Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain collector's help and info page

GLOSSARY

Mirror-black monochrome glaze (wujin - black bronze)

Mirror black glaze vase

Vase, Mirror black monochrome glaze, 18th century.
Ex: Jan-Erik Nilsson Collection.
Photo: courtesy of Mike Vermeer, 2014

Mirror black monochrome glaze

Mirror black monochrome glaze. Late Qing dynasty.
Photo: courtesy of Mike Vermeer, 2014

Among the high-fired black monochromes of the Kangxi period (1662-1722), the most famous is a lustrous, dense black glaze that was derived from iron, cobalt, and manganese oxides.

It is called wujin ("black bronze') by the Chinese and is commonly known in the West as mirror-black.

These brilliant mirror-black wares have frequently been penciled over in gilt. Because of the extremely fugitive nature of such gilt decoration, it has often disappeared, leaving only the ghost of a pattern that can be seen when a light is raked over the glaze.

Se also enamels

HOME

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z