Editing Porcelain

{{Short description|Ceramic material}}
{{About|the ceramic material}}
{{Redirect|Fine china}}
[[File:Chinese - Flask - Walters 491632 (square).jpg|thumb|Chinese [[Jingdezhen porcelain]] moonflask with [[underglaze]] blue and red. [[Qianlong]] period, 1736 to 1796]]

[[File:Lithophanie - Tischlampe, Porzellan, Vista Alegre, D2196.jpg|thumb|A [[lithophane]] exploits the translucency of porcelain]]
[[File:Bustelli Liebesgruppe Der gestörte Schläfer BNM.jpg|thumb|[[Nymphenburg porcelain]] group modelled by [[Franz Anton Bustelli]], 1756]]
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'''Porcelain''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɔːr|s|(|ə|)|l|ᵻ|n}}), also called '''china''', is a [[ceramic]] material made by heating [[Industrial mineral|raw materials]], generally including [[kaolinite]], in a [[kiln]] to temperatures between {{convert|1200|and|1400|°C|°F|-2}}. The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of [[pottery]], arise mainly from [[Vitrification#Ceramics|vitrification]] and the formation of the mineral [[mullite]] within the body at these high temperatures. End applications include [[tableware]], [[ceramic art|decorative ware]] such as [[figurine]]s, and products in technology and industry such as [[Insulator (electricity)|electrical insulators]] and laboratory ware.

The manufacturing process used for porcelain is similar to that used for [[earthenware]] and [[stoneware]], the two other main types of pottery, although it can be more challenging to produce. It has usually been regarded as the most prestigious type of pottery due to its delicacy, strength, and high degree of whiteness. It is frequently both glazed and decorated.

Though definitions vary, porcelain can be divided into three main categories: [[hard-paste porcelain|hard-paste]], [[soft-paste porcelain|soft-paste]], and [[bone china]]. The categories differ in the composition of the body and the firing conditions.

Porcelain slowly evolved in China and was finally achieved (depending on the definition used) at some point about 2,000 to 1,200 years ago. It slowly spread to other East Asian countries, then to Europe, and eventually to the rest of the world. The European name, porcelain in English, comes from the old Italian ''porcellana'' ([[cowrie shell]]) because of its resemblance to the surface of the shell.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/147941?redirectedFrom=porcelain#eid29267813|title=Porcelain, n. and adj.|website=Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=18 Jun 2018}}</ref> Porcelain is also referred to as "china" or '''fine china''' in some English-speaking countries, as it was first seen in imports from China during the 17th century.<ref>[[OED]], "China"; An Introduction to Pottery. 2nd edition. Rado P. Institute of Ceramic / Pergamon Press. 1988. Usage of "china" in this sense is inconsistent, & it may be used of other types of ceramics also.</ref> [[Physical property|Properties]] associated with porcelain include low [[Permeability (earth sciences)|permeability]] and [[elasticity (physics)|elasticity]]; considerable [[Strength of materials|strength]], [[hardness]], whiteness, [[Translucent|translucency]], and [[resonance]]; and a high resistance to [[Corrosive substance|corrosive chemicals]] and [[thermal shock]].

[[File:ChelseaSwanTureeen.JPG|thumb|[[Soft-paste porcelain]] swan [[tureen]], 1752–1756, [[Chelsea porcelain factory|Chelsea porcelain]]]]
[[File:Centro de flores (Porcelana Buen Retiro, MAN 1982-85-5) 01.jpg|thumb|Flower centrepiece, 18th century, Spain]]

Porcelain has been described as being "completely vitrified, hard, impermeable (even before glazing), white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness), and resonant".<ref>''Harmonized commodity description and coding system: explanatory notes, Volume 3'', 1986, Customs Co-operation Council, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury</ref> However, the term "porcelain" lacks a universal definition and has "been applied in an unsystematic fashion to substances of diverse kinds that have only certain surface-qualities in common".<ref>Definition in ''The Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities'' defines, Burton, 1906</ref>

Traditionally, East Asia only classifies pottery into low-fired wares (earthenware) and high-fired wares (often translated as porcelain), the latter also including what Europeans call "stoneware", which is high-fired but not generally white or translucent.  Terms such as "proto-porcelain", "porcellaneous", or "near-porcelain" may be used in cases where the ceramic body approaches whiteness and translucency.<ref>Valenstein, S. (1998). ''[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/38422/rec/3 A handbook of Chinese ceramics]'', pp. 22, 59-60, 72, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. {{ISBN|9780870995149}}. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909025246/http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/38422/rec/3|date=September 9, 2016}}</ref>

In 2021, the global market for porcelain tableware was estimated to be worth US$22.1 billion.<ref>'Porcelain Tableware Market - Outlook To 2031'. Transparency Market Research, 2021.</ref>

== Types ==
[[File:Chinese - Dish with Flowering Prunus - Walters 492365 - Interior.jpg|thumb|Chinese Imperial Dish with Flowering Prunus, [[Famille Rose]] overglaze enamel, between 1723 and 1735]]
[[File:Transparent porcelain.jpg|thumb|Demonstration of the translucent quality of porcelain]]

=== Hard paste ===
{{Main|Hard-paste porcelain}}

Hard-paste porcelain was invented in China, and it was also used in [[Japanese porcelain]]. Most of the finest quality porcelain wares are made of this material. The earliest European porcelains were produced at the [[Meissen porcelain|Meissen factory]] in the early 18th century; they were formed from a paste composed of [[kaolin]] and [[alabaster]] and fired at temperatures up to {{convert|1400|°C|°F|0}} in a wood-fired kiln, producing a porcelain of great hardness, translucency, and strength.<ref name=richards /> Later, the composition of the [[Meissen porcelain|Meissen hard paste]] was changed, and the alabaster was replaced by [[feldspar]] and [[quartz]], allowing the pieces to be fired at lower temperatures. Kaolinite, feldspar, and quartz (or other forms of [[silica]]) continue to constitute the basic ingredients for most continental European hard-paste porcelains.

=== Soft paste ===
{{Main|Soft-paste porcelain}}
Soft-paste porcelains date back to early attempts by European potters to replicate Chinese porcelain by using mixtures of clay and [[frit]]. Soapstone and lime are known to have been included in these compositions. These wares were not yet actual porcelain wares, as they were neither hard nor vitrified by firing [[kaolin]] clay at high temperatures. As these early formulations suffered from high pyroplastic deformation, or slumping in the kiln at high temperatures, they were uneconomic to produce and of low quality.

