiful, the rim and appearance become smooth, and the shape is more symmetrical.

When trimming, use a piece similar to a bone dagger to scrape off excess mud;
Blocks such as pottery pads can also be used to pad the inner wall to adjust the curve of the utensils;
Or add mud by hand for processing, so that the pottery body can reach the best shape.

(End of this chapter)