PORCELAIN
[Illustration: _PLATE I._ JAPANESE IMARI WARE]
PORCELAIN
BY
EDWARD DILLON, M.A.
[Illustration: The
Connoisseur’s
Library]
METHUEN AND CO.
36 ESSEX STREET
LONDON
_First published in 1904._
PREFACE
How extensive is the literature that has grown up of late years round
the subject of porcelain may be judged from the length of our ‘selected’
list of books dealing with this material. Apart from the not
inconsiderable number of general works on the potter’s art in French,
German, and English, there is scarcely to be found a kiln where pottery
of one kind or another has been manufactured which has not been made the
subject of a separate study. And yet, as far as I know, the very
definite subdivision of ceramics, which includes the porcelain of the
Far East and of Europe, has never been made the basis of an independent
work in England.
It has been the aim of the writer to dwell more especially on the nature
of the paste, on the glaze, and on the decoration of the various wares,
and above all to accentuate any points that throw light upon the
relations with one another--especially the historical relations--of the
different centres where porcelain has been made. Less attention has been
given to the question of marks. In the author’s opinion, the exaggerated
importance that has been given to these marks, both by collectors and by
the writers that have catered to them, has more than anything else
tended to degrade the study of the subject, and to turn off the
attention from more essential points. This has been above all the case
in England, where the technical side has been strangely neglected. In
fact, we must turn to French works for any thorough information on this
head.
In the bibliographical list it has been impossible to distinguish the
relative value of the books included. I think that _something_ of value
may be found in nearly every one of these works, but in many, whatever
there is of original information might be summed up in a few pages. In
fact, the books really essential to the student are few in number. For
Oriental china we have the Franks catalogue, M. Vogt’s little book, _La
Porcelaine_, and above all the great work of Dr. Bushell, which is
unfortunately not very accessible. For Continental porcelain there is no
‘up-to-date’ work in English, but the brief notes in the catalogue
prepared shortly before his death by Sir A. W. Franks have the advantage
of being absolutely trustworthy. The best account of German porcelain is
perhaps to be found in Dr. Brinckmann’s bulky description of the Hamburg
Museum, which deals, however, with many subjects besides porcelain,
while for Sèvres we have the works of Garnier and Vogt. For English
porcelain the literature is enormous, but there is little of importance
that will not be found in Professor Church’s little handbook, or in the
lately published works of Mr. Burton and Mr. Solon. The last edition of
the guide to the collection lately at Jermyn Street has been well edited
by Mr. Rudler, and contains much information on the technical side of
the subject. On many historical points the notes in the last edition of
Marryat are still invaluable: the quotations, however, require checking,
and the original passages are often very difficult to unearth.
In the course of this book I have touched upon several interesting
problems which it would be impossible to thoroughly discuss in a general
work of this kind. I take, however, the occasion of bringing one or two
of these points to the notice of future investigators.
Much light remains to be thrown upon the relations of the Chinese with
the people of Western Asia during the Middle Ages. We want to know at
what time and under what influences the Chinese began to decorate their
porcelain, first with blue under the glaze, and afterwards by means of
glazes of three or more colours, painted on the biscuit. The relation of
this latter method of decoration to the true enamel-painting which
succeeded it is still obscure. So again, to come to a later time, there
is much difference of opinion as to the date of the first introduction
of the _rouge d’or_, a very important point in the history and
classification of Chinese porcelain.
We are much in the dark as to the source of the porcelain exported both
from China and Japan in the seventeenth century, especially of the
roughly painted ‘blue and white,’ of which such vast quantities went to
India and Persia. So of the Japanese ‘Kakiyemon,’ which had so much
influence on our European wares, what was the origin of the curious
design, and what was the relation of this ware to the now better known
‘Old Japan’?
When we come nearer home, to the European porcelain of the eighteenth
century, many obscure points still remain to be cleared up. The
currently accepted accounts of Böttger’s great discovery present many
difficulties. At Sèvres, why was the use of the newly discovered _rose
Pompadour_ so soon abandoned? And finally, in England, what were we
doing during the long years between the time of the early experiments of
Dr. Dwight and the great outburst of energy in the middle of the
eighteenth century?
The illustrations have been chosen for the most part from specimens in
our national collections. I take this opportunity of thanking the
officials in charge of these collections for the facilities they have
given to me in the selection of the examples, and to the photographer in
the reproduction of the pieces selected. To Mr. C. H. Read of the
British Museum, and to Mr. Skinner of the Victoria and Albert Museum, my
thanks are above all due. To the latter gentleman I am much indebted for
the trouble he has taken, amid arduous official duties, in making
arrangements for photographing not only examples belonging to the
Museum, scattered as these are through various wide-lying departments,
but also several other pieces of porcelain at present deposited there by
private collectors. To these gentlemen, finally, my thanks are due for
permission to reproduce examples of their porcelain--to Mr. Pierpont
Morgan, to Mr. Fitzhenry, to Mr. David Currie, and above all to my
friend Mr. George Salting, who has interested himself in the selection
of the objects from his unrivalled collection.
The small collection of marks at the end of the book has no claim to
originality. The examples have been selected from the catalogues of the
Schreiber collection at South Kensington, and from those of the Franks
collections of Oriental and Continental china. For permission to use the
blocks my thanks are due, as far as the first two books are concerned,
to H. M.’s Stationery Office and to the Education Department; in the
case of the last work, to Mr. C. H. Read, who, I understand, himself
drew the original marks for Sir A. W. Franks’s catalogue.
In a general work of this kind much important matter has had to be
omitted. That is inevitable. I only hope that specialists in certain
definite parts of the wide field covered will not find that I have
committed myself to rash or ungrounded generalisations. Let them
remember that the carefully guarded statements and the reservations
suitable to a scientific paper would be out of place in a work intended
in the main for the general public.
E. D.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE, v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xii
SELECTED LIST OF WORKS ON PORCELAIN, xxvi
KEY TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST, xxxiii
LIST OF WORKS ON OTHER SUBJECTS REFERRED
TO IN THE TEXT, xxxv
CHAPTER I. Introductory and Scientific, 1
CHAPTER II. The Materials: Mixing, Fashioning,
and Firing, 14
CHAPTER III. Glazes, 30
CHAPTER IV. Decoration by means of Colour, 38
CHAPTER V. The Porcelain of China. Introductory--Classification--The
Sung Dynasty--The Mongol or Yuan Dynasty, 49
CHAPTER VI. The Porcelain of China (_continued_).
