Veni VEDI Voravi

Why Do We Love the Song Dynasty?

During the Song Dynasty, porcelain craftsmanship reached its peak—a peak so high that subsequent generations could only follow a path of decline.

This June, a Song/Yuan Dynasty GeYao Mallow-Shaped Brush Washer (哥窑灰青釉葵花式三足洗) personally collected by Elsa Peretti is about to be auctioned at Bonhams in Paris. This typical GeYao masterpiece in the catalogue article includes additional photos (although not in the highest resolution) that clearly showcase the secondary crazing technique, a method that has never been replicated.

The process behind GeYao is both fascinating and complex. The porcelain was quickly cooled as it left the kiln, causing large crackles in the glaze. It was then dipped in an iron-rich liquor, allowing the cracks to absorb the iron and create an “iron line” effect. Next, the piece was placed back into the kiln and fired again. A second rapid cooling, before the glaze melted, produced finer crackles within the larger ones. Finally, soaking the porcelain in aged tea water allowed tea pigments to fill the cracks, creating the stunning effect of fine crackles inside large ones, with iron lines surrounding golden threads.