Formulations were later developed based on kaolin with quartz, feldspars, [[nepheline syenite]], or other feldspathic rocks. These are technically superior and continue to be produced. Soft-paste porcelains are fired at lower temperatures than hard-paste porcelains; therefore, these wares are generally less hard than hard-paste porcelains.<ref name=reed>{{cite book|last=Reed|first=Cleota|title=Syracuse China|year=1997|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, N.Y.|isbn=978-0-8156-0474-7|pages=51–52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4DcYxsoKjwC|author2=Skoczen|author3=Stan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107144022/http://books.google.com/books?id=O4DcYxsoKjwC|archive-date=2014-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Old China Book|year=1903|isbn=978-1-4344-7727-9|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1W96CstNfEgC|author=N. Hudson Moore|publisher=Wildside Press LLC |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528181713/http://books.google.com/books?id=1W96CstNfEgC|archive-date=2013-05-28}}</ref>

=== Bone china ===
{{Main|Bone china}}
Although originally developed in England in 1748<ref name=strumpf>{{cite book|last=Strumpf|first=Faye|title=Limoges boxes: A complete guide|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKaRJHFUK-wC|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, WI|isbn=978-0-87341-837-9|page=125|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202180418/https://books.google.com/books?id=RKaRJHFUK-wC|archive-date=2017-12-02}}</ref> to compete with imported porcelain, [[bone china]] is now made worldwide, including in China. The English had read the letters of [[Jesuit]] missionary [[François Xavier d'Entrecolles]], which described Chinese porcelain manufacturing secrets in detail.<ref name=burton>{{cite book|last=Burton|first=William|pages=18–19|title=Porcelain, Its Nature, Art and Manufacture|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924089530079#page/n31/mode/2up|year=1906}}</ref> One writer has speculated that a misunderstanding of the text could possibly have been responsible for the first attempts to use bone-ash as an ingredient in English porcelain,<ref name=burton /> although this is not supported by modern researchers and historians.<ref>''Science Of Early English Porcelain''. Freestone I C. Sixth Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society. Extended Abstracts. Vol.1 Brighton, 20–24 June 1999, pg.11-17</ref><ref>''The Special Appeal Of Bone China''. Cubbon R C P.Tableware Int. 11, (9), 30, 1981</ref><ref>''All About Bone China''. Cubbon R C P. Tableware Int. 10, (9), 34, 1980</ref><ref>''Spode's Bone China – Progress In Processing Without Compromise In Quality''. George R T; Forbes D; Plant P. Ceram. Ind. 115, (6), 32, 1980</ref><ref>''An Introduction To The Technology Of Pottery''. Paul Rado. Institute of Ceramics & Pergamon Press, 1988</ref>

Traditionally, English bone china was made from two parts of [[bone ash]], one part of [[kaolin]], and one part of [[china stone]], although the latter has been replaced by feldspars from non-UK sources.<ref>Changes & Developments Of Non-plastic Raw Materials. Sugden A. International Ceramics Issue 2 2001.</ref>

== Materials ==
{{Further|Pottery}}
Kaolin is the primary material from which porcelain is made, even though clay minerals might account for only a small proportion of the whole. The word ''paste'' is an old term for both unfired and fired materials. A more common terminology for the unfired material is "body"; for example, when buying materials a potter might order an amount of porcelain body from a vendor.

The composition of porcelain is highly variable, but the clay mineral [[kaolinite]] is often a raw material. Other raw materials can include feldspar, [[ball clay]], glass, [[bone ash]], [[steatite]], quartz, [[petuntse]] and [[alabaster]].

The clays used are often described as being long or short, depending on their [[Plasticity (physics)|plasticity]]. Long clays are [[Cohesion (chemistry)|cohesive]] (sticky) and have high plasticity; short clays are less cohesive and have lower plasticity. In [[soil mechanics]], plasticity is determined by measuring the increase in content of water required to change a clay from a solid state bordering on the plastic, to a plastic state bordering on the liquid, though the term is also used less formally to describe the ease with which a clay may be worked.

Clays used for porcelain are generally of lower plasticity than many other pottery clays. They wet very quickly, meaning that small changes in the content of water can produce large changes in workability. Thus, the range of water content within which these clays can be worked is very narrow and consequently must be carefully controlled.

== Production ==
{{Main|Pottery#Production}}

=== Forming ===
Porcelain can be made using all the shaping techniques for pottery.

=== Glazing ===
[[Biscuit porcelain]] is unglazed porcelain treated as a finished product, mostly for figures and sculpture. Unlike their lower-fired counterparts, porcelain wares do not need [[ceramic glaze|glazing]] to render them impermeable to liquids and for the most part are glazed for decorative purposes and to make them resistant to dirt and staining. Many types of glaze, such as the iron-containing glaze used on the celadon wares of [[Longquan celadon|Longquan]], were designed specifically for their striking effects on porcelain.

=== Decoration ===
[[File:Verseuse phénix Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Song dynasty]] [[celadon]] porcelain with a ''[[fenghuang]]'' spout, 10th century, China]]
Porcelain often receives [[underglaze]] decoration using pigments that include [[cobalt oxide]] and copper,  or [[overglaze enamel]]s, allowing a wider range of colours. Like many earlier wares, modern porcelains are often [[biscuit (pottery)|biscuit]]-fired at around {{convert|1,000|°C|°F}}, coated with glaze and then sent for a second [[Ceramic glaze|glaze]]-firing at a temperature of about {{convert|1,300|°C|°F}} or greater. Another early method is "once-fired", where the glaze is applied to the unfired body and the two fired together in a single operation.

=== Firing ===
In this process, "green" (unfired) ceramic wares are heated to high temperatures in a [[kiln]] to permanently set their shapes, vitrify the body and the glaze. Porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than earthenware so that the body can vitrify and become non-porous. Many types of porcelain in the past have been fired twice or even three times, to allow decoration using less robust pigments in [[overglaze enamel]].

== History ==

=== Chinese porcelain ===
{{Main|Chinese ceramics}}
[[File:Fonthill_Vase_in_National_Museum_of_Decorative_Art,_Dublin_(cropped).jpg|left|thumb|The [[Fonthill Vase]] is the earliest Chinese porcelain object to have reached Europe. It was a Chinese gift for [[Louis the Great of Hungary]] in 1338.]]
Porcelain was invented in China over a centuries-long development period beginning with "proto-porcelain" wares dating from the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1046 BCE). By the time of the Eastern [[Han dynasty]] (25–220 CE) these early glazed ceramic wares had developed into porcelain, which Chinese defined as high-fired ware.<ref name=kelun>{{cite book|last=Kelun|first=Chen|title=Chinese porcelain: Art, elegance, and appreciation|year=2004|publisher=Long River Press|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-1-59265-012-5|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOEfZtcSaFEC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528183403/http://books.google.com/books?id=zOEfZtcSaFEC|archive-date=2013-05-28}}</ref><ref name="columbia" /> By the late [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618 CE) and early [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907 CE), the now-standard requirements of whiteness and translucency had been achieved,<ref>Vainker, 66</ref> in types such as [[Ding ware]]. The wares were already exported to the [[Islamic world]], where they were highly prized.<ref name="columbia">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/porcelain.aspx#3|title=''Porcelain''|publisher=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] Sixth Edition. 2008|access-date=2008-06-27|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302182136/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/porcelain.aspx#3|archive-date=2009-03-02}}</ref><ref name=cheng />

