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NICELY MADE IN CHINA FOCUS ON CHINA / 04 / 2011 FOCUS ON CHINA / 04 / 2011 NICELY MADE IN CHINA 63
PORCELAIN
Porcelain is generally believed to have originated in China.
Porcelain manufactured during the Tang Dynasty period
(618–906) was exported to the Islamic world, where it was
highly prized. By the Sui (about 580 AD) and Tang (about 620
AD) dynasties, porcelain had become widely produced.
Porcelain Capital: Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen is located in Jiangxi
Province. Jingdezhen's porcelain has
been famous not only in China but
also in other countries. It became
known internationally for being "as
thin as paper, as white as jade, as bright
as a mirror, and as sound as a bell".
Jingdezhen's natural resources include
kaolin, coal, manganese, and lime, but
it is the kaolin that has made the city
famous in China and the world. For
over a millennium, its unique kaolin
has enabled Jingdezhen to make highquality
porcelain.
How to make porcelain?
Forming
Pottery can be produced in three basic forming
traditions: handwork, wheel work, and slip
casting. It’s very common for wheel-worked
pieces to be finished by handwork techniques.
Glazing
Unlike their lower-fired counterparts, porcelain ware does not
need glazing to render them impermeable to liquids and for
the most parts are glazed for decorative purposes and to make
them resistant to dirt and staining.
Decoration
Porcelain ware may be decorated with
under glaze using pigments that include
cobalt and copper or over glaze using
coloured enamels.
Firing
In this process, green (unfired) ceramic ware is heated to
high temperatures in a kiln to permanently set their shapes.
Porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than earthenware
so that the body can vitrify and become non-porous.