Red Pottery refers to red-colored pottery, which is fired in an oxidizing atmosphere. The color of pottery depends on three factors: first, the chemical composition of the clay; second, the atmosphere inside the kiln; and third, the firing temperature.
If the kiln is well-ventilated and the fuel burns completely, creating an oxidizing atmosphere, the iron compounds in the clay body can oxidize into ferric iron. Depending on the iron oxide content in the pottery body, the resulting colors may vary, appearing as bright red, earthy red, orange-red, or orange-yellow.
Red pottery can be either sand-tempered or fine clay-based. In the early Neolithic period of China, handmade pottery was primarily coarse sand-tempered red pottery. By the mid-Neolithic period, fine clay red pottery became more common. By the late Neolithic period, red pottery generally no longer held a dominant position, and by the Xia and Shang dynasties, red pottery had largely disappeared.