Eventually, porcelain and the expertise required to create it began to spread into other areas of East Asia. During the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279 CE), artistry and production had reached new heights. The manufacture of porcelain became highly organised, and the [[dragon kiln]]s excavated from this period could fire as many as 25,000 pieces at a time,<ref name="temple">Temple, Robert K.G. (2007). ''The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention'' (3rd edition). London: André Deutsch, pp. 104-5. {{ISBN|978-0-233-00202-6}}</ref> and over 100,000 by the end of the period.<ref>{{cite book|author-link1=Rose Kerr (art historian)|last1=Kerr|first1=Rose|author-link2=Joseph Needham|last2=Needham|first2=Joseph|last3=Wood|first3=Nigel|title=[[Science and Civilisation in China]]: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 12, Ceramic Technology|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-83833-7}}</ref>  While [[Xing ware]] is regarded as among the greatest of the Tang dynasty porcelain, Ding ware became the premier porcelain of the Song dynasty.<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Nigel |title=Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation |publisher=A. & C. Black |location=London |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4081-4025-3}}</ref>  By the [[Ming dynasty]], production of the finest wares for the court was concentrated in a single city, and [[Jingdezhen porcelain]], originally owned by the imperial government, remains the centre of Chinese porcelain production.
[[File:Room 95-6753.JPG|thumb|Porcelain wares, such as those similar to these Yongle-era porcelain flasks, were often presented as trade goods during the 15th-century [[Treasure voyages|Chinese maritime expeditions]]. (British Museum)]]
By the time of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644 CE), porcelain wares were being [[Chinese export porcelain|exported]] to Asia and Europe. Some of the most well-known [[Chinese ceramics#Types of Chinese porcelain wares|Chinese porcelain art styles]] arrived in Europe during this era, such as the coveted "[[blue-and-white]]" wares.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=David Harris|title=Looking at European ceramics : a guide to technical terms|year=1993|publisher=The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal|location=Malibu|isbn=978-0-89236-216-5|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLAh5fomv2cC|author2=Hess, Catherine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706213557/http://books.google.com/books?id=PLAh5fomv2cC|archive-date=2014-07-06}}</ref> The Ming dynasty controlled much of the porcelain trade, which was expanded to Asia, Africa and Europe via the [[Silk Road]]. In 1517, Portuguese merchants began direct trade by sea with the Ming dynasty, and in 1598, Dutch merchants followed.<ref name=cheng>{{cite book|last=Te-k'un|first=Cheng|title=Studies in Chinese ceramics|year=1984|publisher=Chinese University Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=978-962-201-308-7|pages=92–93|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3die4xQmNzQC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202180418/https://books.google.com/books?id=3die4xQmNzQC|archive-date=2017-12-02}}</ref>

Some porcelains were more highly valued than others in imperial China. The most valued types can be identified by their association with the court, either as tribute offerings, or as products of kilns under imperial supervision.<ref name=Rawson>Rawson, Jessica "Chinese Art", 2007, publisher:the British Museum Press, London, {{ISBN|978-0-7141-2446-9}}</ref> Since the [[Yuan dynasty]], the largest and best centre of production has made [[Jingdezhen porcelain]]. During the Ming dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain had become a source of imperial pride. The [[Yongle emperor]] erected a [[Porcelain Tower of Nanjing|white porcelain brick-faced pagoda]] at [[Nanjing]], and an exceptionally smoothly glazed type of white porcelain is peculiar to his reign. Jingdezhen porcelain's fame came to a peak during the Qing dynasty.

=== Japanese porcelain ===
[[File:Four Arts China Japan.jpg|thumb|A contemporary Japanese porcelain goblet (in the middle of the [[Go (game)|Go]] board) and a Chinese teapot and its cups (on the side)]]

{{main|Japanese pottery and porcelain}}
Although the Japanese elite were keen importers of Chinese porcelain from early on, they were not able to make their own until the arrival of Korean potters that were taken captive during the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)]]. They brought an improved type of kiln, and one of them spotted a source of porcelain clay near [[Arita, Saga|Arita]], and before long several kilns had started in the region. At first their wares were similar to the cheaper and cruder Chinese porcelains with underglaze blue decoration that were already widely sold in Japan; this style was to continue for cheaper everyday wares until the 20th century.<ref>Smith, Harris, & Clark, 163-164; Watson, 260</ref>

[[File:Japanese - Figurine ("Okimono") of a Lion with a Ball - Walters 491757.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hirado ware]] [[okimono]] (figurine) of a lion with a ball, Japan, 19th century]]
[[Japanese export porcelain|Exports to Europe]] began around 1660, through the Chinese and the [[Dutch East India Company]], the only Europeans allowed a trading presence. Chinese exports had been seriously disrupted by civil wars as the Ming dynasty fell apart, and the Japanese exports increased rapidly to fill the gap. At first the wares used European shapes and mostly Chinese decoration, as the Chinese had done, but gradually original Japanese styles developed.

[[Nabeshima ware]] was produced in kilns owned by the families of feudal lords, and were decorated in the Japanese tradition, much of it related to textile design. This was not initially exported, but used for gifts to other aristocratic families. [[Imari ware]] and [[Kakiemon]] are broad terms for styles of export porcelain with overglaze "enamelled" decoration begun in the early period, both with many sub-types.<ref>Smith, Harris, & Clark, 164-165; Watson, 261</ref>

[[File:Nabeshima Dish with Hydrangea Design, c. 1680-1720, Arita, Okawachi kilns, hard-paste porcelain with cobalt and enamels - Gardiner Museum, Toronto - DSC00496.JPG|thumb|[[Nabeshima ware]] dish with [[hydrangea]]s, {{Circa|1680}}–1720, Arita, Okawachi kilns, hard-paste porcelain with cobalt and enamels]]
A great range of styles and manufacturing centres were in use by the start of the 19th century, and as Japan opened to trade in the second half, exports expanded hugely and quality generally declined. Much traditional porcelain continues to replicate older methods of production and styles, and there are several modern industrial manufacturers.<ref>Smith, Harris, & Clark, 165; Watson, 261</ref> By the early 1900s, Filipino porcelain artisans working in Japanese porcelain centres for much of their lives, later on introduced the craft into the native population in the [[Philippines]],<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 42719652|title = The First Philippine Porcelain|last1 = De Ayala|first1 = Fernando Zobel|journal = Philippine Studies|year = 1961|volume = 9|issue = 1|pages = 17–19}}</ref> although oral literature from Cebu in the central Philippines have noted that porcelain were already being produced by the natives locally during the time of Cebu's early rulers, prior to the arrival of colonizers in the 16th century.<ref>Ouano-Savellon, R. (2014). Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 42, No. 3/4: Aginid Bayok Sa Atong Tawarik: Archaic Cebuano and Historicity in a Folk Narrative. University of San Carlos Publications.</ref>

=== Korean porcelain ===
{{main|Korean pottery and porcelain}}
[[File:단지와 그릇받침 삼국, 신라 -壺, 器臺 三國, 新羅-Jar and tall stand with perforated base MET DP253577.jpg|thumb|Jar and tall stand with perforated base (in [[Silla]])]]

Olive green glaze was introduced in the late [[Silla Dynasty]]. Most ceramics from Silla are generally leaf-shaped, which is a very common shape in Korea. Korean celadon comes in a variety of colors, from [[turquoise]] to [[putty]]. Additionally, in the late 13th century, the [[Inlay]] technique of expressing pigmented patterns by filling the hollow parts of pottery with white and red clay was frequently used.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 16, 2020 |title=[Monthly KOREA] Korean Pottery Profile |url=https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=183309 |website=[[Korea.net]]}}</ref> The main difference from those in China is that many specimens have inlay decoration under the glaze.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Korean pottery |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Korean-pottery |website=[[Britannica]]}}</ref>

