EFFECT OF FIRING CONDITIONS ON PROPERTIES OF DAN KWIAN POTTERY

Abstract

Dan Kwian pottery is a unique and legendary pottery which brings a large amount of revenue to Nakhon Ratchasima province. However, most of the factories in Dan Kwian are still using basic production techniques which have been used for many decades. This is especially true of the firing technique. At present, most factories in Dan Kwian are firing their greenware in traditional wood-burning kilns. They have low efficiency and the temperatures inside are not uniformly distributed. The influence of the firing conditions on the properties of Dan Kwian pottery was studied in this work in order to obtain data for improving kiln efficiency. Test samples prepared from Dan Kwian clay were fired under different conditions in electric and Dan Kwian kilns. Then, their color and physical properties were tested, calculated, and compared. Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Results showed that samples fired at 900oC and 1200oC under an oxidizing atmosphere have comparable properties to samples fired in Dan Kwian kilns by the red (at 1085oC) and black (at 1250oC) firing methods, respectively. These findings suggest that, if the temperature inside Dan Kwian kilns can be made more homogeneous, then the Dan Kwian firing temperature can be reduced.