Posts Tagged ‘kaolin’

Porcelain
Plymouth, Bristol, and New Hall
English porcelain belonged to a type known technically as soft-paste, or “artificial”, porcelain, which lacked the beautiful hard whiteness of hard-paste porcelain such as that produced in China or at Meissen. However, the chemist William Cookworthy (1705-80) believed that hard paste could be made in Britain and searched for suitable raw materials. Kaolin (china clay), the essential ingredient in true porcelain, had been discovered in Cornwall in 1745, and Cookworthy patented several formulas containing this mineral to make what he believed to be the finest English porcelain.
PLYMOUTH AND BRISTOL
From c.1768 Cookworthy produced England’s first commercial hard-paste porcelain at his Plymouth works, but it was dogged by serious problems. A pure white glaze was rarely achieved – the creamy surface was frequently covered with black specks that gave it a dirty appearance. Like Meissen and other European makers, Plymouth experienced difficulties with its underglaze blue, which almost turned black, with severe blurring. Painters from Worcester were attracted to Plymouth, and the factory’s shapes and Oriental designs closely follow those of Worcester. Few collectors will admit that Plymouth was a failure, but when Cookworthy moved to Bristol in 1770 he had little of any real quality to show new investors.
The porcelain made by Cookworthyat Bristol was probably identical to his Plymouth wares, and it seems likely that much of the porcelain today called “Plymouth” was really made at Bristol. Improvements were made: John Toulouse, a modeller at Bow, came via Worcester and introduced new shapes and figures, mainly direct copies of the latest patterns of Meissen’s “Academic” period (1763-74). Bristol sometimes marked its wares with a copy of the Meissen crossed swords, a feature that often confuses present-day collectors – particularly since Bristol porcelain achieved a whiteness similar to that of Meissen after Richard Champion (1743-91) took over Cookworthy’s patents
in 1774. Champion made some beautiful porcelain, especially in the Neo-classical
style, but never in any great quantity because the works continued to be plagued by firing difficulties, notably “wreathing” – spiral ridges
on the surface caused by kiln distortion. Plates and dishes were placed on clay supports during firing to prevent warping. The factory closed in 1781.
NEW HALL
Despite the failure of Bristol, Champion still saw a future for English hard-paste porcelain and visited Staffordshire to try to sell his patent. A consortium of manufacturers showed an interest but realized
that Champion’s formula had to be adapted for mass production. As the New Hall Co., the consortium opened a factory c.1781 at Shelton to exploit an improved version of Champion’s porcelain body – the type now known as “hybrid hard paste”. The glaze tended to be greenish-grey, but it could be potted very thinly, and wreathing was a less severe problem. The factory was designed to make a profit and aimed its products at a mass market, ignoring more expensive pieces such as ornamental figures and vases. Tea and coffee services in a limited range of patterns comprised the bulk of New Hall’s output. Other factories, also concentrating on teawares, were established in competition, and each firm produced its own version of standard shapes – it is therefore important for collectors to learn the differences. New Hall continued into the 1830s, although its later products are not as collectable.
Plymouth (c.1768-70)
• BODY hard-paste porcelain
• GLAZE a pure white glaze was rarely achieved, because the creamy surface was frequently covered by a smoke of black specks that gave it a dirty appearance
• UNDERGLAZE BLUE almost black, with severe blurring
• DECORATION Oriental patterns following Worcester
Marks
This alchemical sign for tin (which was the main industry in Cornwall) was sometimes used
Bristol (1770-81)
• BODY hard-paste porcelain; very white after 1774
• FEATURES “wreathing” – ridges spiralling around the surface – can often be seen on cups and other hollow shapes owing to firing difficulties
• STYLE Neo-classical, continental
• DECORATION inspired by Meissen “Academic” wares
Marks
Mark in blue enamel, sometimes accompanied by numerals; Meissen crossed-swords mark also copied
New Hall (c.1781-1830s)
• BODY hard-paste porcelain, thinly potted
• GLAZE thick, dull, and greenish grey
• FORMS specialized in tea and coffee services aimed at the mass market; other items are extremely rare
Marks
Pattern numbers were introduced to enable customers to reorder easily, and these help with identification