The Ming Dynasty, 78
CHAPTER VII. The Porcelain of China (_continued_).
The Manchu or Tsing Dynasty, 96
CHAPTER VIII. The Porcelain of China (_continued_).
Marks, 117
CHAPTER IX. The Porcelain of China (_continued_).
King-te-chen and the Père D’Entrecolles, 123
CHAPTER X. The Porcelain of China (_continued_).
Forms and uses--Descriptions of the various
Wares, 137
CHAPTER XI. The Porcelain of Korea and of
the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, 168
CHAPTER XII. The Porcelain of Japan, 177
CHAPTER XIII. From East to West, 208
CHAPTER XIV. The First Attempts at Imitation
in Europe, 233
CHAPTER XV. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of
Germany. Böttger and the Porcelain of
Meissen, 244
CHAPTER XVI. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of
Germany (_continued_).
Vienna--Berlin--Höchst--Fürstenberg--Ludwigsburg--Nymphenburg
--Frankenthal--Fulda--Strassburg. The Hard and Soft Pastes of
Switzerland, Hungary, Holland, Sweden,
Denmark, and Russia, 259
CHAPTER XVII. The Soft-Paste Porcelain of
France. Saint-Cloud--Lille--Chantilly--
Mennecy--Paris--Vincennes--Sèvres, 277
CHAPTER XVIII. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of
Sèvres and Paris, 305
CHAPTER XIX. The Soft and Hybrid Porcelains
of Italy and Spain, 316
CHAPTER XX. English Porcelain. Introduction.
The Soft-Paste Porcelain of Chelsea
and Bow, 326
CHAPTER XXI. English Porcelain (_continued_).
The Soft Paste of Derby, Worcester,
Caughley, Coalport, Swansea, Nantgarw,
Lowestoft, Liverpool, Pinxton, Rockingham,
Church Gresley, Spode, and Belleek, 350
CHAPTER XXII. English Porcelain (_continued_).
The Hard Paste of Plymouth and Bristol, 375
CHAPTER XXIII. Contemporary European Porcelain, 387
EXPLANATION OF THE MARKS ON THE PLATES, 395
MARKS ON PORCELAIN, 400
INDEX, 405
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
I. JAPANESE, Imari porcelain (‘Old Japan’). (H. c. 19 in.)
Vase, slaty-blue under glaze, iron-red of various shades
and gold over glaze. Early eighteenth century. Salting
collection......(_Frontispiece._)
II. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. (H. c. 15 in.) Jar with blue-black ground
and thin, skin-like glaze. Decoration in relief slightly counter-sunk,
pale yellow and greenish to turquoise blue. Probably fifteenth
century. Salting collection......(_To face p. 44._)
III. (1) CHINESE. (H. c. 9 in.) Figure of the Teaching Buddha. Celadon
glaze, the hair black. Uncertain date. British Museum.
(2) CHINESE, probably Ming dynasty. (H. 11¼ in.) Vase with open-work
body, enclosing plain inner vessel. Thick celadon glaze. Victoria and
Albert Museum......(_To face p. 64._)
IV. CHINESE, Sung porcelain. (H. c. 12 in.) Small jar with thick
pale-blue glaze, and some patches of copper-red; faintly crackled.
_Circa_ 1200. British Museum......(_To face p. 71._)
V. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. Three small bowls with apple-green glaze.
Fifteenth or sixteenth century. British Museum.
(1) Floral design in gold on green ground. (Diam. 4¾ in.) On base a
coin-like mark, inscribed _Chang ming fu kwei_--‘long life, riches,
and honour.’
(2) Similar decoration and identical inscription to above (diam. 4¾
in.), set in a German silver-gilt mounting of sixteenth century.
(3) Shallow bowl (diam. 5¼ in.). Inside, apple-green band with gold
pattern similar to above; in centre, cranes among clouds--blue under
glaze. .....(_To face p. 81._)
VI. CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. 7¾ ins.) Spherical vase, floral
decoration of Persian type in blue under glaze; the neck has probably
been removed for conversion into base of hookah. Probably sixteenth
century. Bought in Persia. Victoria and Albert Museum......(_To face
p. 84._)
VII. (1) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. c. 18 in.) Baluster-shaped vase;
greyish crackle ground, painted over the glaze with turquoise blue
flowers (with touches of cobalt), green leaves and manganese purple
scrolls; a little yellow in places, and around neck cobalt blue band
_under glaze_. On base, mark of Cheng-hua, possibly of as early a date
(1464-87). British Museum.
(2) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. c. 19 in.) Vase of square section
with four mask handles, imitating old bronze form. Enamelled with
dragons and phœnixes; copper-green and iron-red over glaze with a few
touches of yellow, combined with cobalt blue under glaze. Inscription,
under upper edge, ‘Dai Ming Wan-li nien shi.’ _Circa_ 1600. British
Museum......(_To face p. 90._)
VIII. CHINESE. Ming porcelain. Covered inkslab (L. 9¾ in.), pen-rest
(L. 9 in.), and spherical vessel (H. 8 in.). Decorated with
scroll-work in cobalt blue under the glaze. Persian inscriptions in
cartels, relating to literary pursuits. Mark of Cheng-te (1505-21).
Obtained in Pekin. British Museum......(_To face p. 94._)
IX. CHINESE, turquoise ware. Probably early eighteenth century.
Salting collection.
(1) Pear-shaped vase (H. 8½ in.), decorated with phœnix in low relief.
Six-letter mark of Cheng-hua.
(2) Plate with pierced margin (diam. 11 in.). Filfot in centre
encircled by cloud pattern, in low relief.
(3) Small spherical incense-burner (H. 5 in.). Floral design in low
relief......(_To face p. 98._)
X. CHINESE, _famille verte_. (H. 18 in.) Vase of square section,
decorated with flowers of the four seasons. Green, purple, and yellow
enamels and white, as reserve, on a black ground. Mark of Cheng-hua.
_Circa_ 1700. Salting collection. .....(_To face p. 100._)
XI. CHINESE, _famille verte_. (H. 26 in.) Baluster-shaped vase,
decorated with dragons with four claws and snake-like bodies amid
clouds. Poor yellow, passing into white, green of two shades, and
manganese purple upon a black ground. A very thin skin of glaze, with
dullish surface. Probably before 1700. Salting collection. (_To face
p. 102._)
XII. _Chinese_, egg-shell porcelain. _Famille rose._
(1) Plate (diam. 8¼ in.). On border, vine with grapes, in gold. In
centre, lady on horseback, accompanied by old man and boy carrying
scrolls. 1730-50. British Museum.
