Friday, November 12, 2004

Celadon Glaze names cont' A Celadon glaze is often thought of as a glossy, translucent, green or blue glaze. The history of the celadon glaze goes back about 1000 years.  It originated in China during the Five Dynasties and was used on distinctive pottery from that time. The word "celadon", however, came from the French play L'Astree (1610.)  One of the characters, Celadon, was dressed in green.  His attire became fashionable in Europe.  The previously mentioned Chinese pottery was becoming fashinonable at that time.  Since the color was comparable, people took to calling the pottery "celadon." (Chinavista.com) Unfortunately, the copies of L'Astree by Honore d'Urfe are in black and white. L'Astree was a pastorial work, emphasising the rural over the urban.  Could it also be L'Astree evokes similar feelings as the Chinese pots?  Is the nature of the play one filled with simple beauty?  Could Europe at the time look upon the Chinese pots and derive similar meaning (and not just the color?) I'll need to dig up an English translation....but looking at a celadon glaze may be more of a pastorial, urban/rural, agrarian/industrial, experience. (There are other explanations covered in Peter Lane's Studio Porcelain) 2:55:09 PM