China

China, which is peak pottery appeared in China in IV-VI centuries. The invention of porcelain was associated with the desire to find a replacement for expensive and fashionable jade ware. Therefore, the first porcelain had green or bluish gray.

The greatest flowering of porcelain production belongs to the XV century, the era of the Ming Dynasty. By far the most expensive china is made in Jiangxi Province in the workshops Tszindechzhenya. With the X century porcelain begin to produce in Korea. In Japan, the production of porcelain appeared in the XVI-XVII centuries. under the influence of China and Korea. Especially known products, the Arita (aka Imari) Painted enamel on a white background (flowers, birds).

Depending on the weight and composition of the porcelain glaze different hard and soft porcelain. Certain intermediate species is represented by the so-called bone china.

Hard porcelain mainly contains two source material: kaolin and feldspar (sometimes in conjunction with a white mica). Properties of porcelain just depend on them, the more kaolin porcelain mass, the harder it is to melt and so it is harder. More mass is added in a porcelain or quartz sand. Component mixture is ground, mix, grind, and then dried to the point of the ability to take shape dough-like state. There is a plastic mass, which can be either molds or grind on a potter's wheel. Molded objects are fired twice, first at 600-800 ° C, and then - already with frosting - at 1300-1500 ° C. Hard porcelain different strength, heat-and corrosion-resistant, transparent, and, most importantly (!), Clean bell sound. In Europe, the hard porcelain was invented in 1708 in Meissen Johann Friedrich Boettger.

Soft porcelain, also called art consists primarily of mixtures of glassy materials containing sand or silica, nitrate, sea salt, baking soda, alum and crushed alabaster. This mass was ground and filtered, leading to ductile. Molded object is fired at 1100-1500 ° C, and is dry and non-porous. Glazed products undergo secondary fired at 1050-1100 ° C. Compared with hard, soft porcelain transparent, white is even more delicate, sometimes almost creamy tones, but the heat resistance of the porcelain below. Initial European porcelain was mild in the majority. Invented it in the XVI century in Florence (the so-called Medici porcelain).

Bone china is intermediate between hard and soft porcelain. Its membership is open to England and there around 1750 it was produced. Except kaolin and feldspar, it contains phosphate of lime from perezhzhennoy bone. Firing temperature bone china - 1100-1500 ° C. Bone china tougher and harder than soft-paste porcelain and less permeable, but the color was not as white as that of hard porcelain, but whiter than soft.

Both solid soft porcelain glaze, but there is no porcelain and glaze - it's called biscuit.

Russia has established the production of porcelain, Dmitry Vinogradov - classmate University. It is known that the first successful test of porcelain was obtained by Vinogradov in early 1747, and the earliest extant things has a sign in 1748. And already in 1751, Elizabeth's birthday was presented with a porcelain snuff box with its own Porcelain Manufactory. At the beginning of the 1750s. Petersburg Porcelain Manufactory produces first porcelain "doll" - people and animals. It is known that the first Russian porcelain sculpture will be no earlier in 1752, when it was obtained by a special porcelain mass. For the further development of Russian porcelain production Catherine the Great banned the import of china from abroad.

Art porcelain are numerous and differ in nature of finishing, and for other purposes. By the nature of finishes are porcelain with relief decoration or painting (painting). Relief decoration set into directly into the material of the object, which is either cast in molds with relief, or relief or decorative plastic parts (flowers, buds, leaves, figures as handles, etc.) are formed separately and then glued. The painting is done either under glaze or over it. During underglaze painting (typical Chinese porcelain) refractory metal oxides (cobalt, hematite) applied directly to the crock and then fired with glaze. The oldest overglaze technique - is painted with enamel paints. On hard porcelain such colors are not connected with a plastic coating and often stand out on the surface of the glaze. At the same soft porcelain, on the other hand, they often melted together with icing and merge with it. The so-called muffle paint and gilding also applied to the glaze. Firing takes place at 600-800 ° C.

By appointment artistic porcelain divided into: utilitarian - household items (sets, decanters, pitchers, etc.), writing materials (ink and writing instruments) Smoking Accessories (ashtrays), decorative - small sculptures, wall panels and others; jewelry (brooches), souvenirs (reliefs, plaques).

Throughout the world, the product of "white gold" - fine china is always appreciated, as one of the most expensive, elegant and aristocratic. Sculpted and hand-painted porcelain compositions are mastered ceramics. To create a thumbnail using all known methods and techniques of decoration and painting on porcelain, which helps reveal brighter artistic concept. Noble porcelain, a capricious and unpredictable in operation, after firing bewitches translucency and marvelous shades overflow painting.