[[File:Goryeo Celadon.jpg|thumb|left|[[Goryeo ware]]]]
Most Korean ceramics from the [[Joseon Dynasty]] (1
-1910) are of excellent decorative quality. It usually has a melon shape and is asymmetrical.<ref name=":1" />

=== European porcelain ===
[[File:Lettre du pere Entrecolles 1712 du Halde 1735.jpg|thumb|left|Section of a letter from [[François Xavier d'Entrecolles]] about Chinese porcelain manufacturing techniques, 1712, re-published by [[Jean-Baptiste Du Halde]] in 1735]]
Imported Chinese porcelains were held in such great esteem in Europe that in English ''[[wikt:china|china]]'' became a commonly used synonym for the Italian-derived ''porcelain''. The first mention of porcelain in Europe is in ''[[Il Milione]]'' by [[Marco Polo]] in the 13th century.<ref>cap. CLVIII dell'edizione a cura di L.F. Benedetto, 1928; cap. 153 dell'edizione a cura di V. Pizzorusso Bertolucci</ref> Apart from copying Chinese porcelain in ''[[faience]]'' ([[Tin-glazed pottery|tin glazed]] [[earthenware]]), the soft-paste [[Medici porcelain]] in 16th-century [[Florence]] was the first real European attempt to reproduce it, with little success.

Early in the 16th century, Portuguese traders returned home with samples of kaolin, which they discovered in China to be essential in the production of porcelain wares. However, the Chinese techniques and composition used to manufacture porcelain were not yet fully understood.<ref name="temple" /> Countless experiments to produce porcelain had unpredictable results and met with failure.<ref name="temple" /> In the German state of [[Saxony]], the search concluded in 1708 when [[Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus]] produced a hard, white, translucent type of porcelain specimen with a combination of ingredients, including kaolin and [[alabaster]], mined from a Saxon mine in [[Colditz]].<ref name=burns /><ref name=richards>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=Sarah|title=Eighteenth-century ceramic: Products for a civilised society|year=1999|publisher=Manchester University Press|location=Manchester|isbn=978-0-7190-4465-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eighteenthcentur00sara/page/23 23]–26|url=https://archive.org/details/eighteenthcentur00sara|url-access=registration}}</ref> It was a closely guarded trade secret of the Saxon enterprise.<ref name=richards /><ref>{{cite book|last=Wardropper|first=Ian|title=News from a radiant future: Soviet porcelain from the collection of Craig H. and Kay A. Tuber|year=1992|publisher=Art Institute of Chicago|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-86559-106-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-J_fF8zgpMC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202180418/https://books.google.com/books?id=E-J_fF8zgpMC|archive-date=2017-12-02}}</ref>

In 1712, many of the elaborate Chinese porcelain manufacturing secrets were revealed throughout Europe by the French [[Jesuit]] father [[Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles]] and soon published in the ''Lettres édifiantes et curieuses de Chine par des missionnaires jésuites''.<ref name=Entrecolles1 /> The secrets, which d'Entrecolles read about and witnessed in China, were now known and began seeing use in Europe.<ref name=Entrecolles1>{{•}}Baghdiantz McAbe, Ina (2008). ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Orientalism_in_Early_Modern_France/WWatAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA220&printsec=frontcover Orientalism in Early Modern France]''. Oxford: Berg Publishing, p. 220. {{ISBN|978-1-84520-374-0}}<br />{{•}}Finley, Robert (2010). ''The pilgrim art. Cultures of porcelain in world history''. University of California Press, p. 18. {{ISBN|978-0-520-24468-9}}<br />{{•}}Kerr, R. & Wood, N. (2004). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mabcHwmAD5oC Joseph Needham : Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 5 Chemistry and Chemical Technology : Part 12 Ceramic Technology]''. Cambridge University Press, p. 36-7. {{ISBN|0-521-83833-9}}. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801073141/https://books.google.com/books?id=mabcHwmAD5oC |date=August 1, 2016 }}.<br />{{•}}{{cite book|last=Zhang|first=Xiping|title=Following the steps of Matteo Ricci to China|year=2006|publisher=China Intercontinental Press|location=Beijing|isbn=978-7-5085-0982-2|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_u2P83LgGUC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528183621/http://books.google.com/books?id=o_u2P83LgGUC|archive-date=2013-05-28}}<br />{{•}}{{cite book|last=Burton|first=William|year=1906|pages=47–48|title=Porcelain, Its Nature, Art and Manufacture|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924089530079#page/n59/mode/2up/ |publisher= B.T. Batsford}}</ref>

==== Meissen ====
[[File:Teller Schwanenservice.jpg|thumb|left|[[Meissen porcelain|Meissen]] plate from the famous [[Swan Service]] made for Count [[Heinrich von Brühl|Brühl]], minister to king [[Augustus III of Poland]], 1737-1742]]
Von Tschirnhaus along with [[Johann Friedrich Böttger]] were employed by [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus II]], [[King of Poland]] and [[Elector of Saxony]], who sponsored their work in [[Dresden]] and in the town of [[Meissen]]. Tschirnhaus had a wide knowledge of science and had been involved in the European quest to perfect porcelain manufacture when, in 1705, Böttger was appointed to assist him in this task. Böttger had originally been trained as a pharmacist; after he turned to alchemical research, he claimed to have known the secret of transmuting dross into gold, which attracted the attention of Augustus. Imprisoned by Augustus as an incentive to hasten his research, Böttger was obliged to work with other alchemists in the futile search for transmutation and was eventually assigned to assist Tschirnhaus.<ref name=burns>{{cite book|last=Burns|first=William E.|title=Science in the enlightenment: An encyclopedia|year=2003|publisher=ABC-Clio|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-1-57607-886-0|pages=38–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4H9_Zvp80nAC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120134818/https://books.google.com/books?id=4H9_Zvp80nAC|archive-date=2015-11-20}}</ref> One of the first results of the collaboration between the two was the development of a red stoneware that resembled that of [[Yixing clay|Yixing]].

A workshop note records that the first specimen of hard, white and vitrified European porcelain was produced in 1708. At the time, the research was still being supervised by Tschirnhaus; however, he died in October of that year. It was left to Böttger to report to Augustus in March 1709 that he could make porcelain. For this reason, credit for the European discovery of porcelain is traditionally ascribed to him rather than Tschirnhaus.<ref>Gleeson, Janet. ''The Arcanum'', a short history on the greed, obsession, murder and betrayal that led to the creation of Meissen porcelain. Bantam Books, London, 1998.</ref>

The [[Meissen porcelain|Meissen factory]] was established in 1710 after the development of a kiln and a glaze suitable for use with Böttger's porcelain, which required firing at temperatures of up to {{convert|1400|°C|°F|0}} to achieve translucence. Meissen porcelain was ''once-fired'', or ''green-fired''. It was noted for its great resistance to [[thermal shock]]; a visitor to the factory in Böttger's time reported having seen a white-hot teapot being removed from the kiln and dropped into cold water without damage. Although widely disbelieved this has been replicated in modern times.<ref>BBC4 How it works: Ep 3. Ceramics how they work 16 Apr 2012</ref>

