Page 84 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780

CHAPTER 2 The Production of Enamelled Porcelain and Knowledge Transfer

Figure 2-8 Grinding pink enamel colours, circa.1800.
Album leaf, dimension unknown. It is now held in the Deutsche Fotothek (German
Photographic Collection) in the SLUB Dresden.
Source:

http://fotothek.slubdresden.de/fotos/df/hauptkatalog/0058000/df_hauptkatalog_005875
8.jpg,accessed on 22 January, 2015.

According to Tang Ying’s words from his Illustration of porcelain production,

of this process:

Ten liang [tael, one tael equals to thirty-seven grams] of the enamel

colours were put into each mortar, and ground by special workmen for a

whole month before being fit to use. To the benches are fixed upright

wooden poles, which support the horizontal pieces of wood pierced to

hold the handles of the pestles. The men seated in the bench holds the

pestles and keeps revolving them. The monthly wage of this type of

workman is only three maces silver [one mace of silver equals 3.71 grams].

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