(2) Plate (diam. 8½ in.) In centre the arms of the Okeover family with
elaborate mantling. Initials of Luke Okeover and his wife on margin.
Early _famille rose_, the _rouge d’or_ only sparingly applied. _Circa_
1725. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 108._)
XIII. (1) CHINESE, _famille verte_. Long-necked, globular vase (H. 17
in.), enamelled with figures of Taoist sages, etc.: green, iron-red,
yellow, purple, and opaque blue, all over the glaze. Early eighteenth
century. Salting collection.
(2) CHINESE. Tall cylindrical vase (H. 18 in.). Red fish among eddies
of gold on blue ground. Early eighteenth century. Salting collection.
(3) CHINESE. Spindle-shaped vase (H. 18 in.). Pure white, chalky
ground; three fabulous animals seated. 1720-40. Salting collection.
.....(_To face p. 110._)
XIV. JAPANESE. Imari porcelain. Large dish (diam. 20 in.). Painted
under the glaze with cobalt blue in various shades, relieved with
gold. In centre, landscape with Baptism of Christ. Below, in panel on
margin--Mat. 3 16. Seventeenth century. Victoria and Albert Museum.
.....(_To face p. 133._)
XV. (1) CHINESE. Open-work cylinder (H. 5¼ in.) formed of nine
interlacing dragons; the top pierced with nine holes. Plain white
ware, with greyish white glaze. Probably Ting ware of Ming period.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
(2) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. Water-vessel for base of hookah (H. 4¾
in.). Cobalt blue under glaze. Chinese sixteenth century; made for the
Persian market. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 142._)
XVI. CHINESE. Two vases for flowers (H. 11¼ and 10½ in.). Floral
design in white slip upon a _fond laque_ or ‘dead leaf’ ground.
Seventeenth century. Bought in Persia. Victoria and Albert
Museum......(_To face p. 146._)
XVII. CHINESE. Three vases, examples of _flambé_ or ‘transmutation’
glazes. First half eighteenth century. Salting collection.
(1) Vase with monster handles (H. 9 in.); glaze irregularly crackled.
(2) Cylindrical vase, made in a mould (H. 10 in.).
(3) Small pear-shaped vase (H. 7½ in.), mottled red and blue......(_To
face p. 150._)
XVIII. (1) CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Small vase (H. 7½ in.). The paste
pierced before glazing to form an open-work pattern filled up by
glaze. Eighteenth century. British Museum.
(2) CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Mortar-shaped vase (H. 10 in.).
Scattered figures of Taoist sages in pale blue. Chinese, probably
sixteenth century. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 154._)
XIX. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. Vase (H. 9½ in.), shaped into vertical,
convex panels. The top has been ground down. Very thick paste, showing
marks of juncture of moulds. Decoration of kilins and pine-trees in
exceptionally brilliant cobalt blue under glaze. Probably fifteenth
century. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 157._)
XX. CHINESE. Globular vase with long neck (H. 17¾ in.). Design built
up of lines of iron-red and gold. _Circa_ 1720. Bought in Persia.
Victoria and Albert Museum......(_To face p. 162._)
XXI. CHINESE armorial porcelain. Octagonal plate (diam. 16 in.).
Talbot arms in centre surrounded by design of books, scrolls,
etc.--all in blue under glaze. Early eighteenth century. British
Museum......(_To face p. 164._)
XXII. CHINESE porcelain from Siam. Three covered bowls, probably
enamelled in Canton for the Siamese market. Early nineteenth century.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
(1) Floral design in iron-red, green and yellow over glaze. (H. 6½ in.)
(2) Buddhist divinities in panels amid flame-like ground. Opaque
enamels--iron-red, pink, yellow and black. (H. 9 in.)
(3) Floral design in cobalt blue under glaze. (H. 6¼ in.) Brass rim
and foot. Said to be a cinerary urn. (_Tho-khôt._).....(_To face p.
174._)
XXIII. JAPANESE, Kakiyemon ware. _Circa_ 1650. British Museum.
(1) Saucer or plate with scalloped edge (diam. 9¾ in.). Prunus
springing from straw hedge, Chinese boy and tigers. Enamels--green,
yellow, iron-red and blue, all over glaze.
(2) Four-sided bottle (H. 8¾ in.). Formally treated flowers in
iron-red, green and blue, all over glaze.
(3) Octagonal saucer (diam. 5¾ in.). Decoration of quails and flowers
in iron-red, green and gold over glaze, with cobalt blue under glaze.
.....(_To face p. 184._)
XXIV. (1) CHINESE. Covered bowl (H. 8 in.). Floral rosette with
fourteen lobes in imitation of the Japanese _kiku-mon_. Iron-red,
green and gold over glaze with deep cobalt blue under glaze. Early
eighteenth century; made at King-te-chen in imitation of the
contemporary Imari ware. Salting collection.
(2) JAPANESE, Imari ware. Bowl with scalloped edge (diam. 9 in.).
Chrysanthemum flowers in low relief; iron-red, green and gold over
glaze and cobalt blue under glaze. _Circa_ 1700. Salting collection.
.....(_To face p. 186._)
XXV. JAPANESE, Imari ware. Large plate (diam. 22 in.). On margin,
mandarin ducks, cranes and doves in panels amid flowers; in centre,
two eagles. Iron-red of various shades, gold and a few touches of
green over glaze with deep cobalt blue under glaze. Late seventeenth
century. Salting collection......(_To face p. 188._)
XXVI. JAPANESE, Kutani ware. Jar (H. 13 in.); on a greyish white,
somewhat crackled ground, grotesque dancing figures; iron-red,
manganese purple, yellow, green, and blue, all over glaze. Seventeenth
century. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 204._)
XXVII. JAPANESE. Kutani, kaolinic stoneware. Octagonal bottle, in
shape of double gourd (H. 12 in.). Thick enamels--green (predominant),
iron-red, purple and blue, all over glaze. _Circa_ 1700. Victoria and
Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 206._)
XXVIII. CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Two bowls, set in copper-gilt mounts
of English make, _circa_ 1600-1620. From a set of five pieces long
preserved at Burleigh House. Pierpont Morgan collection.
