expat Christopher Jordan built a solar panel device in an attempt to explain how the ancient Khmer coated large statues in glass and glazing

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008121823277/Siem-Reap-Insider/Solar-powered-glazing-study-produces-partly-cloudy-results.html
Solar-powered glazing study produces partly cloudy results
Written by Erica Goldberg
Thursday, 18 December 2008
ENGLISH expat Christopher Jordan perplexed ceramic experts at the
National Centre for Khmer Ceramics Revival in Siem Reap last Friday
when he attempted to demonstrate what he says is an ancient technique
for glazing pottery using mirrors and sunlight.

But even he admits his demonstration was far from perfect and failed
to fully prove his theory ... for now.
Jordan built a solar panel device in an attempt to explain how the
ancient Khmer coated large statues in glass and glazing. He cited the
example of the three-meter-high statue of Shiva from 870 AD in the
National Museum in Phnom Penh.

"There's really no way to create ceramics like the Shiva statue
without this technology. No one has come up with a better solution,"
he said.

Jordan found his solution on the walls of a sanctuary in Egypt and now
says the ancient Khmer similarly directed sunlight at several mirrors
and used these mirrors as pens to "write" on the pottery

"People were sceptical about whether you could melt ceramics with
mirrors," said Jordan.
After Friday's demonstration, people are still sceptical.

On Friday, Jordan told the Post that his device reached 1,000 degrees
Celsius in under a minute but needed to be 30 percent hotter to
perform effectively. Instead, the mirrored sunlight created only a
few splotches of glass on the pots.
Despite the fairly sunny afternoon, Jordan claimed that "the sun
wasn't hot enough".

The centre's director, Serge Rega, said Jordan's approach was
interesting but needed more research to develop the technology.

"He only made a few glazes with solar power," said Rega. "But this
could be the beginning of something."
.