==== Russian porcelain ====
In 1744, [[Elizabeth of Russia]] signed an agreement to establish the first porcelain manufactory; previously it had to be imported. The technology of making "white gold" was carefully hidden by its creators. [[Peter the Great]] had tried to reveal the "big porcelain secret", and sent an agent to the Meissen factory, and finally hired a porcelain master from abroad.<ref>[http://www.kstu.ru/article.jsp?id_e=78453&id=5657 History of Russian inventions. Porcelain. (In Russian).]</ref> This relied on the research of the Russian scientist [[Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov]]. His development of porcelain manufacturing technology was not based on secrets learned through third parties, but was the result of painstaking work and careful analysis. Thanks to this, by 1760, [[Imperial Porcelain Factory, Saint Petersburg]] became a major European factories producing tableware, and later porcelain figurines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bestwonderstore.com/2020/07/09/history-of-russian-porcelain-from-its-origins-to-the-present-day/ |title=History of Russian porcelain: from its origins to the present day. |access-date=2020-09-23 |archive-date=2020-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001205943/https://bestwonderstore.com/2020/07/09/history-of-russian-porcelain-from-its-origins-to-the-present-day/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Eventually other factories opened: Gardner porcelain, [[Dulyovo porcelain works|Dulyovo]] (1832), Kuznetsovsky porcelain, Popovsky porcelain, and [[Gzhel]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

During the twentieth century, under Soviet governments, ceramics continued to be a popular artform, supported by the state, with an increasingly propagandist role.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lobanov-Rostovsky |first=Nina |date=1989 |title=Soviet Propaganda Porcelain |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1503986 |journal=The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts |volume=11 |pages=126–141 |jstor=1503986 |issn=0888-7314}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crichton-Miller |first=Emma |title=The tale of Russia's revolutionary ceramics {{!}} Blog {{!}} Royal Academy of Arts |url=https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/magazine-the-tale-of-russias-revolutionary-ceramics |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=www.royalacademy.org.uk}}</ref> One artist, who worked at the [[Baranovsky Porcelain Factory]] and at the [[Experimental Ceramic and Artistic Plant i|Experimental Ceramic and Artistic Plant]] in Kyiv, was [[Oksana Zhnikrup]], whose porcelain figures of the ballet and the circus were widely known.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Porcelain Pop Art by Oksana Zhnikrup |url=http://en.uartlib.org/exclusive/porcelain-pop-art-by-oksana-zhnikrup/ |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=Ukrainian Art Library |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Soft paste porcelain ====
[[File:Jar MET DP168331 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Capodimonte porcelain]] jar with three figures of [[Pulcinella]] from the [[commedia dell'arte]], soft-paste, 1745–50.]]
[[File:Chantilly porcelain 1750 1760.jpg|thumb|[[Chantilly porcelain]], soft-paste, 1750-1760]]
{{Main|Soft-paste porcelain}}
The pastes produced by combining clay and powdered glass ([[frit]]) were called ''Frittenporzellan'' in Germany and ''frita'' in Spain.  In France they were known as ''pâte tendre'' and in England as "soft-paste".<ref>Honey, W.B., ''European Ceramic Art'', Faber and Faber, 1952, p.533</ref> They appear to have been given this name because they do not easily retain their shape in the wet state, or because they tend to slump in the kiln under high temperature, or because the body and the glaze can be easily scratched.

=====France=====
Experiments at [[Rouen]] produced the earliest soft-paste in France, but the first important French soft-paste porcelain was made at the [[Saint-Cloud factory]] before 1702. Soft-paste factories were established with the [[Chantilly porcelain|Chantilly manufactory]] in 1730 and at [[Mennecy]] in 1750. The [[Vincennes porcelain factory]] was established in 1740, moving to larger premises at [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres]]<ref>Munger, Jeffrey (October 2004). "[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sevr/hd_sevr.htm Sèvres Porcelain in the Nineteenth Century]". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 31 October 2011. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903081028/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sevr/hd_sevr.htm|date=September 3, 2016}}</ref> in 1756. Vincennes soft-paste was whiter and freer of imperfections than any of its French rivals, which put Vincennes/Sèvres porcelain in the leading position in France and throughout the whole of Europe in the second half of the 18th century.<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/porf/hd_porf.htm Metropolitan Museum of Art] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508063931/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/porf/hd_porf.htm |date=May 8, 2016 }}</ref>

=====Italy=====
[[Doccia porcelain]] of [[Florence]] was founded in 1735 and remains in production, unlike [[Capodimonte porcelain]] which was moved from [[Naples]] to [[Madrid]] by [[Charles III of Spain|its royal owner]], after producing from 1743 to 1759. After a gap of 15 years [[Naples porcelain]] was produced from 1771 to 1806, specializing in [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] styles. All these were very successful, with large outputs of high-quality wares. In and around [[Venice]], Francesco Vezzi was producing hard-paste from around 1720 to 1735; survivals of [[Vezzi porcelain]] are very rare, but less so than from the Hewelke factory, which only lasted from 1758 to 1763. The soft-paste [[Cozzi porcelain|Cozzi factory]] fared better, lasting from 1764 to 1812. The [[Le Nove porcelain|Le Nove factory]] produced from about 1752 to 1773, then was revived from 1781 to 1802.<ref>Battie, 102-105: Le Corbellier, 1-29</ref>

=====England=====
The first soft-paste in England was demonstrated by Thomas Briand to the [[Royal Society]] in 1742 and is believed to have been based on the Saint-Cloud formula. In 1749, Thomas Frye took out a [[patent]] on a porcelain containing bone ash. This was the first [[bone china]], subsequently perfected by [[Josiah Spode]].  [[William Cookworthy]] discovered deposits of kaolin in [[Cornwall]], and his [[Plymouth Porcelain|factory at Plymouth]], established in 1768, used kaolin and [[china stone]] to make hard-paste porcelain with a body composition similar to that of the Chinese porcelains of the early 18th century. But the great success of English ceramics in the 18th century was based on soft-paste porcelain, and refined earthenwares such as [[creamware]], which could compete with porcelain, and had devastated the [[faience]] industries of France and other continental countries by the end of the century.  Most English porcelain from the late 18th century to the present is bone china.