(1) Shallow bowl (diam. 9 in.), in centre medallion with phœnix. Mark
of Wan-li (1572-1619).
(2) Bowl, with deer in panels (diam. 10 in.). _Circa_ 1600......(_To
face p. 222._)
XXIX. MEDICI porcelain. Late sixteenth century. Victoria and Albert
Museum.
(1) Pear-shaped vase (H. 6⅞ in.). Floral design in cobalt blue,
outlined with manganese black, both under glaze.
(2) Double-necked cruet (H. 6 in.). Design in pale blue under glaze.
On the neck, A and O, for _aceto_ and _oglio_......(_To face p. 236._)
XXX. MEDICI porcelain. Plate or shallow bowl (diam. 7 in.). Floral
design in somewhat Persian style, in cobalt blue under glaze. On back,
the dome of Sta. Maria del fiore and the letter F. Late sixteenth
century. Fitzhenry collection......(_To face p. 238._)
XXXI. MEISSEN porcelain. Hexagonal vase with cover (H. 12 in.). Floral
design in coloured enamels of the Kakiyemon style. Mark, the crossed
swords in blue. 1730-50. Franks collection (Bethnal Green)......(_To
face p. 253._)
XXXII. (1) MEISSEN porcelain. Plate with wavy edge (diam. 9 in.).
Claret border with gold sprigs. Humming-bird in centre. Mark, the
crossed swords with dot in blue. 1763-74, in imitation of Chelsea
ware. Victoria and Albert Museum, ex Bernal collection.
(2) LUDWIGSBURG porcelain. Plate (diam. 9¼ in.). Scrolls in low relief
in white round margin; scattered flowers in lilac _camaïeu_. Mark,
double C under crown, for Carl, Duke of Würtemberg. 1760-70. Victoria
and Albert Museum......(_To face p. 266._)
XXXIII. (1) ROUEN porcelain. Cup (H. 3¼ in.). Conventional design, in
dark blue under glaze, in style of seventeenth century. Thin and very
translucent body. Probably before 1700. Fitzhenry collection.
(2) SAINT-CLOUD porcelain. Ewer with cover (H. 7¾ in.). Scale pattern
in relief. Celadon glaze of sagy-green tint. Mounted with thumb-piece
and rim of engraved silver. _Circa_ 1700. Fitzhenry collection.
(3) SAINT-CLOUD porcelain. Ewer with cover (H. 5¼ in.). Conventional
design, in blue under glaze, in style of seventeenth century. _Circa_
1700. Fitzhenry collection. .....(_To face p. 282._)
XXXIV. CHANTILLY porcelain. Two cylindrical vases with covers (H. 7
in.). Rims mounted in silver (one gilt). Enamelled over the glaze
in the Kakiyemon style-Chinese landscape and boys playing. Mark,
hunting-horn in red. _Circa_ 1730-40. Fitzhenry collection. .....(_To
face p. 286._)
XXXV. (1) SÈVRES, white biscuit-ware (H. 6½ in.). Young girl seated
with a _sabot_ in her lap, a child crouching beside her. Mark, F
incised (perhaps for Falconet or for the year 1758). Franks collection
(Bethnal Green).
(2) MENNECY, white glazed ware. Figure of bagpiper (H. 9½ in.).
_Circa_ 1750. (From an engraving by J. Dumont le Rom, 1739.) Franks
collection (Bethnal Green). .....(_To face p. 288._)
XXXVI. (1) VINCENNES or EARLY SÈVRES porcelain. Ewer with cover (H.
4¾ in.). _Gros bleu_ ground with birds and flowers in white reserves.
Mark, double L with three dots, in blue under glaze. _Circa_ 1750.
Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones collection.
(2) and (3) SÈVRES porcelain. Two small _sucriers_ (H. 3 in.). _Gros
bleu_ and green ground, with birds on branches painted in white
reserves. No mark, but early. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones
collection. .....(_To face p. 294._)
XXXVII. SÈVRES porcelain. Vase (H. 10¾ in.), one of a pair, decorated
with wreaths of flowers on a white ground. Mark, the letter I, for
1761. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones collection. .....(_To face p.
296._)
XXXVIII. SÈVRES porcelain. _Écuelle_ and saucer (diam. 5 in. and 7½
in.). Turquoise ground; panels with pastoral scenes. Mark, the letter
Q for 1768, and _ch._ for the painter Chabry. Victoria and Albert
Museum; Jones collection. .....(_To face p. 298._)
XXXIX. SÈVRES porcelain. _Sucrier_, saucer and caddy from _Cabaret_
(H. 4 in., 4¾ in., and 3 in.). _Rose carné_ ground; flowers, etc.,
painted on white reserves. Mark, the letter H for 1760, and an anchor
for the painter Buteux père. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones
collection. .....(_To face p. 300._)
XL. SÈVRES porcelain. Covered cup (H. 3¾ in.) and saucer (diam. 5
in.). Jewelled decoration on white ground. Studs of opaque white and
turquoise and transparent ruby, connected by foliage of transparent
green lined by gold. 1780-86. No mark. Currie collection. .....(_To
face p. 302._)
XLI. (1) and (2) VENETIAN porcelain. Tall cup (H. 4⅜ in.) and saucer
(diam. 5⅛ in.). Birds and vines in blue under glaze with slight
gilding. Mark, Ven^{a} on cup, the same in script on saucer. Probably
the work of the Vezzi family (1719-40). Franks collection (Bethnal
Green).
(3) MEISSEN porcelain. Pot-pourri with cover (H. 5½ in.). Fluted
sides, flowers in high relief enamelled in colours. Mark, crossed
swords in blue. _Circa_ 1750. From the Strawberry Hill collection.
Franks collection (Bethnal Green).
(4) FRANKENTHAL porcelain. Ewer and cover (H. 6⅝ in.). Painted in
lilac _camaïeu_ with landscape (signed--Magnus pi.) Gilt borders.
1761-78. Mark, C. T. under crown in blue. Franks collection (Bethnal
Green). .....(_To face p. 316._)
XLII. (1) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Scent bottle (H. 3⅞ in.). Child in
swaddling-clothes of blue and lilac. _Circa_ 1750. Victoria and Albert
Museum.
(2) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Siren (H. 2⅝ in.), plain white, made for
stand of vessel. _Circa_ 1750. From the Bandinel collection. Victoria
and Albert Museum.
