Porcelain facts for kids
Porcelain is a special type of ceramic material. It's made by heating clay, especially a type called kaolinite, to very high temperatures. This intense heat makes the clay strong and often see-through, or translucent.
There are two main kinds of porcelain:
- Hard-paste porcelain is fired at super high temperatures, around 1400 degrees Celsius. This makes it very strong and durable.
- Soft-paste porcelain is fired at slightly lower temperatures, about 1200 degrees Celsius. It's still strong but can be a bit more delicate.
- Bone china is a type of soft-paste porcelain. It's made by adding bone ash to the clay mixture. This gives it a lovely creamy white color and a delicate look.
To make porcelain, raw materials like clay are mixed with water. This creates a soft, moldable paste. This paste is then shaped into bowls, plates, or figures. Finally, the shaped item is baked in a very hot oven called a kiln.
Contents
The Story of Porcelain
Porcelain's Chinese Roots
Porcelain first came from China, which is why many people still call fine dishes "china." People in China were making advanced glazed ceramics during the Eastern Han dynasty (around 196–220 AD). These early pieces were the beginning of what we now know as porcelain.
By the Tang Dynasty (618–906 AD), porcelain was very popular. It was even sent to the Islamic world, where it was highly valued. Some early examples include the colorful sancai wares. Archaeologists have found porcelain items from as far back as the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). During the Sui dynasty (581–618) and Tang Dynasty, porcelain was made in large amounts.
Porcelain Comes to Europe
In 1712, a French Jesuit priest named Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles shared some of China's porcelain-making secrets. He wrote about them in a book called Lettres édifiantes et curieuses de Chine par des missionnaires jésuites. This helped Europeans learn how to make their own porcelain.
German Porcelain Discovery
In the early 1500s, Portuguese traders brought kaolin clay from China to Europe. They knew this clay was important for making porcelain. However, the exact Chinese methods were still a mystery.
In the German state of Saxony, the secret was finally uncovered in 1708. A scientist named Ehrenfried von Tschirnhaus created a hard, white, and translucent porcelain. He used kaolin clay and a stone called alabaster, found in a Saxon mine. This new discovery was kept a very close secret.
Von Tschirnhaus and his helper, Johann Friedrich Böttger, worked for Augustus II the Strong. They made porcelain in Dresden and Meissen, Saxony. The first successful European hard porcelain was made in 1708. Sadly, von Tschirnhaus died that same year. Böttger continued the work and told Augustus in 1709 that he could make porcelain. Because of this, Böttger often gets credit for discovering European porcelain.
French Porcelain Factories
The first important French soft-paste porcelain was made at the Saint-Cloud factory before 1702. Other soft-paste factories opened later, like at Chantilly in 1730 and Mennecy in 1750. The Vincennes porcelain factory started in 1740. It later moved to a bigger place in Sèvres in 1756. Vincennes soft-paste porcelain was whiter and more perfect than other French types. This made Vincennes/Sèvres porcelain the best in France.
English Porcelain Innovations
In England, the first soft-paste porcelain was shown by Thomas Briand in 1742. It was likely based on the Saint-Cloud recipe. In 1749, Thomas Frye received a patent for porcelain that included bone ash. This was the very first bone china. Later, Josiah Spode made bone china even better.
Over the next 25 years, many factories started making soft-paste porcelain in England. They created tableware and figures. Some famous factories included:
- Chelsea (1743)
- Bristol porcelain (1748)
- Royal Crown Derby (1750 or 1757)
- Royal Worcester (1751)
- Wedgwood (1759)
- Spode (1767)
William Cookworthy found deposits of kaolin clay in Cornwall, England. This discovery helped porcelain and other white ceramics grow in England. Cookworthy's factory in Plymouth, started in 1768, used local kaolin clay and china stone. He made porcelain similar to the Chinese porcelain from the early 1700s.
Images for kids
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A Chinese Jingdezhen porcelain moonflask with blue and red designs. From the Qianlong period (1736 to 1796).
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A Nymphenburg porcelain sculpture made by Franz Anton Bustelli in 1756.
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A Soft-paste porcelain swan tureen from the Chelsea porcelain factory, 1752–1756.
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A beautiful flower center-piece made in Spain, 18th century.
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A Chinese Imperial Dish with Flowering Prunus, featuring Famille Rose enamel. Made between 1723 and 1735.
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A Song dynasty celadon porcelain pot with a fenghuang (mythical bird) spout. From the 10th century, China.
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The Fonthill Vase is one of the earliest Chinese porcelain items to arrive in Europe. It was a gift for Louis the Great of Hungary in 1338.
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A Hirado ware okimono (figurine) of a lion with a ball, from Japan, 19th century.
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A Nabeshima ware dish with hydrangea designs. Made around 1680–1720 in Japan, using hard-paste porcelain.
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A part of a letter from Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles about how Chinese porcelain was made. Written in 1712, republished in 1735.
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A Meissen plate from the famous Swan Service. Made for Count Heinrich von Brühl between 1737 and 1742.
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A Capodimonte porcelain jar with three figures of Pulcinella from the commedia dell'arte. This soft-paste jar was made between 1745–50.
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An example of Chantilly porcelain, soft-paste, from 1750-1760.
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A porcelain insulator used for medium-high voltage electricity.
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The Dakin Building in Brisbane, California, which uses porcelain panels on its exterior.
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Porcelain Chamber Pots from Vienna.
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Porcelain items, like these Yongle-era flasks, were often traded during the 15th-century Chinese maritime expeditions. (British Museum)
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See also
In Spanish: Porcelana para niños
