Porcelain is made from fine white clay (kaolin) and other raw materials such as ground feldspar (also known as china stone or petuntse), which can be fired to a higher temperature than earthenware or stoneware. This means that the minute particles of clay fuse together to form a hard, vitreous body distinguished by its translucency. Porcelain is compact, almost completely impermeable, intrinsically tougher than pottery, and can also be crafted into more delicate forms, which in turn gives it a greater degree of fragility.

The Chinese were making porcelain some 800 years before the technique was first mastered in the West at the Meissen factory in Germany in 1710. The breakthrough was crucial since tea, coffee, and chocolate were fashionable drinks for smart society from the late 1600s, and had to be served in vessels that could hold very hot water without cracking.

Antique Collection

Slightly coarser softpaste porcelain had been known in the West since the 1500s, but it was not widely used until the 1700s. It was not used for teawares; fashionable society would have used imported Chinese porcelain.

Eggshell porcelain, made by the Chinese from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) onward, and in the late 1800s and early 1900 by the Japanese, at Beleek and Minton in Britain, and in East Liverpool, Trenton, and Baltimore in the United States, is particularly delicate. Portraits are sometimes incorporated in the base of teacups which are only visible when the piece is held to the light. Bone china, a white porcelain modified by the addition of bone ash to the paste, was developed at the Bow factory in London around 1747 and later taken up by Spode in the 1790s along with other factories; it was not commonly produced in Europe and America.The bone ash acts as a flux promoting the fusion of the ingredients.

Bone china appears slightly softer and creamier and is less crisp than hardpaste porcelain; when it chips it is possible to feel the slightly denser texture of the body.

Pattern, style, and shape

The date of a piece can provide a clue to material and consequently its use, care, and the advisability of restoration. Much domestic china produced in the West during the 1800s is unmarked because in the highly competitive china market, the retailer did not want his source revealed to the buyer. Much can be gleaned from pattern, style, and shape, but it is worth seeking expert advice to establish identity, date, and value. As an example, Satsuma wares of the late 1800s tend to be of a higher quality (though there are exceptions) as they were more finely potted, had better quality decoration, and were more delicate than those produced later, when the emphasis was on mass-production in which the refinement is lost, the relief decoration exaggerated, and the potting is sometimes thicker. The paintwork tends to wear.

Today, people generally do not require the huge sets often seen in the 1800s, but a setting for six or eight is to be expected and anything less than this is undesirable unless it is particularly special. The values of sets are dramatically affected by missing pieces. Look out in antique shops, auctions or markets for replacements.

A restored item should not be used; the resins used in restoration are toxic, and the piece is weaker. If restoration on some pieces in a set has been carried out, and this is not immediately obvious, mark them to ensure you do not use them by mistake.Valuable antique sets, or those clearly made for decorative purposes only, should not be used at all. Use items in rotation so that wear is even throughout the whole set. Do not put boiling water directly into fine china or porcelain as it may expand rapidly and crack; in the 1700s it was found that if cold milk was put in first it prevented the porcelain cracking, which how the custom of drinking milk with tea began.

Never wash decorated china in a dishwasher, only by hand in warm water with mild detergent. If a piece is cracked or chipped keep it away from any liquid.

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