(3) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Triton (H. 2⅞ in.). Plaque in low relief,
made for application. _Circa_ 1750. Victoria and Albert Museum.
(4) DOCCIA porcelain. Cup with cover (H. 4⅜ in.). Plain white, vine
branches in relief. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p.
320._)
XLIII. CHELSEA porcelain. Saucer (diam. 4½ in.), sugar-basin (H. 4
in.), and cream-jug (H. 2¾ in.), forming part of an extensive tea
equipage. Claret ground with rich gilding; pastoral figures in reserve
panels. _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and Albert Museum; Thomson bequest.
.....(_To face p. 340._)
XLIV. CHELSEA porcelain. Two figures of minuet dancers (H. 11½ in.
and 10¾ in.). Enamelled with winy-red, pale opaque turquoise, and a
little green and iron-red--the lady’s stays lavender. These figures
seem to have been suggested by the principal dancers in Watteau’s
_Fête Champêtre_ now at Edinburgh (engraved by Laurent Carrs, 1734,
as _Fêtes Venitiennes_). _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and Albert Museum;
Schreiber collection......(_To face p. 342._)
XLV. (1) CHELSEA porcelain. Plate (diam. 8 in.) with wavy edge.
Enamelled with shades of iron-red and green, with blue under glaze and
gilding, in imitation of brocaded Imari ware. 1750-60. Victoria and
Albert Museum.
(2) BOW porcelain. Octagonal plate (diam. 9 in.). In centre, two
fighting cocks, in the Kakiyemon style; the wreaths of flowers
suggested rather by Dresden. Iron-red, claret, and an opaque, poor
blue enamel, laid on thickly, with gilding. _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and
Albert Museum......(_To face p. 346._)
XLVI. WORCESTER porcelain. Tea-poy (H. 6½ in.), sugar-basin (H. 4¾
in.), and milk-jug (H. 5 in.) from a tea equipage. Trellis design.
_Circa_ 1780. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 362._)
XLVII. WATER-COLOUR DRAWING (17 in. by 18½ in.), by Thomas Baxter,
junior; signed and dated 1810. The studio of Thomas Baxter, senior,
1 Gough Square. Porcelain painters at work. A price-list of Coalport
white china is seen on the wall. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To
face p. 366._)
XLVIII. (1) PLYMOUTH porcelain. Market-woman with flower-basket (H. 10
in.). Plain white, with lines of dirty brown in folds of drapery and
stand. _Circa_ 1770. Victoria and Albert Museum; Schreiber collection.
(2) BRISTOL porcelain. Female figure, ‘Autumn’ (H. 10 in.). Belt
with signs of zodiac. Enamels--green, lilac, iron-red, and
yellowish-green, with gilding. _Circa_ 1775. Victoria and Albert
Museum; Schreiber collection. .....(_To face p. 380._)
XLIX. (1) BRISTOL biscuit-ware. Medallion (max. diam. of plaque, 6
in.) with head of Washington in centre, from a contemporary medal
(‘General of the Continental Armies’). _Circa_ 1778. British Museum.
(2) BRISTOL porcelain. Ink-stand (H. 7½ in.), in plain white ware,
supported by three griffins. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To
face p. 382._)
SELECTED LIST OF WORKS ON PORCELAIN
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS
ALEXANDRA PALACE: _Catalogue of Collection of English Porcelain and
Pottery on Loan in 1873._
BACHELIER ET GOUELLAIN: _Mémoire Historique sur la Porcelaine de la
France, ré-édité avec préface, par G. G._ Paris, 1878.
BARBER (E. A.): _Pottery and Porcelain in the United States._ New
York, 1901.
BEMROSE (W.): _Bow, Chelsea, and Derby Porcelain._ London, 1898.
BERTIN (HENRI): _Catalogue and Notice of ‘Cabinet Chinois.’_ Paris,
1815.
BING (M. S.): _La Céramique Japonaise_ (in Gonze’s _Art Japonais_).
Paris, 1883.
BINNS (R. W.):--
_A Century of Potting in the City of Worcester._ Worcester, 1883.
_Catalogue of Collection of Porcelain at Royal Porcelain Works._
Worcester, 1882.
BRINCKMANN (J.): _Hamburgisches Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe.
Beschreibung des Europäischen Porzellans._ Hamburg, 1894.
BRINKLEY (F.): _History of Japanese Ceramics_ (_Chrysanthemum_, iii.,
1883). Yokohama.
BRONGNIART (ALEXANDRE): _Traité des Arts Céramiques._ 2 vols. and Atlas.
Paris, 1844, 1854, and 1857 (with additions by A. Salvétat).
BRONGNIART ET RIOCREUX: _Sèvres, Musée Céramique._ Paris, 1845.
BURTON (W.):--
_History of English Ceramics._ 1902.
_The Influence of Material on Design of Pottery._ Cantor Lectures,
1897.
BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB:--
_English and Continental Porcelain._ 1873.
_Blue and White Oriental China._ 1895.
_Coloured Chinese Porcelain._ 1896.
BUSHELL (S. W.):--
_Oriental Ceramic Art, illustrated by selections from the
Collection of W. T. Walters._ Folio. New York, 1897; Text Edition,
8vo., 1899.
_Chinese Porcelain before the present Dynasty._ Pekin, 1886.
CHAFFERS (W.):--
_The Ceramic Gallery, with 500 Illustrations._ 1872.
_Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain._ 9th edition. 1900.
CHAMPFLEURY: _Bibliographie Céramique._ Paris, 1881.
CHANTILLY: _La Manufacture de Porcelaine de C._ Paris, 1892.
CHURCH (A. H.):--
_English Earthenware_ (South Kensington Art Handbook). 1884.
_English Porcelain_ (South Kensington Art Handbook). 1885 and 1898.
_Scientific and Artistic Aspects of Pottery._ Cantor Lectures,
1881.
D’ENTRECOLLES (PÈRE): _Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses._
DAVILLIER (J. C.):--
_Les Origines de la Porcelaine en Europe._ Paris, 1882.
_Les Porcelaines de Sèvres et Mme. du Barry._ Paris, 1870.
DRAKE (SIR W.): _Notes on Venetian Ceramics._ Privately printed, 1868.
DUBREUIL: _La Porcelaine._ Part 42 of Fremy’s _Encyclopédie Chimique_.
