underglaze pigments

Ingredients

quartz, lead, soda, clay, frit, cobalt

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The body is made of stonepaste (fritware), consisting of a mixture of quartz, lead, and soda (p. 122). The process requires: 1. Construction of the stonepaste body. 2. Coating with a slip made of quartz, clay, and frit to whiten and level the surface (p. 123). 3. Application of pigments, sometimes using stencils (p. 123). 4. Final coating with a transparent tin glaze (p. 123).

Evidence

"Material: stonepaste, underglaze... Early Iznik tiles reveal use of cobalt blue on white... followed by a stage of the addition of turquoise, followed by the addition of purple and olive-green. The final stage of development sees the addition of emerald green, deep red, vibrant emerald and turquoise outlined in black."

Remarks

Sample AIA.00121.0000 is an early 'Blue on White' architectural tile (p. 125). The color palette expanded over time from cobalt blue to include turquoise, purple, olive-green, and finally 'vibrant emerald' and 'deep red' outlined in black (p. 123).