What is the visible surface made of?

When metal covers the body#

The Hong Kong catalogue shows both faces of a stele-shaped Yixing pot (C81.419). The grey field bearing the inscriptions is a pewter casing over the clay. The catalogue transcribes one inscription as 1829. Record the date with the inscription it belongs to. Three small cups appear on a different plate, C81.516 (4–6). Their similar casing makes them worth comparing, but the catalogue lists the cups separately from the pot.¹

When metal forms the motif#

Open Gu Yue’s illustrated handbook at two facing techniques. On page 45 the metal wraps the pot. On page 46 gold or silver decoration is applied only in selected areas, leaving clay visible between motifs. Follow a motif to its edge and compare the material on either side. A photograph can show the boundary more readily than it can establish the metal’s composition.²

When the clay itself takes a polish#

The heritage record for Jianshui pottery describes cutting a design into the damp body, filling the cuts with coloured clay, firing the vessel and polishing it without glaze. Follow one line into the surrounding field. The line is the exposed clay filling, while the smooth field owes its finish to polishing.³

What to record from a photograph#

Describe where the surface changes, then give the material name used in the catalogue. If the foot or rim is out of view, record that gap. Alloy composition and suitability for contact with food each require their own evidence.

Sources#

1. 宜興紫砂陶器 · Yixing Purple Clay Wares (香港市政局, 1994). 43 · C81.419 · p. 88 (PDF 94). 55 · C81.516 (4–6) · p. 100 (PDF 106).
2. 古月，《紫砂壶图谱》· pp. 45–46 (PDF 54–55).
3. 陶器烧制技艺（建水紫陶烧制技艺） · Ⅷ-98.