Paris, 1885.
ENGELHARDT (C. A.): _J. F. Böttger, Erfinder des Sächsischen
Porzellans._ Leipsic, 1837.
FALKE (Jacob von): _Die K.K. Wiener Porzellan Fabrik._ Vienna, 1887.
FRANKS (SIR A. W.):--
_Catalogue of Oriental Pottery and Porcelain._ 1878.
_Catalogue of Continental Porcelain._ 1896.
_Japanese Pottery_ (South Kensington Handbook). 1880.
_The Manufacture of Porcelain at Chelsea. Archæological Journal._
1862.
GARNIER (ÉDOUARD):--
_Histoire de la Céramique._ Tours, 1882.
_The Soft-Paste Porcelain of Sèvres._ 50 Plates. 1892.
_Copenhagen, Manufacture Royale de Porcelaine_ (_Bulletin de l’Art
et de l’Industrie_). Paris, 1894.
GARNIER ET GASNAULT: _Musée National, Limoges, Catalogue._ 1881.
GASNAULT ET GARNIER: _French Pottery_ (South Kensington Handbook). 1884.
GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: _See_ REEKS, T.
GERSAINT: _Catalogue of the Fonspertuis Collection._ Paris, 1747.
GINORI (MARCHESE CARLO): _La Manifattura Ginori a Doccia._ Florence,
1867.
GONZE (LOUIS): _L’Art Japonais._ Paris, 1886.
GOUELLAIN: _see_ BACHELIER.
GRAESSE (J. G. T.): _Guide de l’amateur de Porcelaine et de Potterie._
Dresden, 4th edition, 1873.
GRANDIDIER (E.): _La Céramique Chinoise._ Paris, 1894.
GRIGGS (W.): _Examples of Armorial China._ Folio. 1887.
GULLAND (W. G.): _Chinese Porcelain_ (notes by T. J. Larkin). 1898 and
1903.
HASLEM (JOHN): _The Old Derby China Factory._ 1876.
HIPPISLEY (ALFRED): _Ceramic Art in China_ (Smithsonian Institute).
Washington, 1890.
HIRTH (F.): _Ancient Chinese Porcelain._ Leipsic, 1888.
HOFFMANN: _Mémoire sur la Céramique du Japon_ (Appendix to Juliens
work).
HOUDOY (JULES): _Histoire de la Céramique Lilloise._ Paris, 1869.
JACQUEMART (A.) ET LE BLANC (E.): _Histoire de la Porcelaine._ Folio;
etchings by Jules Jacquemart. Paris, 1862.
JACQUEMART (A.):--
_Histoire de la Céramique._ Paris, 1873. English translation by
Mrs. Palliser. 1873.
_Les Merveilles de la Céramique._ Paris, 1866-69.
JAENNICKE (FRIEDRICH):--
_Grundriss der Keramik._ Stuttgart, 1878-79.
_Die Gesammte Keramische Litteratur._ Stuttgart, 1882.
JEWITT (LL.):--
_The Ceramic Art of Great Britain._ 1883.
_A History of the Coalport Porcelain Works._ 1862.
JULIEN (STANISLAS): _Histoire et Fabrication de la Porcelaine Chinoise._
Translated from the Chinese. Notes by Salvétat; and memoir on Japanese
Porcelain by Hoffmann. Paris, 1856.
KOLBE (G.): _Geschichte der K. Porzellan Manufactur zu Berlin._ Berlin,
1863.
LITCHFIELD (FRED.): _Pottery and Porcelain._ 1900.
MACON (G.): _Les Arts dans la Maison de Condé._ Paris, 1903.
MARRYAT (JOSEPH): _History of Pottery and Porcelain._ 3rd edition, 1868.
METEYARD (ELIZA): _Life of Josiah Wedgwood._ 1865.
MEYER (A. B.): _Lung-chüan yao, oder alter Seladon Porzellan._ Berlin,
1889.
MILLY (COMTE DE): _L’Art de la Porcelaine._ Paris, 1771.
MONKHOUSE (COSMO): _History and Description of Chinese Porcelain._
(Notes by S. W. Bushell.) 1901.
NIGHTINGALE (J. E.): _Contributions towards the History of English
Porcelain, from contemporary sources._ Salisbury, 1881.
OWEN (HUGH): _Two Centuries of Ceramic Art at Bristol._ 1873.
PARIS (Exposition Universelle, 1900): _Histoire de l’art de Japon._
PATENT OFFICE: _Patents relating to Pottery and Porcelain._ 1863.
PIOT (EUGÈNE): _Histoire de la Porcelaine_ (Cabinet de l’Amateur).
Paris, 1863.
RANDALL (JOHN): _A History of Madeley, including Coalport_, etc.
Madeley, 1880.
REEKS (T.), and RUDLER (F. W.): _Catalogue of English Pottery in the
Museum of Practical Geology._ 1893.
RIAÑO (DON JUAN): _Handbook of Spanish Arts_ (South Kensington). 1879.
RICCIO: _La Fabbrica della Porcellana in Napoli._ Naples, 1878.
RIS-PAQUOT (O. E.): _Dictionnaire des Marques et Monogrammes de
Porcelaines._ Paris, 1880 and 1893.
SALVÉTAT (A.): _Leçons de Céramique._ Paris, 1857.
SARTEL (O. DU): _La Porcelaine de Chine._ Paris, 1881.
SCHREIBER COLLECTION, _Catalogue of_. 1885.
SEIDLITZ (W. VON): _Die Meissner Porzellan Manufactur unter Böttger_
(_Society of Saxon History_, vol. ix.)
SOIL, EUGÈNE: _Recherches sur les Anciennes Porcelaines de Tournay._
Paris, 1883.
SOLON (M. L.): _History of Old English Porcelain._ 1903.
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM:--
_List of Books on Pottery and Porcelain in the National Library._
2nd edition, 1885.
_Classified Catalogue of Printed Books, Ceramics._ 1895.
STEGMANN (H.): _Die Fürstliche Braunschweigische Porzellan Manufactur zu
Fürstenberg._ Brunswick, 1893.
STRÅLE (G. H.): _Rörstrand et Marieberg. Céramiques Suédoises du
dix-huitième Siècle._ Stockholm, 1872.
THIANCOURT et DAVILLIER: _L’Art de Restaurer les Porcelaines._ Paris,
1865.
