Glazes add value to ceramic, improve its appearance (colour and shine) and make it waterproof. Through the choice of colours and designs, glazes made ceramics fashionable, even luxurious, and therefore, an object of trade. Each region and ruling dynasty developed its own style or trademark which makes them particularly suitable for dating purposes. Therefore, the study and analysis of glazes offers direct information about the acquisition of technical skills (technology), trade of specific materials (inter-regional links), migrations and the introduction/adoption of new trends. A ceramic glaze is a thin glassy layer fused to the surface of a ceramic body through firing. The interaction between the glaze and the ceramic body results in the interdiffusion of elements between both. A glaze consists mainly of an amorphous phase, but also includes bubbles, cracks and crystalline phases (undissolved compounds and crystals formed during the firing). Finally, the glazes were also decorated, and a large variety of materials and methods of applying the decorations were used. In this chapter, we present a summary of the technical characteristics of glazes (composition, microstructures and technical requirements), their discovery and use throughout history and decorative techniques. The methodology and analytical techniques to obtain the information are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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陶瓷技术。如何表征陶瓷釉

釉料为陶瓷增加了价值，改善了其外观（颜色和光泽）并使之防水。通过选择颜色和设计，釉料使陶瓷变得时尚，甚至豪华，因此成为贸易的对象。每个地区和统治王朝都有自己的风格或商标，这使其特别适合约会目的。因此，对釉料的研究和分析提供了有关技术技能（技术）的获取，特定材料的贸易（区域间链接），迁移以及新趋势的引入/采用的直接信息。陶瓷釉是通过焙烧熔合到陶瓷体表面的薄玻璃层。釉与陶瓷体之间的相互作用导致两者之间元素的相互扩散。釉料主要由非晶相组成，但还包括气泡，裂纹和结晶相（在焙烧过程中形成的未溶解化合物和晶体）。最后，还对釉料进行了装饰，并使用了各种各样的材料和装饰方法。在本章中，我们概述了釉料的技术特征（组成，微结构和技术要求），在整个历史和装饰技术中的发现和使用。还讨论了获取信息的方法和分析技术。微结构和技术要求），以及它们在整个历史和装饰技术中的发现和使用。还讨论了获取信息的方法和分析技术。微结构和技术要求），以及它们在整个历史和装饰技术中的发现和使用。还讨论了获取信息的方法和分析技术。