Pottery

Potters were some of the earliest craftsmen combining the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water to produce pottery artifacts that have been treasured for centuries.

The ceramic plates, dishes, tea sets and bowls they created were both decorative and practical. They are an essential part of creating a home and have a tradition as the perfect wedding gift.

Porcelain

Porcelain is very fine pottery, it takes great skill and organization to create. Pale and mildly transluscent it is often finely decorated to provide colour.

Porcelain is usually fired first at temperatures of around 1000 degrees Celcius (1800 degrees Farenheight), it is then glaze fired using a feldspar glaze, which fuses with the clay at around 1300°C (2300°F).

Chinese Porcelain

High quality porcelain was first made in China in the 9th century AD. Most chinese porcelain comes from the city of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province.

The first hard-paste porcelain produced In Europe came from the Meissen factory in the early 18th century, soon, factories throughout Europe began making this hard-paste porcelain known as Fine China.

Bone China

Originally European potters used a softer paste, which produced porcelain of a lower quality than the Chinese method. To compensate, around 1750 Spode and other English potters began to use bone ash to strengthen their porcelain. This producy which contained 25% to 50% bone ash became known as Bone China.

Bone ash creates a more translucent, whiter ceramic which swiftly became popular. This method is still used by prominent European factories such as Spode, Wedgwood and , and later by Lenox, the sole US producer of fine bone china.

China Manufacturers

Belleek
Fitz and Floyd
Gorham
Lenox
Pickard
Royal Worcester
Spode
Wedgwood