kiln

(noun)

A special kind of oven used for firing ceramic objects at high temperatures.

Related Terms

(noun)

An oven or furnace or a heated chamber, for the purpose of hardening, burning, calcining or drying anything; for example, firing ceramics, curing or preserving tobacco, or smelting ores.

Related Terms

Examples of kiln in the following topics:

  • Joseon Ceramics

    • During Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910, often referred to as "Choson"), ceramic wares were considered to represent the highest quality of achievement from imperial, city, and provincial kilns, the last of which were export-driven wares.
    • This era marked the golden age of Korean pottery, with a long period of growth in imperial and provincial kilns and much work of the highest quality still preserved today.
    • The late period was characterized by the establishment of government-subsidized kilns at Bunwon-ri, Gwangju near Seoul in 1751, as well as the privatization of Bunwon in 1884.

  • Ceramics under the Song Dynasty

    • During the Song and following Yuan dynasties, porcelain made in the city and other southern Chinese kiln sites used crushed and refined pottery stones alone.
    • These celadon wares were produced in kilns in the city of Longquan, located in Lishui prefecture in southwestern Zhejiang Province.
    • With those in other prefectures, the total of discovered kiln sites is over two hundred, making the Longquan celadon production area one of the largest historical ceramic producing areas in China.

  • Glass

    • In the case of stained glass windows, the window is designed and after the glass has been cut to shape, paint is applied that contains ground glass, so that when it is fired in a kiln, the paint fuses onto the glass surface.
    • Cast glass can be done at the furnace, at the torch or in a kiln.

  • Vase Painting in the Orientalizing Period

    • The full effect of this style of painting would not have been seen until after the vase emerged from its firings in the kiln.

  • Ceramics in Mesopotamia

    • Like other ceramic objects, tablets could be fired in a kiln to produce a permanent form if the text was believed significant enough to preserve.

  • Ceramics and Bronze in the Yayoi Period

    • These people brought with them their knowledge of wetland rice cultivation, the manufacture of copper weapons and bronze bells (dōtaku), and wheel-thrown, kiln-fired ceramics.

  • Modeling

    • When kiln fired, the paper burns out, leaving only the clay body.

  • Ceramics

    • To prevent glazed wares from sticking to kiln furniture during firing, a small part of the object being fired (for example, the foot) may be left unglazed; alternatively, special refractory 'spurs' can be used as supports, and removed and discarded after the firing.

  • Indus Valley Civilization

    • The cities of the ancient Indus Valley consisted of highly functional, multi-story buildings and structures constructed with uniform kiln-burnt bricks.

  • Art of the Middle Kingdom

    • China is richly endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics, and works range from bricks and tiles to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns and the sophisticated Chinese porcelains made for the imperial court.