Pottery can be divided into two groups: neglazirovannaya and glazed ceramics. The first group consists of terracotta pottery and ceramics - the most ancient of all types of ceramics. Terracotta - in Italian «baked earth». It is not a political glaze baked clay. Previously, from making sculptures, beads, reliefs. In our time, this type of ceramics is used infrequently.
pottery supply ceramics which requires additional processing. To make it waterproof it atone before roasting any smooth a ( «loschat»), sealed outer layer of clay before the emergence of a shine. «Moraine» is a long excerpt of clay products in the smoke slowly cools down the furnace. It is an ancient method of treatment - «zaparka», or «obvarka»: the product removed from the furnace down in the water with the flour. In doing so, on its surface formed beautiful podpaliny, glassware becomes waterproof. Currently, pottery ceramics has been very widespread. It makes pots, cups, jugs and other household items. And they are valued as much as porcelain, glass.
The second group includes glazed (or irrigation) ceramics. It covers a layer of dry glazes, enamel, and secondarily burnt. Glazing products made watertight and allow them to decorate a potter: matt, velvety surface alternates with the influx of shiny glaze. A glaze is well looked angob painting - painted in different colors slurry. Angobirovanie - an ancient type of processing clay surfaces, but so far, is widely used.
An immediate relative of a majolica earthenware pottery. This word comes from the name of the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, where this type of pottery originated. Called majolica items of pottery clay, covered with colored glazes - enamels.
Faience. The basis of it - white clay. Ceramic jug of majolica is easy to distinguish, it is only to draw attention to the bottom: the pottery stoneware tabs on it - dark, and the faience - white. What distinguishes majolica earthenware from the Near him with porcelain, but no white earthenware and porcelain opacity, its crock porous and less durable. Earthenware products are thick, opaque wall of the soft, streamlined shapes. Especially nice when through the transparent green, purple or brown glaze translucent cream crock.
In Russia, faience production reached a high development in the XVIII century. Talented and original folk masters Gzhel and other centers of ceramic crafts took pride of place in the history of Russian decorative and applied arts.
Homeland porcelain is China. With its high strength, the absolute whiteness smithereens, rich colors, chemical resistance, it significantly exceeded the entire European ceramics. To create a porcelain requires very high temperature on zhiga - up to 1400 ° C and the composition of the complex mass of air dry clays, including kaolin, feldspar sand and other additives. Porcelain valued dearly and ceramics European countries fought over the rede so-called «Chinese secret», but all their attempts to finished result. And in 1709 Gore in Meysene (Saxony) received solid, translucent, perfectly white porcelain crock. By the end of XVIII century, the manufacture of porcelain was developed in the entire European continent. In Russia, china invented another MV Lomonosov Moscow State University scientist chemist DI Vinogradov.
During the search for the secret of porcelain manufacture in many countries have established their variety of porcelain stoneware: Germany - the red mass of fire, in England - rock mass, called «vedzhvudsky Porcelain» (on behalf of the inventor and owner of the plant D. Wedgwood), France — soft frittovy porcelain.
The next and final appearance of ceramics - chamotte. It is a ceramic battle involved in the clay. Chamotte is grubozernisty composition, glaze on the surface spreads stained and not covering it completely, which gives the product of chamotte particular originality. It is very appreciated by artists who have entered it in the field of arts and crafts.