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Porcelain consists of non-fusible clay, called kaolin, and fusible felspar, called petuntse by the Chinese. These are fired at a temperature of roughly 1400° C. After the first firing, the glass is applied. This will harden when the wares are fired for the second time. Porcelain can be either hard or soft according to the materials used.
Both are translucent, but soft porcelain, which is in reality a form of hard earthenware, has a body of ordinary clay and sand, soda or flint, depending on the individual factory. It is fired at a lower temperature than is hard porcelain.
Colour is produced by means of metallic oxides which will stand up to very high temperatures. When porcelain is painted, the colours are either applied to the body before glazing (under-glaze painting) or afterwards, over the glaze. In the first case, colours and body are indissolubly fused. In the second, the colours, having been put on after the second firing, are fired again in the comparatively cool muffle kiln. These soft enamel colours can be used in great variety, but are not so durable as under-glaze colours.
Other forms of decoration are gilding, a 'crazed' surface (obtained by sudden cooling) and various other techniques of glazing. Porcelain was invented by the Chinese. The actual date is disputed; some authorities consider it to be not older than the T'ang dynasty ( A. D. 618-907), others maintain that it was already made towards the end of the Han period ( 218 B.C. -- A. D. 205). Undoubtedly, porcelain experienced its greatest triumphs in China, Japan and Korea. Marco Polo spoke about it in his Travels, and when the Dutch East India Company later imported Chinese porcelain, it was soon highly coveted by collectors. It should be remembered that Chinese porcelain had been exported to the Middle East since the days of the T'ang dynasty and was already greatly valued even then.
The Chinese had always distinguished between wares made for the Imperial Court, those made for the home market and those which had become slightly defective during firing and were used for export. Whole regions, such as Swatow in southern China, made mostly export wares. Some of these have none of the 'delicacy' we normally associate with porcelain. Their decoration is vigorous, handsome and not in any way naturalistic. In Europe, imitation porcelain (Medici porcelain, French artificial pastes) was finally superseded when Johann Friedrich Böttger of Meissen discovered the secret of real porcelain in 1709. The Meissen factory was founded a year later. Employing the painter
Heroldt and the sculptor Kändler, Meissen maintained its leading position for some years, chiefly through its porcelain figures. It was soon the ambition of every ruler to have his own porcelain factory. The Vienna factory was opened in 1717. One of its leading artists was the sculptor Grassi. The Viennese wares produced during the Classical Revival, usually richly painted and gilt and of graceful forms, are amongst the most coveted porcelains. The Höchst factory, founded in 1746, owes its fame to flower-decorated wares in the Meissen style with characteristic colours of red and pink, and to over 300 statues by Johann Peter Melchior. The factories of Berlin (founded 1751) and Nyinphenburg (founded 1753) were soon amongst the most important in Germany -- after Meissen. While the shapes of the Berlin wares have always been examplary, Nymphenburg owes its reputation to the work of two sculptors, Bustelli and Melchior, whose delightful figures and groups are amongst the finest works of Rococo art.
Other factories were founded in Frankenthal, Ludwigsburg and Fürstenberg. In Italy, a leading manufactory was that at Capodimonte (founded 1743) near Naples. It was later moved to Buen Retiro in Spain. Catherine the Great established a porcelain factory at St Petersburg, and in 1759 Louis XV became sole proprietor of the privately founded Sèvres factory, in which he had already held a third of the shares since 1753. The soft porcelain made there is characterized by a wealth of glowing colours. Famous sculptors like Falconet created small figures in unglazed biscuit and porcelain of a matt and somewhat rough surface, for the royal factory. Special porcelain painters decorated dishes, plates and vases with 'pastoral' scenes after Fragonard and Boucher. England's most important factories were at Bow, Chelsea (already active in 1745), Derby, Longton Hall and Worcester.
There is little difference between the early ware of Chelsea and Bow. Both were soft porcelains and at first made use of Japanese patterns, although in time they developed greater originality. Later, Bow wares were made chiefly for use, while the Chelsea factory became famous for its so-called 'Chelsea toys' -- small flasks, boxes, flowers, scent bottles and little figures. Transfer printing was used at Bow as early as in 1756. Longton Hall porcelain also resembles the wares of the Chelsea factory, although it is somewhat coarser. Worcester porcelain is still being made. It comprises, inter alia, soft porcelain, 'Chinese' decoration, blue and white transfer printing and table ware with Classic Revival borders. The Copenhagen factory, founded in 1775, was soon producing articles for everyday use in excellent shapes. Its 20th-century products have had a fundamental effect on porcelain design. Many factories marked their wares in a special way; these marks were varied from time to time (Chelsea red anchor or gold anchor) and thus give an indication of the date.
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