File:Pottery and porcelain, from early times down to the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876 (1878) (14770835694).jpg

Identifier: potteryporcelain00elli (find matches)
Title: Pottery and porcelain, from early times down to the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876
Year: 1878 (1870s)
Authors: Elliott, Charles Wyllys, 1817-1883
Subjects: Pottery -- History Pottery -- Marks
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
Esq., of NewYork (Fig. 12G, the two tall teapots on the right and left). This was not white, nor was it true, porcelain. In 1710, however,they succeeded in making white porcelain of an inferior (quality ; it wasthick and muddy. Nothing as yet was perfect. What they lackedwas the two fine materials known to the Chinese as kaolin and pe-tun-tse. Kaolin is a native clay, the result of decayed feldspar. It is foundin Europe at Aue in Saxony, near St.-Yrieix-la-Perche in France, inCornwall in England, and in Delaware in America. DRFSDE^- PORCELAm. 233 Pe-tun-tse is a siliceous stone found in China, and in rornwall, Eno--land, is known as a granite. Tliis last melts at a lower heat, and amixture of kaolin is essential to give strength and hardness to thework. Oriental china (and all tnie porcelain) has the quality ui hardness,and, when held up to the light, of transluceney. European porcelains are known as hard and soft, the pate dure andpate tendre of the French. The Dresden china is hard.
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. Vlfi.—Dresden. In 1710 Bottger had not succeeded in making perfect porcelain.He had not yet the perfect clay. But the clay was found; and this,too, was accidental—so we now term it: once, a happy discovery wascalled providential. The discovery came at the right moment. It 234 • POTTERY AXD PORCELAIK seems that a rich iron-master of Saxony, wlien riding one day (ITll),saw that liis horses feet were held with tenacity in a soft white clay.It struck him that this white clay might be dried and made into hair-powder, then greatly in nse. He tried it; it succeeded, and large quan-tities were sold. The hair-dresser of Bottger used it, and, Avhen Bott-ger found it was heavy and a mineral, he at once applied it to theproduction of porcelain. Eureka ! the secret was found ! It was kaolin, the great clay—the body or bones of porcelain.Doubt tied. Courage was assured. Augustus at once built the great factory at Meissen, and in 1715enough porcelain was produced to be offered for sale

Note About Images