Did you know that Chinese New Year is next Saturday? We also noticed that many of you, while searching for our products, want to know more about how porcelain is made.
The story about fine China porcelain will, therefore, make a perfect match. Enjoy it.

Porcelain and other types of ceramics are such an integral part of our everyday life that it is not something we notice. This was not always the case. Porcelain was once the rarest of materials in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries so that only royalty and noblemen could afford it. The Chinese had discovered the secret of porcelain manufacture many centuries earlier and held on to this coveted secret in the interest of huge and continuous trade with Europe.

The porcelains would travel by boat especially through the East India Company that even had its own army. It was only at the middle of the 18th century that the secret was discovered by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and shortly thereafter porcelain was put into production by an alchemist named Bottger, then a captive of King Augustus II the Strong, at Meissen. It was considered the new “white gold” (meaning money).
Then ceramic manufacture exploded in Europe, with factories springing up in many countries, funded by various Kings, and with espionage in full force. These names are Meissen, Chelsea Manufactury, Lowestoft, Dupaquier, Sevres and many more.

Not all ceramics are special. Some are clunky, and dull and you wouldn’t mind if they got thrown out. Porcelain, as it differs from other ceramics, is made with kaolin, an ore of disintegrated granite. This allows the firing temperature to be very high and essentially turns the clay into glass, melted all the way through, and water will not go in it.
What makes hard porcelain beautiful? It should be as thin as it can be made. The clay surface, front and back should be white without any dark spots anywhere. It may have a lovely shape which you find quite appealing. The decoration on it can be very colorful. The design of the object will speak to you in a pleasing way, if you take the time to look at it and appreciate it. Great design and proportion sings.

The objects we have close to us in our lives make our environment either utilitarian, calm, stimulating, unpleasant, or uplifting. It is not a matter of impressing someone. It is a matter of surrounding yourself with things you love and with the fruits of a refined culture.
Today the world is becoming more and more integrated through trade, travel and business. So many cultures have impressive and unique designs and points of view. Choose the one that speaks to you. The originals of porcelain are Chinese, and many of the early European shapes are direct copies of Chinese wares. For example, Tobacco Leaf is an effusive and bold design believed to be created by the Chinese for the Portuguese market, and may have been taken from East Indian textile designs. It first appeared in the 1700’s and is a best selling pattern today. Great design knows no century.
So why porcelain? It is beautiful, enduring and timeless and it speaks to us.