Paris became an important centre of porcelain production from the 1780s. Several factors led to the vast increase in the number of porcelain factories: the discovery of kaolin in the Limoges area in 1768, which enabled the production of hard paste; sponsorship by members of the French royal and later imperial families; and the relaxation of laws protecting the monopoly of the Sevres factory. The heyday of the Paris factories was from the 1790s to the 1820s, during which period at least 15 factories and large workshops were operating.
THE DIHL FACTORY
Christophe Dihl ( 1753-1830) and Antoine Guerhard (5.1793) founded a factory on the rue de Bondi in 1781 under the protection of the Duke of Angouleme. The factory’s wares of the 1780s are decorated with cornflowers (known as the “Angouleme sprig”), geometric motifs, and landscapes. The factory’s finest period was the early 19th century, when the popularity and quality of its wares rivalled Sevres. During this period the factory specialized in decoration imitating hardstones. Dihl carried out research into ground colours, producing “jaspered” effects simulating agate and tortoiseshell, usually in combination with fine gilt borders and sometimes reserved scenes. The factory also made biscuit figures of children and allegorical subjects in the Rococo and later Neo-classical tastes; these were sometimes mounted on plinths decorated in matt blue and gilt in imitation of lapis lazuli. Following financial problems during the 1820s, the factory closed in 1828.
THE NAST FACTORY
One of the most successful of all Paris factories, the Nast factory was founded in 1783 by the Austrian Nepomucene-Jean-Hermann Nast (1754-1817). The factory, which operated until 1835, produced a huge variety of items, from luxury tablewares to domestic items such as chamber-pots, jars, and lamps. Its best period was following the Revolution (1789), when it was well known for its development of matt ground colours, in particular a chrome green. Decoration could be very lavish, with high-quality gilding and painted landscapes, Classical subjects, and grotesques; in 1810 Nast developed gilt relief borders imitating bronze, used mainly on cups and saucers. The factory made a range of biscuit figures and busts of Classical and mythological subjects, Napoleon, and other personalities of the Empire period, as well as blue-tinted biscuit wares in imitation of Wedgwood, such as clockcases and candlesticks. It also sold large quantities of undecorated porcelain, which sometimes bears the marks of other Paris factories, such as Darte Freres.
THE DAGOTY AND HONORS FACTORIES
The Dagoty and Honore factories formed a partnership between 1816 and 1820, after which they operated independently again. The best-known products of the partnership were richly gilded dessert, tea, and coffee services with animal-shaped handles and spouts, and butterfly-shaped knops. Eggcups and inkwells were modelled as snails or mythological figures, and larger cups as swans, shells, and tulips. On some pieces a red ground with gilt chinoiseries, imitating lacquer, was used, which is rare and highly sought after. Coloured grounds combined with landscapes, fable subjects, and figures based on Pompeian paintings were popular.
• BODY pure white, and even, hard paste with glassy, clear glaze; the dense, slightly sugary appearance of the paste can be seen on the often unglazed foot-rims
• DECORATION simple gilt borders of Classical motifs and scattered flowers; painted scenes with coloured and gilt grounds; painted imitations of hardstones and lacquer; rich gilding
• FIGURES biscuit figures of children, allegorical subjects

