Sang de boeuf glaze, or sang-de-boeuf, is a deep red colour of ceramic glaze, first appearing in Chinese porcelain at the start of the 18th century. The name is French, meaning "ox blood", and the glaze and the colour sang de boeuf are also called ox-blood or oxblood in English, in this and other contexts.
18th-century Chinese porcelain bowl with sang de boeuf glaze
Small 18th-century vase, with thinning glaze at top
Ming "sacrificial ware" copper-red dish with the reign mark of Xuande (1426–1435); the colour the Kangxi potters were trying to achieve
The related copper oxide peach-bloom glaze on a Kangxi water pot, also with incised decoration.
Oxblood or ox-blood is a dark shade of red. It resembles burgundy, but has less purple and more dark brown hues. The French term sang-de-bœuf, or sang de bœuf, with the same meaning is used in various contexts in English, but especially in pottery, where sang de boeuf glaze in the color is a classic ceramic glaze in Chinese ceramics.
Small 18th-century vase with sang de boeuf glaze
A pair of oxblood-colour Dr. Martens shoes
Russell Square station, Piccadilly line, with the oxblood tiles used on many London Underground station buildings.