TIFFEN (W. F.): _A Chronograph of the Bow, Chelsea, and Derby China
Manufactories._ Salisbury, 1875.
TURNER (W.): _The Ceramics of Swansea and Nantgarw._ 1897.
UYEDA, TOKUNOSUKE. _La Céramique Japonaise._ Paris, 1895.
VERNADSKY. _Molecular Composition of Porcelain._ ‘_Comptes Rendus_,’
1890, p. 1377.
VOGT (GEORGES): _La Porcelaine._ Paris, 1893.
WALLACE COLLECTION (Hertford House): _Catalogue of Porcelain_, etc.
1902.
WALPOLE (HORACE): _Ædes Strawberrianæ: Catalogue of the Strawberry Hill
Collection._ Privately printed, 1784.
WURTZ (HENRY): _Chemistry and Composition of Porcelain and Porcelain
Rocks in Japan._ Philadelphia Exhibition Reports, 1877.
ZAIS (E.): _Die Kurmainzische Porzellan-Manufactur zu Höchst._ Mainz,
1887.
KEY TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TOPOGRAPHY AND SUBJECT
_America._ Barber.
_Berlin._ Kolbe.
_Bibliography._ Champfleury, Jaennicke, South Kensington.
_Bow._ Bemrose, Tiffen.
_Bristol._ Owen.
_Buen Retiro._ Riaño.
_Capo di Monte._ Riccio.
_Catalogues._ Burlington Fine Arts Club, Bertin, Binns, Franks,
Garnier, Schreiber, Walpole, Wallace.
_Chantilly._ Chantilly, Gasnault, Macon.
_Chelsea._ Bemrose, Franks, Tiffen.
_China._ Burlington Fine Arts Club, Bushell, D’Entrecolles, Franks,
Griggs, Gulland, Grandidier, Hirth, Hippisley, Julien, Meyer,
Monkhouse, Du Sartel.
_Coalport._ Randall.
_Composition and Chemistry._ Brongniart, Church, Reeks, Vernadsky.
_Continental Porcelain._ Brinckmann, Franks, Garnier.
_Derby._ Bemrose, Haslem, Tiffen.
_Doccia._ Ginori.
_Dresden._ See _Meissen_.
_English Porcelain._ Alexandra Palace, Burton, Church, Jewitt,
Nightingale, Reeks, Solon.
_Fürstenberg._ Stegmann.
_General._ Chaffers, Garnier, Jacquemart, Jaennicke, Litchfield,
Marryat, Piot, Vogt.
_Höchst._ Zais.
_Japan._ Brinkley, Bushell, Bing, Franks, Gonze, Hoffmann, Paris
Exhibition, Uyeda, Wurtz.
_Korea._ Bushell.
_Lille._ Houdoy.
_Manufacture._ See _Technology_.
_Marks._ Chaffers, Franks, Jaennicke, Ris-Paquot.
_Medici._ Davillier.
_Meissen._ Brinckmann, Engelhardt, Grässe, Seidlitz.
_Nantgarw._ Turner.
_Plymouth._ Owen.
_Repairing._ Thiancourt.
_Saint-Cloud._ Lister, Gasnault.
_Saxony._ See _Meissen_.
_Sèvres._ Bachelier, Davillier, Garnier, Gasnault, Vogt.
_Swansea._ Turner.
_Sweden._ Stråle.
_Technology._ Brongniart, Burton, Bushell, D’Entrecolles, Dubreuil,
Julien, Reeks, Salvétat, Vogt, Wurtz.
_Tournay._ Soil.
_Venice._ Davillier, Drake.
_Vienna._ Falke.
_Wedgwood._ Meteyard.
_Worcester._ Binns.
LIST OF WORKS ON OTHER SUBJECTS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT
BORLASE. _Natural History of Cornwall._ Oxford, 1758.
CHARDIN. _Voyages en Perse._ Amsterdam, 1686.
DAVIS (SIR JOHN): _The Chinese._ 1857.
GERTZ. _Les Produits de la Nature Chinoise et Japonaise._ Yokohama.
HIRTH (F.):--
_China and the Roman Orient._ 1855.
_Fremde Einflüsse in der Chinesischen Kunst._ Leipsic, 1896.
_Chinesische Studien._ Munich, 1890.
LISTER (DR. MARTIN): _Journey to Paris._ London, 1699.
POLO (MARCO):--
_Le Livre de M. P._ Edited by M. G. Pauthier. Paris, 1865.
_The Book of Ser M. P._ Edited by H. Yule, 1871.
PALÉOLOGUE: _L’Art Chinois._ Paris, 1887.
PLOT (DR.): _Natural History of Oxfordshire._ Oxford, 1677.
REIN (J. J.): _Industries of Japan._ 1889.
RICHTHOFEN (FERDINAND V.): _China._ Berlin, 1877.
YULE (H.): _Cathay and the Way Thither._ 1866.
PORCELAIN
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY AND SCIENTIFIC
It is with a comparatively small branch of the art of the potter that we
are concerned in this book. Porcelain or china, in all countries except
the one where it was slowly brought to perfection, has always remained
something of an exotic, and even in China we shall see that it was the
immediate Imperial patronage and the constant demand for the court at
Pekin that brought about the great development of the art under the
present dynasty. In Japan, the first independent country to which the
new art spread, it was under the eye of the greater and smaller feudal
lords, often in the very garden of their palaces, that the kilns were
erected, while the ware produced was reserved for the use of the prince
and his household. Both in China and Japan we shall find the decline of
the art to go hand in hand with the advance of the demand for the
Western market, so that by the beginning of the nineteenth century we
lose all interest in the manufacture.
This dependence upon royal or princely support is equally prominent in
the history of the shortlived porcelain factories of Europe. Their
success or failure has generally followed closely upon the greater or
less interest taken in them by the reigning prince, and few of these
kilns survived the political changes of the end of the eighteenth
century.
No doubt, within the last twenty years or so a certain revival has come
about both in the Far East and in certain European countries, and that
under totally different conditions from those which prevailed in the
eighteenth century. Here and there, at least, the manufacture of
porcelain has come within the sphere of the new impulses that have
brought about such changes in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ at the end of the
nineteenth century.