Early porcelain
The porcelain factories established in France in the early 18th century manufactured soft-paste porcelain, since the kaolin necessary for the production of hard paste was not discovered in France until 1768. Early French porcelain, particularly that of Chantilly, is considered especially attractive by collectors because of its soft ivory or creamy colour. The first factory was established in the 1670s in Rouen by the Poterat family, but its output was much less significant than the later factories of Saint-Cloud, Chantilly, and Mennecy.
SAINT-CLOUD
In 1664 Claude Reverend obtained a privilege to experiment with the manufacture of porcelain in and around Paris. In 1674 he employed Pierre Chicaneau (d.1677), who is said to have discovered the recipe for soft-paste porcelain. Through the patronage of the Duke of Orleans, Chicaneau’s widow, Barbe Coudray (d.1717), was granted a privilege for the manufacture of faience and porcelain at Saint-Cloud in 1702.
A large range of wares was made at the factory, including ice pails, spice-boxes, snuff-boxes, bonbonnieres, and cutlery handles. A speciality was pot-pourri vases, usually left unpainted. Early decoration comprised underglaze blue borders of lambrequins. From c.1730 wares were left in the white and decorated with moulded prunes blossom, imitating Mane-de-Chine wares from Dehua in Fujian Province, China. More European designs, such as overlapping leaves and wading birds, were introduced as moulded decoration. In the same period, the painters copied Japanese wares in the Kakiemon and Imari patterns.
CHANTILLY
In 172.5 Louis-Henri of Bourbon, Prince of Conde, founded a porcelain factory on his estate at Chantilly. The factory is celebrated for its wares decorated in the style of Japanese Kakiemon and Chinese famine-vote porcelain. Many items – jardinieres, teapots, jugs, and plates – were probably copied directly from Oriental originals in the Duke’s collection. Figures of Chinese and Japanese characters were also a speciality of the factory before c.1750 and were decorated in the Kakiemon style.
After the mid-18th century, decoration of small scattered sprays of European flowers was introduced. In 1753 Louis XV issued an edict restricting the use of gilding and certain colours by French porcelain factories to protect the commercial interests of Vincennes. Permitted decoration generally consisted of simple floral designs in underglaze blue, or blue or pink enamels. During the 19th century Chantilly porcelain was extensively copied by the factory of Edme Samson & Cie in Paris.
MENNECY
In 1734 the faience manufacturer Francois Barbin (1689-1765) opened a factory producing soft-paste porcelain in Paris under the patronage of the Duke of Villeroy. Wares in the style of Vincennes, Saint-Cloud, and Meissen as well as imitations of Japanese Kakiemon porcelain were made. In 1748 the factory moved to Mennecy, near Paris, where custard-cups and covers, moulded with spiral or vertical fluting, and bell-shaped ice-cups, influenced by Vincennes and Sevres, were produced. These were painted with sprays Of flowers in a palette dominated by puce and red. Before 1750 the factory produced stiffly modelled Oriental figures, usually decorated in the Kakiemon palette, and after 1750 rustic peasants, children at play, allegorical figures, and, more rarely, commedia dell’arte figures.
Saint-Cloud (1664-1766)
• BODY creamy-white or ivory soft paste, with a soft glaze that is greenish where it gathers
• DECORATION ION lambrequin borders in underglaze blue; moulded prunes blossom; stiffly painted copies of Japanese Kakiemon and Imari patterns and palettes

• BODY soft-paste porcelain with a distinctive opaque, creamy tin glaze, which makes it look similar to faience; 19th-century copies are greyish and glassy
• DECORATION before the 1750s Kakiemon and famille verte patterns outlined in black – these wares are the most collectable; from the 1750s European flowers in underglaze blue, or blue or pink monochrome
• FIGURES Oriental figures painted in Kakiemon palette

Mennecy (1734-1806)
• BODY similar to Saint-Cloud, with a soft, ivory tone and a slightly green tint to the glaze
• DECORATION Kakiemon style; sprays of European flowers in a pastel palette dominated by puce and red
• FIGURES stiffly modelled figures of Orientals, painted in Kakiemon style; later, figures of peasants, children, putti, and allegorical subjects in line with Rococo taste

Yuan and early Ming
During the Mongol occupation and the early reigns of the Ming Dynasty, momentous changes occurred at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. The kilns came under imperial patronage, and fine porcelain with underglaze decoration supplanted the glazed stonewares of the Song period as the most desirable form of ceramic. Exported Longquan celadons remained a vital source of revenue for the government.
PORCELAIN
Although porcellaneous wares had been made from the late 6th century, it was at Jingdezhen that porcelain developed to its full potential. The addition of kaolin (china clay) to the batch made it possible to make much larger pieces than before. Shu fu wares, which take their name from the two moulded Chinese characters shit and fu (”Privy Council”) found on their interiors, arc of thickly potted white porcelain with an opaque, greyish-white glaze; these were made during the Yuan period for the Ministry of Military and Civil Affairs.
UNDERGLAZE BLUE-AND-RED DECORATION
The use of underglaze decoration probably dates
from c.1330. Cobalt imported from Persia was applied directly onto the unfired body, which was then glazed and fired. Copper oxide, which fires red, was often used in combination with underglaze blue in the earliest painted wares of Jingdezhen, and by the late 14th century it was used on its own. Copper is much more volatile than cobalt and many of these pieces are flawed, the red being greyish and dull.
In 1368, after the Mongols were finally expelled from China, the Ming Emperor Hongwu (1368-98) imposed a strict trade embargo, and foreign cobalt became very rare. The use of copper oxide therefore became more widespread, and copper monochromes were introduced, reaching their peak in the reign of Xuande (1426-35). The Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande reign periods are also regarded as belonging to the classical era of blue and white, when foreign cobalt was once again in plentiful supply. The blue tended to filter through the glaze, creating an effect known as “heaped and piled”, much imitated during the Qing period.
Longquan
• FORMS abandonment of archaic forms in favour of large platters and forms dictated by the export market
• GLAZE thinner and more olive than on Song wares
• DECORATION very little space left undecorated
Qinghai
• FORMS large pieces made possible by the addition of kaolin to the paste
• DECORATION increasingly ornate, with little space left undecorated; beading and Buddhist figures common
Shu fu
• BODY thickly potted porcelain
• GLAZE opaque, greyish-white and waxy
• DECORATION may have moulded Chinese characters
shu and it scarcely visible under the glaze; moulded floral decoration on the inside and incised decoration on the outside
Blue-and-white wares
• FORMS bottles, bulbous wine jars, and large platters
(many with bracketed rims) for the export market
• GLAZE viscous in the Yuan period and inclined to
the pitted “orange-peel” effect in the early Ming
• BLUE dark speckled blue, known as “heaped and piled”, on some Xuande and Yongle pieces
• DECORATION themes include fish among aquatic plants, flower motifs, grapes, and vine tendrils (specifically for the export market)
• STYLE crowded arrangements in the Yuan, but elegant, harmonious spacing in the Yongle and Xuande periods

Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is regarded as the classic period of Chinese ceramics, when simple, elegant wares decorated with attractive monochrome glazes were produced. The five “classic wares” – Ding, Jun, Ru, Guano, and Ge – were produced for imperial use, while other wares, notably Cizhou and some of the northern celadons, were made for a much wider market.
CELADONS
The most characteristic Song ceramics are the celadons, with their iron-derived, semi-translucent, usually greenish glaze. When the Song court was situated in northern China (960-1126), such centres of production as Yaozhou in Shaanxi Province became important for celadons; the most distinctive northern celadons are those with incised or moulded decoration of floral scrolls covered with an olive-green glaze. The later Longquan or southern celadon usually has a pale-grey body that shows the thick, opaque, bluish-green, slightly bubbly glaze to advantage. The best Longquan wares include archaic forms and items for the scholar’s desk, bowls, and vases. Jun wares made in Yu xian and Linru in Henan Province are thickly potted stonewares with a lavender-blue glaze often splashed with purple derived from copper oxide and, very rarely, green. Typical forms include chunky globular jars. Ru wares, the rarest and most coveted of all Song ceramics, are simple, elegant stonewares with a crackled blue-green glaze. Guan wares have light buff or dark stoneware bodies with a very thick, pale-greyish glaze that is usually strongly crackled and may be black, brown, or clear. The bodies show dark brown or black on the unglazed rims and feet.
OTHER WARES
Ding wares, made in Ding xian in Hebei Province, are fine porcellaneous stonewares with a warm ivory glaze, made in delicate shapes, including ewers and vases as well as small plates and bowls. Most flatware was fired upside down – the rims were left unglazed, and were bound with gold-coloured metal (now
patinated). Moulded decoration was introduced in the 11th cenrury; in this a reusable stoneware mould was impressed onto the hard clay, creating closely meshed designs; the earlier, more fluid, hand-carved ornament was also used. Qingbai (bluish white) wares from
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province have a fine white porcelain body and a glassy blue glaze that tends to pool. These items are very delicate and elegant, and include thinly potted conical bowls and beautifully proportioned vases.
Fine black-glazed stonewares were produced during the Song period in Henan Province and at Jian in Jiangxi Province. Blackwares were sometimes decorated with red-brown floral designs. Cizhou wares, named after the kilns in Cizhou in Hebei Province, are sturdy stonewares with robust designs in black-and-white slip; often part of the black slip was scraped away to create a textured pattern (sgraffito), while on other wares the designs were sometimes painted on. Common shapes include “pillows” and meiping (an inverted-pear-shaped vase).
Marks
Song wares are generally unmarked, although a few stoneware moulds have survived with 12th- or 13th-century dates incised on the surface

• BODY most Song wares are stonewares, although Ding and Qinghai wares are porcellaneousSTYLE
• subtle and scholarly, in contrast to the flamboyance of the preceding Tang period and the subsequent Yuan period; from the 12th century there is a strong archaizing tendency, with a fashion for classic jade and bronze shapes
• DECORATION many Song wares are without ornament, relying for effect on the harmony between glaze and form; early Ding and northern celadons are decorated with restrained carved designs – some later wares have busier moulded floral and foliate decoration; Cizhou wares show the greatest variety of decorative techniques

