Tenmoku Glazes

Glazes can be divided into two main group depending on their application area: industrial and art glazes. Art glazes have countless varieties and give ceramic surfaces aesthetical value and certain technical properties. In that sense, countless number of glazes are present and they are differentiated in terms of firing temperature and the type of application. The glazes called as tenmoku is a specifical type of artistic glazes. To produce them mainly depends on glaze chemical composition, type of application on ceramic surfaces and firing techniques. “Tenmoku” is a glaze name which was originated from ancient China and pleasurably used in Japan and referred to iron saturated glazes and named as (oil–spot) or Kaki. Its surfaces are iridescent and in the colures of black–rust. In order to achieve such private group glazes one does not necessarily require special ceramic raw materials. They consist of widely found feldspar, talc, dolomite and marble. There are two major factors in their production: glaze recipes, glaze thickness and firing atmosphere. During firing tenmoku glazes can generally mature at high temperatures as a result of the thermal reduction of iron present in glaze composition. In the present study general knowledge about tenmoku glazes are given