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Concept
Tin-glazing
Summary
Tin-glazing is the process of giving tin-glazed pottery items a ceramic glaze that is white, glossy and opaque, which is normally applied to red or buff earthenware. Tin-glaze is plain lead glaze with a small amount of tin oxide added. The opacity and whiteness of tin glaze encourage its frequent decoration. Historically this has mostly been done before the single firing, when the colours blend into the glaze, but since the 17th century also using overglaze enamels, with a light second firing, allowing a wider range of colours. Majolica, maiolica, delftware and faience are among the terms used for common types of tin-glazed pottery.
An alternative is lead-glazing, where the basic glaze is transparent; some types of pottery use both. However, when pieces are glazed only with lead, the glaze becomes fluid during firing, and may run or pool. Colours painted on the glaze may also run or blur. Tin-glazing avoids these problems.
The technique originated in the Near East and reached Europe during the late Middle Ages, with a peak in Italian Renaissance maiolica. It was never used in East Asian ceramics. Tin oxide is still valued in glazes as both an opacifier and as a white colorant. Tin oxide has long been used to produce a white, opaque and glossy glaze. As well as an opacifying agent, tin oxide also finds use as a colour stabiliser in some pigments and glazes. Minor quantities are also used in the conducting phases in some electrical porcelain glazes.
Tin-glazed pottery
The earliest tin-glazed pottery appears to have been made in Abbasid Iraq (750-1258 AD)/Mesopotamia in the 8th century, fragments having been excavated during the First World War from the palace of Samarra about fifty miles north of Baghdad. From Mesopotamia, tin glazes spread to Islamic Egypt (868–905 AD) during the 10th century, and then to Andalusian Spain (711-1492 AD), leading to the maximum development of Islamic lusterware.
The history of tin glazes in the Islamic world is disputed.
Official source
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