Celadon is a term for pottery denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware", and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that was first used on greenware, but later used on other porcelains. Celadon originated in China, though the term is purely European, and notable kilns such as the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang province are renowned for their celadon glazes. Celadon production later spread to other parts of East Asia, such as Japan and Korea, as well as Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand. Eventually, European potteries produced some pieces, but it was never a major element there. Finer pieces are in porcelain, but both the color and the glaze can be produced in stoneware and earthenware. Most of the earlier Longquan celadon is on the border of stoneware and porcelain, meeting the Chinese but not the European definitions of porcelain.
Chinese Longquan celadon from Zhejiang, Song dynasty, 13th century
Ming shrine, the figure left unglazed in the "biscuit" state
Yaozhou ware bowl with carved and combed decoration, Northern Song dynasty
Narcissus basin with light bluish-green glaze, Ru ware, National Palace Museum.
Ceramic glaze, or simply glaze, is a glassy coating on ceramics. It is used for decoration, to ensure the item is impermeable to liquids and to minimise the adherence of pollutants.
Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle. Iran, 16th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Detail of dripping rice-straw ash glaze (top), Japan, 1852
İznik tiles in the Enderûn Library, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
Sancai coloured lead-glazes in a Tang dynasty tomb guardian.