In the twenty-five years after Briand's demonstration, a number of factories were founded in England to make soft-paste tableware and figures:
* [[Chelsea porcelain factory|Chelsea]] (1743)<ref>'Science Of Early English Porcelain.' I.C. Freestone. ''Sixth Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society''. Vol.1 Brighton, 20–24 June 1999, p.11-17</ref><ref>'The Sites Of The Chelsea Porcelain Factory.' E.Adams. ''Ceramics'' (1), 55, 1986.</ref>
* [[Bow porcelain factory|Bow]] (1745)<ref>{{cite web|title=Bow|url=http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/pages/subcategory.asp?subcat_id=725|publisher=Museum of London|access-date=31 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203191921/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/pages/subcategory.asp?subcat_id=725|archive-date=3 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bow porcelain bowl, painted by Thomas Craft|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_I-62|publisher=British Museum|access-date=31 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204072816/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/b/bow_porcelain_bowl,_painted_by.aspx|archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="british-history.ac.uk">{{cite web|title=Bow porcelain|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22166|work=British History Online|publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust|access-date=31 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203183828/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22166|archive-date=3 December 2011}}</ref>
* St James's (1748)<ref name="british-history.ac.uk" /><ref>{{cite web|title=St James's (Charles Gouyn)|url=http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/pages/subcategory.asp?subcat_id=727&subcat_name=St+James%27s+%28Charles+Gouyn%29|publisher=Museum of London|access-date=31 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203202942/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/pages/subcategory.asp?subcat_id=727&subcat_name=St+James%27s+%28Charles+Gouyn%29|archive-date=3 December 2011}}</ref>
* [[Bristol porcelain]] (1748)
* [[Longton Hall]] (1750)<ref>Ceramic Figureheads. Pt. 3. William Littler And The Origins Of Porcelain In Staffordshire. ''Cookson Mon. Bull. Ceram. Ind.'' (550), 1986.</ref>
* [[Royal Crown Derby]] (1750 or 1757)<ref>{{cite web|title=The History of Royal Crown Derby |url=http://www.royalcrownderby.co.uk/history|publisher=Royal Crown Derby|access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120206195707/http://www.thepotteries.org/features/royal_crown_derby1956.htm History of Royal Crown Derby Co Ltd, from "British Potters and Potteries Today", publ 1956]</ref>
* [[Royal Worcester]] (1751)
* [[Lowestoft porcelain]] (1757)<ref>'The Lowestoft Porcelain Factory, and the Chinese Porcelain Made for the European Market during the Eighteenth Century.' L. Solon. ''The Burlington Magazine''. No. 6. Vol.II. August 1906.</ref>
* [[Wedgwood]] (1759)
* [[Spode]] (1767)

== Applications other than decorative and tableware ==

=== Electric insulators ===
[[File:Insulators for 66kV Power Line (Ibaraki,Japan) 02.jpg|thumb|A string of 8 insulators on a 66 kV transmission line]]
Porcelain has been used for electrical insulators since at least 1878,<ref>'Insulators For High Voltages.' J. S. T. Looms. Institution of Electrical Engineers. 1988. Pg. 4</ref> with another source reporting earlier use of porcelain insulators on the telegraph line between Frankfurt and Berlin.<ref>'High-Voltage Insulators: Basics and Trends for Producers, Users and Students.' J. Liebermann. Schulze. 2012. Pg. 15</ref> It is widely used for insulators in electrical power transmission system due to its high stability of electrical, mechanical and thermal properties even in harsh environments.<ref>'Development Of Electrical Porcelain Insulators From Local Clays' C.C. Okolo; O.A. Ezechukwu; E.N. Ifeagwu E. N & R.C. Unegbu. International Journal of Engineering Innovation & Research. Volume 3, Issue 6, ISSN: 2277 – 566</ref>

A body for electrical porcelain typically contains varying proportions of ball clay, kaolin, feldspar, quartz, calcined alumina and calcined bauxite. A variety of secondary materials can also be used, such as binders which burn off during firing.<ref>'Manufacture of Porcelain Insulators' INMR magazine June 2022</ref> UK manufacturers typically fired the porcelain to a maximum of 1200&nbsp;°C in an oxidising atmosphere,<ref>'Insulators For High Voltages.' J. S. T. Looms. Institution of Electrical Engineers. 1988. Pg. 60</ref> whereas reduction firing is standard practice at Chinese manufacturers.<ref>'The Influence of Kiln Atmospheres on Electrical Porcelain Firing' Hong Yin, Xhengqun Liu, Xiaoli Hu. Ceram. Eng. Sci. Proc. 15. [1] 176-179. (1994)</ref>

In 2018, a porcelain [[Bushing (electrical)|bushing]] insulator manufactured by [[NGK]] in [[Handa, Aichi|Handa]], [[Aichi Prefecture]], [[Japan]] was certified as the world's largest ceramic structure by [[Guinness World Records]]. It is 11.3 m in height and 1.5 m in diameter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/521076-largest-ceramic-structure#:~:text=NGK%20INSULATORS%2C%20LTD.&text=The%20largest%20ceramic%20structure%20is,achieved%20by%20NGK%20INSULATORS%2C%20LTD | title=Largest ceramic structure | date=25 September 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ngk-insulators.com/en/news/20190913_10590.html | title=Transformer Insulators Recognized by Guinness World Records &#124; News }}</ref>

The global market for high-voltage insulators was estimated to be worth US$4.95 billion in 2015, of which porcelain accounts for just over 48%.<ref>'Overview of World Markets for Insulators & Bushings' INMR magazine Sept. 2016.</ref>

=== Chemical porcelain ===
[[File:Abdampfschalen verschiedene Groessen.jpg|thumb|Evaporating dishes made of chemical porcelain]]
A type of porcelain characterised by low thermal expansion, high mechanical strength and high chemical resistance. Used for laboratory ware, such as reaction vessels, combustion boats, [[evaporating dish]]es and [[Büchner funnel]]s. Raw materials for the body include kaolin, quartz, feldspar, calcined alumina, and possibly also low percentages of other materials. A number of International standards specify the properties of the porcelain, such as [[ASTM International|ASTM]] C515.<ref>'Industrial Ceramics. Singer F. & Singer S.S. Chapman & Hall. 1971</ref><ref>'Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering' 3rd edition. I.J.McColm. Springer. 2013. pg. 89</ref>

=== Tiles ===
[[File:Dakinbldg.jpg|thumb|[[Dakin Building]], Brisbane, California, faced with porcelain tiles]]
A porcelain tile has been defined as 'a ceramic mosaic tile or paver that is generally made by the dust-pressed method of a composition resulting in a tile that is dense, fine-grained, and smooth with sharply formed face, usually impervious and having colors of the porcelain type which are usually of a clear, luminous type or granular blend thereof.'<ref>Standard Terminology Of Ceramic Whitewares And Related Products. ASTM C242-01 (2007). (ASTM International)</ref> Manufacturers are found across the world<ref>'Manufacturers Of Porcelain Tiles' Ceram.World Rev. 6, No.19, 1996 ... 'The main manufacturers of porcelain tiles in Italy, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas are listed.'</ref> with Italy being the global leader, producing over 380&nbsp;million square metres in 2006.<ref>"Italian Porcelain Tile Production At The Top" Ind.Ceram. 27, No.2, 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How are Porcelain Tiles Made? |url=https://www.londonstone.co.uk/blog/secret-perfect-porcelain/ |website=London Stone |date=28 August 2017 |access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref>

Historic examples of rooms decorated entirely in porcelain tiles can be found in several palaces including ones at [[Galleria Sabauda]] in [[Turin]], Museo di Doccia in [[Sesto Fiorentino]], [[Museo di Capodimonte]] in Naples, the [[Royal Palace of Madrid]] and the nearby [[Royal Palace of Aranjuez]].<ref>[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2792293957101026524 Porcelain Room, Aranjuez] {{dead link|date=December 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Comprehensive but shaky video</ref> and the [[Porcelain Tower of Nanjing]]. More recent examples include the [[Dakin Building]] in [[Brisbane, California]] and the [[Gulf Building (Houston)|Gulf Building]] in Houston, Texas, which when constructed in 1929 had a {{convert|21|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} porcelain logo on its exterior.<ref name="Porcelain Tile 1992">"Porcelain Tile: The Revolution Is Only Beginning." Tile Decorative Surf. 42, No.11, 1992.</ref>

