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• Introduction
• The Chinese Wallpaper
• Tea
• Porcelain
• Rice
• Silk
• Chippendale
• Further Activities

China at Harewood

Porcelain

Porcelain has been made in China since the dynastic periods. China has always been fully endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics, and the first types of ceramic were made about 11,000 years ago.

Most of the finest ceramics made in China were destined for the Imperial family and courtiers. The well known heavily patterned styles of porcelain are known as 'famille verte' (green) and 'famille rose' (pink) and were largely made for the export market. They fit with the taste of the European market and the current fashion of the 'exotic east'.

 

Porcelain Production

Porcelain is a ceramic material with a very delicate texture. It is mainly made by combing two materials to make a 'clay' mixture. China clay or kaolin is mixed with pottery stone or petuntse. The mixture is then fired to high temperatures in a kiln at temperatures between 1,200˚C (2,192˚F) and 1,400˚C (2,552˚F). The toughness and strength of porcelain comes from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these temperatures.