Why is it necessary to blend purple clay?

Blending different clays can enrich the appearance and color of purple clay ware. After firing, the works may exhibit a variety of colors such as sky blue, chestnut, pomegranate peel, pear skin, vermilion purple, hibiscus red, bluish gray, dark green, dark black, cold golden yellow, gold Chrysanthemum yellow, and more.

Two common blending methods are:

First method: Processing pure clay (often custom-made by clay processing factories for masters or famous artists. These clays are of superior quality, unique, and each has its own proprietary recipe not shared with others).

Second method: Incorporating granules and mixing with different clays (in a natural clay powder, adding another natural sand grain that is matured or semi-matured at a certain ratio and mesh size, and ensuring they are thoroughly and evenly combined).

Blending clays can alter their strength and plasticity, meeting the needs of craftsmanship variations and design creativity.

Clay from the same stratum but different regions will have some differences, for example: some are sandy and have good water absorption but lack viscosity (making it very difficult to make a Teapot alone). Others have strong adhesion. Combining these two types not only enhances the plasticity but also ensures the clay has good water absorption and a sandy texture.

Blended clay is made by mixing two or more different purple clays in varying proportions to create new colors.

In the late Ming dynasty, purple clay artisans would use several differently colored clays, blended in various ratios or mixed with steel sand and clay sand, to achieve richer color changes and better visual and tactile sensations.

The varied colors showcase the beauty of purple clay Teapots in ways unmatched by other Ceramic materials, such as: red sand clay – smooth and delicate like a maiden's skin; purple clay – a deep chestnut color like ancient iron; sand-blended clay – with sand particles visible on the surface like the texture of a pear; and sand-laid clay – dotted like stars in the night sky…

Blended clays do not contain chemical additives, so they are not chemically treated clays. However, if iron oxide, cobalt oxide, manganese oxide, or similar chemicals are added to achieve a special color effect, then it becomes chemically treated clay.

However, “blending” is far more complex than this, because: different types of purple clays derived from different mines have different optimal firing temperatures and shrinkage ratios. Poor blending can easily result in cracked, deformed, or mottled clay bodies. Good clays blended together and carefully processed and aged, after repeated trials, produce teapots with unexpected colors and textures.