=== Sanitaryware ===
[[File:Bourdaloue dsc02723.jpg|thumbnail|right|Porcelain chamber pots from Vienna.]]
Because of its durability, inability to rust and impermeability, glazed porcelain has been in use for personal hygiene since at least the third quarter of the 17th century. During this period, porcelain chamber pots were commonly found in higher-class European households, and the term "bourdaloue" was used as the name for the pot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-bourdaloue.htm |title=What is a Bourdaloue? |work=wisegeek.com |year=2014 |access-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213055214/http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-bourdaloue.htm |archive-date=13 December 2014 }}</ref>

Whilst modern sanitaryware, such as toilets and washbasins, is made of ceramic materials, porcelain is no longer used and vitreous china is the dominant material.<ref>'Sanitaryware' Domenico Fortuna. Faenza (Gruppo Editoriale), 2000</ref> Bath tubs are not made of porcelain, but of [[Industrial porcelain enamel|enamel]] on a metal base, usually of [[cast iron]]. Porcelain enamel is a [[marketing]] term used in the US, and is not porcelain but [[vitreous enamel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/autos/drive/buick-made-bathtubs-he-built-cars|title=Buick made bathtubs before he built cars &#124; Las Vegas Review-Journal|work=reviewjournal.com|year=2014|access-date=27 March 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141004081625/http://www.reviewjournal.com/autos/drive/buick-made-bathtubs-he-built-cars|archive-date=4 October 2014}}</ref>

=== Dental porcelain ===
[[File:Bridge from dental porcelain.jpg|thumb|Dental porcelain bridge]]
[[Dental porcelain]] is used for crowns, bridges and veneers. A formulation of dental porcelain is 70-85% [[feldspar]], 12-25% [[quartz]], 3-5% [[kaolin]], up to 15% [[glass]] and around 1% colourants.<ref>'A Clinical Guide To Applied Dental Materials' S. J. Bonsor and G. J. Pearson. Elsevier 2013</ref>