Early Chinese Ceramics
By the Shang period (c.1600-c.1050) when stonewares were first produced in China, there was an advanced ceramic technology, with the separate high-fired and low-fired traditions of Chinese ceramics already apparent. The high-fired Yue stonewares produced from the 3rd century AD were the precursors of the great celadons of the Song period and represent a high level of technical and artistic achievement.
EARLY WARES
The earliest known Chinese ceramics are low-fired eathenwares dating from the Neolithic period. Distinct traditions emerged in the Central (c.5000-c.2500 BC) and Western (c.3300-c.1800 BC) Yangshao cultures and the Dawenkou culture (c.5800-c.1500 BC) in the north-east. The distinctive bulbous red Yangshao earthen wares were coil constructed and were sometimes decorated with impressed cord-like patterns or painted with bold black or purple geometric designs, often of spirals and loops enclosing checkered patterns. Dawenkou wares are thin, wheel-thrown pots made of red, grey, or black earthenware, which was burnished.
During the Shang period thick, white, unglazed pots were made of kaolin (china clay), while other fine clays were used to make stonewares, which were then glazed. A, ceramics technology developed, wares became
increasingly sophisticated; the potter’s wheel became more common, and new types of body - such as high-fired stoneware-were introduced. Forms at this time tended to be based On such bronze ritual forms as the ding and the hit. In the Han period a huge variety of wares was made, including models of houses, farms, ponds, and human figures in lead-glazed earthenware, which were all produced as funerary goods to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.
sophisticated desk ornaments, such as water droppers and brush rests in the shapes of frogs, lions, and other animals, as well as burial urns with applied models of buildings, animals, people, or Buddhist deities. Yue
wares also include more functional items, including straight-sided basins. From the second half of the 4th century ewers with characteristic “chicken-head” spouts were produced, and within about 100 years more elegant versions with taller proportions were being made. In general, later Yue wares are more graceful than earlier ones, the glaze becoming progressive less olivey and more jade-like and translucent owing to the use of finer raw materials.
TANG WARES
Some fine white-bodied wares, which led to the production Of true porcelain, were made during the Tang period, and included both glazed and unglazed wares. The glaze on Tang wares is particularly distinctive as it has a bright, glassy appearance. In the low-fired range the most characteristic wares of the period are the sancai (”three colour”) wares, namely earthenware vessels and models made as tomb goods, decorated
with runny lead-fluxed glazes coloured green, chestnut,
amber, cream, and, later, blue. Vessels are typically squat
and rounded, and include jars, vases, and bowls. Decoration was Moulded or painted with spotted designs based on contemporary textile patterns. Figures include tomb guardians (whose faces were often left unglazed and painted with coloured pigments after firing), camels, and horses. Because these wares have been buried for such long periods they are usually relatively undamaged; nevertheless, they can be very reasonably priced.
Principal Chinese dynasties
Shang (c.1600-c.1050 BC) Song (960-1279)
Zhou (c.1050-256 BC) Yuan (1279-1368)
Han (206 BC-AD 220) Ming (1368-1644)
Tang (618-907) Qing 1644-1911
Neolithic wares
• BODY red, grey, or black earthenwareFORMS
• funeral jars, cooking utensils, and ewers
• DECORATION cord-like patterns; bold painted designs
YUE WARES
Grey-bodied stonewares covered with a green-grey glaze were made in the Yue district in northern Zhejiang Province from the 3rd or 4th century AD until the 10th or 11th century, when they Isere superseded by the famous Longquan celadons. Yuc wares are exceptionally fine and were presented as tribute at the Tang court as well as being exported to South-East Asia and the Near East. Early Yue wares include
Yue wares
• BODY stoneware
• FORMS desk ornaments (water droppers, brush rests, etc); “chicken-head” ewers; bowls and jars
• GLAZE green-grey with an olive tinge in early wares
• DI CORATION incised decoration and applied figures
and modelling on desk ornaments and burial urns
Tang sancai wares
• BODY earthenware
• GLAZE lead-fluxed green, amber, brown, cream, blue
• DECORATION Pots re-create woven textile patterns; horses have superbly modelled tack