The national intangible-heritage record lays out Jianshui purple pottery’s sequence: prepare the clay, throw a vessel by hand, decorate the wet body, carve and fill the design, fire at high temperature, then polish without glaze. A line is made while the clay remains workable; polishing comes after firing. The record locates the craft in Jianshui and names Wanyao Village.
From the journal
Carving, Inlay and Polishing in Jianshui Pottery
Jianshui purple pottery takes shape through hand throwing, wet-clay decoration, carving, firing and unglazed polishing.
In the same city · Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture ↗The line is made in wet clay
From vessel shape to polished surface
A finished vessel preserves the results of shaping, carving, inlay and polishing, but not the timing or hand movements of each operation. A workshop demonstration can make those gestures visible, connecting the polished object to the sequence of work that formed it.