== Manufacturers ==
{{Dynamic list}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* The Americas
** Brazil
*** Germer Porcelanas Finas
*** Porcelana Schmidt
** [[United States]]
*** [[Blue Ridge (dishware)|Blue Ridge]]
*** [[CoorsTek]], Inc.
*** [[Franciscan Ceramics|Franciscan]]
*** [[Lenox (company)|Lenox]]
*** [[Lotus Ware]]
*** [[Pickard China]]
* Asia
** China
*** [[Ding ware]]
*** [[Jingdezhen porcelain]]
** Iran
*** Maghsoud Group of Factories, (1993–present)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maghsoudgroup.net/landing/index_en.html|website=Maghsoud Factories Group|title=Maghsoud Factories Group|access-date=26 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713063054/http://www.maghsoudgroup.net/landing/index_en.html|archive-date=13 July 2016}}</ref>
*** Zarin Iran Porcelain Industries, (1881–present)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.zariniran.com/company/about-us/history/|website=Zarin Iran Porcelain Industries|title=History|access-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205181247/https://en.zariniran.com/company/about-us/history/|archive-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>
** Japan
*** [[Hirado ware]]
*** [[Kakiemon]]
*** [[Nabeshima ware]]
*** [[Narumi]]
*** [[Noritake]]
** [[Malaysia]]
*** [[Royal Selangor]]
** South Korea
*** Haengnam Chinaware
*** Hankook Chinaware
** Sri Lanka
*** [[Dankotuwa Porcelain]]
*** Noritake Lanka Porcelain
*** [[Dankotuwa Porcelain|Royal Fernwood Porcelain]]
** Taiwan
*** [[Franz-porcelains|Franz Collection]]
** Turkey
*** Yildiz Porselen (1890–1936, 1994–present)
*** [[Kütahya Porselen]] (1970–present)
*** Güral Porselen (1989–present)
*** Porland Porselen (1976–present)
*** [[Istanbul Porselen]] (1963 – early 1990s)
*** [[Sümerbank Porselen]] (1957–1994)
** [[United Arab Emirates]]
*** RAK Porcelain
** Vietnam
*** [[Minh Long I porcelain]] (1970–present)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minhlong.com/en/content/3/about-us/ |title=Trang chủ &#124; Gốm sứ cao cấp Minh Long I |access-date=2017-02-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223043114/http://www.minhlong.com/en/content/3/about-us/ |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref>
*** [[Bát Tràng porcelain]] (1352–present)
* [[Porcelain manufacturing companies in Europe|Europe]]
** Austria
*** [[Vienna Porcelain Manufactory]], 1718–1864
*** [[Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten]], 1923–present
** Croatia
*** [[Inkerpor]] (1953–present)
** [[Czech Republic]]
*** [[Haas & Czjzek]], [[Horní Slavkov]] (1792–2011)
*** [[Thun 1794]], [[Klášterec nad Ohří]] (1794–present)
*** [[Český porcelán]] a.s., [[Dubí]], Eichwelder Porzellan und Ofenfabriken Bloch & Co. Böhmen (1864–present)
*** [[Rudolf Kämpf]], [[Nové Sedlo (Sokolov District)]] (1907–present)
** Denmark
*** [[Aluminia]]
*** [[Bing & Grøndahl]]
*** [[Denmark porcelain]]
*** [[P. Ipsens Enke]]
*** [[Kastrup Vaerk]]
*** [[Kronjyden]]
*** [[Porcelænshaven]]
*** [[Royal Copenhagen]] (1775–present)
*** [[GreenGate]]
** Finland
*** [[Arabia (brand)|Arabia]]
** France
*** [[Saint-Cloud porcelain]] (1693–1766)
*** [[Chantilly porcelain]] (1730–1800)
*** [[Vincennes porcelain]] (1740–1756)
*** [[Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain]] (1745–1765)
*** [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres porcelain]] (1756–present)
*** [[Revol Porcelaine|Revol porcelain]] (1789–present)
*** [[Limoges porcelain]]
*** [[Haviland & Co.|Haviland porcelain]]
** Germany
*** [[Porcelain manufacturing companies in Europe#Current porcelain manufacturers in Germany|Current porcelain manufacturers in Germany]]
** Hungary
*** [[Hollóháza Porcelain Manufactory]] (1777–present)
*** [[Herend Porcelain Manufactory|Herend Porcelain Manufacture]] (1826–present)
*** [[Zsolnay]] Porcelain Manufacture (1853–present)
** Italy
*** [[Doccia porcelain|Richard-Ginori 1735 Manifattura di Doccia]] (1735–present)<ref>[https://archive.today/20130829134049/http://www.ilsitodifirenze.it/content/830-richard-ginori-gucci-firma-laccordo-lacquisizione Richard Ginori: Gucci firma l'accordo per l'acquisizione | Il Sito di Firenze<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente -->]</ref>
*** [[Capodimonte porcelain]] (1743–1759)
*** [[Naples porcelain]] (1771–1806)
*** [[Manifattura Italiana Porcellane Artistiche Fabris]] (1922–1972)
*** [[Mangani SRL, Porcellane d'Arte]] ([[Florence]])
** Lithuania
*** Jiesia<ref>[http://www.jiesia.lt/ Jiesia]</ref>
** [[Netherlands]]<ref group="lower-alpha">Notwithstanding its company name, ''"[[De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles]] N.V."'' of Delft, The Netherlands, is a manufacturer of [[Delftware]], a variety of [[faience]], not of porcelain.</ref>
*** {{ill|Haagsche Plateelbakkerij Rozenburg|nl|Plateelbakkerij Rozenburg}} (1883–1916)
*** [[Joannes de Mol|Loosdrechts Porselein]]
*** [[Bertrand Philip, Count of Gronsveld|Weesp Porselein]]
** Norway
*** [[Egersund porcelain]]
*** [[Figgjo (company)|Figgjo]] (1941–present)
*** [[Herrebøe porcelain]]
*** [[Porsgrund Porcelain Factory|Porsgrund]]
*** [[Stavangerflint]]
** Poland
*** [[AS Ćmielów]]
*** [[Fabryka Fajansu i Porcelany]]<ref>Iwona Kienzler "Dwudziestolecie międzywojenne" Tom 48 "Kultowe marki" s. 27 {{ISBN|978-83-7945-029-9}}</ref>
*** [[Polskie Fabryki Porcelany "Ćmielów" i "Chodzież" S.A.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.porcelana-cmielow.pl/|website=Polskie Fabryki Porcelany Ćmielów i Chodziez S.A|title=Polskie Fabryki Porcelany 'Ćmielów' i 'Chodzież' S.A.|access-date=31 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119145906/http://www.porcelana-cmielow.pl/|archive-date=19 November 2016}}</ref>
*** [[Kristoff Porcelana]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.porcelana-kristoff.pl/|website=Kristoff Porcelain|title=Kristoff Porcelain|access-date=26 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724125350/http://www.porcelana-kristoff.pl/|archive-date=24 July 2016}}</ref>
*** [[Lubiana S.A.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubiana.com.pl/|website=Lubiana S.A. - polski producent porcelany dla domu i rynku horeca|title=Lubiana S.A. - polski producent porcelany dla domu i rynku horeca|access-date=31 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210111047/http://lubiana.com.pl/|archive-date=10 December 2016}}</ref>
** Portugal
*** [[Vista Alegre (company)|Vista Alegre]]
*** [[Spal (company)|Sociedade Porcelanas de Alcobaça]]
*** [[Costa Verde (company)]], located in the district of Aveiro
** Russia
*** [[Imperial Porcelain Factory, Saint Petersburg]] (1744–present)
*** [[Verbilki Porcelain]] (1766–present), [[Verbilki]] near [[Taldom]]
*** [[Gzhel (ceramics)|Gzhel ceramics]] (1802–present), [[Gzhel (selo), Moscow Oblast|Gzhel]]
*** [[Dulevo Farfor]] (1832–present), [[Likino-Dulyovo]]
** Spain
*** [[Real Fábrica del Buen Retiro|Buen Retiro Royal Porcelain Factory]] (1760–1812)
*** [[Real Fábrica de Sargadelos]] (1808–present, intermittently)
*** [[Porvasal]]
** Sweden
*** [[Rörstrand]]
*** [[Gustavsberg porcelain]]
** Switzerland
*** [[Suisse Langenthal]]
** United Kingdom
*** [[Aynsley China]] (1775–present)
*** [[Belleek Pottery|Belleek]] (1884–present)
*** [[Bow porcelain factory]] (1747–1776)
*** [[Caughley porcelain]]
*** [[Chelsea porcelain factory]] (c. 1745; merged with Derby in 1770)
*** [[Coalport porcelain]]
*** [[Davenport Pottery|Davenport]]
*** [[Goss crested china]]
*** [[Liverpool porcelain]]
*** [[Longton Hall porcelain]]
*** [[Lowestoft Porcelain Factory]]
*** [[Mintons Ltd]] (1793–1968; merged with Royal Doulton)
*** [[Nantgarw Pottery]]
*** [[New Hall porcelain]]
*** [[Plymouth Porcelain]]
*** [[Rockingham Pottery]]
*** [[Royal Crown Derby]] (1750/57–present)
*** [[Royal Doulton]] (1815–2009; acquired by [[Fiskars]])
*** [[Royal Worcester]] (1751–2008; acquired by [[Portmeirion Pottery]])
*** [[Spode]] (1767–2008; acquired by [[Portmeirion Pottery]])
*** [[Saint James's Factory]] (or "Girl-in-a-Swing", 1750s)
*** [[Swansea porcelain]]
*** [[Vauxhall porcelain]] 
*** [[Wedgwood]], (factory 1759–present, porcelain 1812–1829, and modern. Acquired by [[Fiskars]])
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* [[Blue and white porcelain]]
* [[List of porcelain manufacturers]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* [[David Battie|Battie, David]], ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain'', 1990, Conran Octopus. {{ISBN|1850292515}}
* Le Corbellier, Clare, [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/58497/rec/1 ''Eighteenth-century Italian porcelain''], 1985, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], (fully available online as PDF)
* Smith, Lawrence, Harris, Victor and Clark, Timothy, ''Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum'', 1990, British Museum Publications, {{ISBN|0714114464}}
* Vainker, S.J., ''Chinese Pottery and Porcelain'', 1991, British Museum Press, 9780714114705
* [[William Watson (sinologist)|Watson, William]] ed., ''The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period 1600–1868'', 1981, [[Royal Academy of Arts]]/Weidenfeld & Nicolson

== Further reading ==
* Burton, William (1906). [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24188766M/Porcelain_its_nature_art_and_manufacture ''Porcelain, Its Nature, Art and Manufacture'']. London: Batsford.
* ''Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities''&nbsp;– EC Commission in Luxembourg, 1987.
* {{cite book |last=Finlay |first=Robert |year=2010 |title=The Pilgrim Art: Cultures of Porcelain in World History |volume=11 of California World History Library|edition=Illustrated|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHWIKuAYbK8C|isbn=978-0-520-94538-8|access-date=24 April 2014}}
* Gleeson, Janet, ''The Arcanum: The Extraordinary True Story of the Invention of European Porcelain'', 1998, Bantam Press. {{ISBN|978-0-59304-348-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Guy |first=John |editor-first=John |editor-last=Guy |year=1986 |title=Oriental trade ceramics in South-East Asia, ninth to sixteenth centuries: with a catalogue of Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai wares in Australian collections|edition=Illustrated, revised |publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxrrAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780195825930|access-date=24 April 2014}}
* {{Gutenberg|no=49439|name=A Book of Porcelain|author=Rackham, Bernard|bullet=none}}
* Valenstein, S. (1998). ''[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/38422/rec/3 A Handbook of Chinese ceramics]'', Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. {{ISBN|978-0-87099-514-9}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Porcelain}}
* [http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Porcelain.html How porcelain is made]
* [http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Bisque-Porcelain-Figurine.html How bisque porcelain is made]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051210070949/http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/p/porcelain.html ArtLex Art Dictionary – Porcelain]

{{Porcelain}}
{{Pottery}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Ceramic materials]]
[[Category:Chinese culture]]
[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
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[[Category:Materials with minor glass phase]]
[[Category:Pottery]]
[[Category:Tableware]]