Is Celadon a Color or a Type of Pottery?

Question: Is Celadon a Color or a Type of Pottery?

Highly prized on pottery, Celadon glaze mirrors the look of pale green precious jade with it's soft green color and translucent depths over carved and raised designs on surfaces. The transparent crackled glazes are usually used on porcelain or grey or white stoneware. The color comes from iron oxide, and pottery glazed with celadon glazes ranges from translucent soft greens, to blues and grey blues and greens. To increase it's resemblance to jade, the glaze is used over raised or incised designs on the pot, and is most commonly used alone, without the addition of other colors or glazes.

Answer:

Celadon pottery originated in China and Korea and was celebrated during the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279} in China and the Koryo Dynasty (918 – 1392) in Korea. Portugese traders brought Celadon to Europe in the 17th century. As Europe had not yet developed porcelains, the pottery was very valuable and widely collected.

Brought back to France early in the 17th century, the soft green pottery was given the name celadon, possibly for the character of Celadon the Shepherd, who wore pale green ribbons in Honor d Urfe's 1627 work, L'Astree. The name Celadon only applies to the western name for pottery with these soft translucent green through blue green glaze. Celadon is also used as the name for particular gray-green color common to the glazed pottery.

Celadon pottery miniatures are widely available in all forms, from antique pots and ornaments, through to modern collectibles, and dolls house miniatures. The value of the pottery depends on the maker, the age and provenance of the piece, the quality of the glaze and the pottery design.

The collectible Celadon vases pictured here are dolls house scale miniatures from Troy Schmidt of Red Dragon Pottery.