In its main lines, the history of porcelain is a very simple one. Slowly
developed during the Middle Ages in China, the manufacture became
concentrated at one spot, at King-te-chen, and there reached its highest
development early in the eighteenth century. In Europe, the repeated
attempts to produce a similar ware had about the same time been crowned
with complete success in Saxony; while in England and in France a ware
closely resembling in aspect the Chinese, but softer and more fusible,
had been accepted as an equivalent. Speaking generally, then, we can
make these three statements with regard to the history of porcelain:--
1. That the art had its origin and complete development in China.
2. That it has seldom flourished except under royal or princely
patronage.
3. That porcelain, from the artistic point of view, is essentially a
product of the eighteenth century, and that this statement is true in
the main as regards the country of its origin, though in this latter
case we must make a certain reserve in favour of the earlier wares.
Our subject may seem a simple one compared with some kindred branches of
the industrial arts, such, for example, as the history of glass-making,
or that of cloisonné and other enamels. We come indeed at more than one
time into contact with both these arts, and it is just at these points
that some of our chief difficulties arise. It is in view of such
questions as these, and indeed of many others equally important in the
history of porcelain, that the necessity of a thorough understanding of
the technical and even chemical side of our subject becomes evident. Of
course, if in discussing the different kinds of porcelain we are
concerned only with their merits or demerits as artistic products, we
can put aside these practical questions as ‘beneath the dignity of our
argument.’ But such a treatment of the subject would land us only too
surely in vague generalities and in an arrangement based upon personal
caprice. We require, above all at the start, a firm basis, and this can
only be found in a thorough comprehension not only of the technical
processes that are involved in the manufacture of porcelain, but of the
physical and chemical nature of the substance itself.
But first we need some kind of preliminary definition of what is meant
by the word. Porcelain, then, is distinguished from other fictile wares
by possessing in a pre-eminent degree the following qualities: hardness,
difficult fusibility, translucency, and whiteness of body or paste. Any
specimen of ceramic ware that possesses all these qualities may be
classed as porcelain, and from a practical point of view, the more it
excels under these heads, the better specimen of porcelain it is.
These were the qualities by which the porcelain brought from the East in
the seventeenth century was distinguished from any ware made at that
time in Europe. Our ancestors dwelt especially on the practical
advantages of the hard glaze and the elastic compact paste of the new
ware, which compared favourably with the easily scratched surface and
the crumbly body of the earthenware then in general use.
The greater infusibility that accompanies this hardness was not a point
of much importance to them, but they marvelled at the translucency of
the edges, as of some natural stone, and we find absurdly exaggerated
accounts of the transparency both of the original ware and of the
imitation that they claimed to have made. Finally, they noticed that the
whiteness of the surface was not given by an artificial layer more or
less closely adhering to an earthy base, but was the natural colour of
the paste to which the thin layer of transparent glaze merely gave the
effect of the polish on ivory or on marble. What then was this hard,
white, translucent substance? What wonder if from one end of Europe to
the other, scheming minds--chemists, alchemists, physicians, potters,
and charlatans--were at work trying to make something that should
resemble it? The history of this long search is a very interesting one,
but it would be impossible to explain its failures, its partial failures
(these last resulting in a compromise--soft-paste porcelain), and the
final success of Böttger, without, as it were, going behind the scenes,
and giving some account of porcelain from a modern, scientific point of
view.
And first let us say that, although when treating of porcelain from the
historical and especially from the æsthetic standpoint (and this after
all is our principal business in this book), it is well to take a wide
grasp and include a whole class of china--I mean the soft-paste
ware--which does not come up to our standard of hardness and
infusibility, this is not the case when we are considering the physical,
and especially the chemical, nature of porcelain. By confining
ourselves, for the present, to true hard porcelain, we have the
advantage of dealing with a substance which chemically and physically
may be compared to a definite mineral species. Nay more, we propose here
to confine ourselves to the consideration of the hard pastes used at the
present day in the wares of France and Germany, neglecting for the
present the softer and more irregular porcelain of the Chinese.
First as regards hardness, the surface of the paste of a true porcelain,
when free from glaze, can be scratched by a crystal of quartz, but it is
untouched by the hardest steel. That is to say, it would be classed by
the mineralogist with felspar, and given a hardness of 6 to 6·5 on his
scale.[1]
The freshly broken edge shows a white, perfectly uniform substance, a
glassy or vitreous lustre, a finely granular texture, and a fracture
conchoidal to splintery. When struck, a vessel of porcelain gives a
clear, bell-like note, and in this differs from other kinds of pottery.
When held against the light it allows, where the piece is sufficiently
thin, a certain amount to pass through, but even in the thinnest
splinters porcelain is never transparent.
If a thin section be made of a piece of porcelain, and this be examined
under the microscope by transmitted light, we see, scattered in a clear,
or nearly clear, paste, a vast number of minute, slender rods, and
between them many minute granules (Church’s _English Porcelain_, p. 6).
These belonites and spherulites, as they have been called, doubtless
reflect the light which would otherwise pass through the glassy base in
which they float, and the partial reflection and partial transmission of
the light may not be unconnected with the lustrous fracture so
characteristic of porcelain. Their presence points to the fact that we
are dealing with a more or less definite substance, one which may be
compared to a natural mineral species, and not merely with a semi-fused
clay, something between stoneware and glass. Now when we come to treat
of the chemical constitution of porcelain, we shall find that this view
is confirmed. This structure is developed in the paste by the exposure,
for a considerable period of time, to a temperature of from 1300° to
1500° centigrade, a temperature which is sufficient to reduce all other
kinds of pottery, with the exception of some kinds of stoneware, to a
glassy mass. In the case of porcelain, this great and prolonged heat
allows of a complete rearrangement of the molecules in the softened
mass. The process may be compared to that by which certain minerals and
rocks are formed in the depths of the earth.
We see, then, that not only from the standpoint of history, but on the
basis of the physical properties and intimate constitution of the
material, we are able to draw a sharp line between porcelain and other
fictile wares. This distinction is even more definitely shown by a
chemical analysis.[2]
We are dealing, as in the case of so large a part of the rocks and
minerals of the earth’s surface, with certain silicates of the alkalis
and alkaline earths, with silicates of alumina above all. All natural
clays used for fictile purposes consist essentially of silicates of
various bases, such as alumina, lime, iron, potash, and soda, more or
less intimately combined with water, and with the addition, generally,
of some free silica. If the clay be good in working quality and colour,
the next point the potter has to look to is the question of its
fusibility. It may be said generally that the simpler the constitution
of a silicate, that is the smaller the number of bases that it contains,
the greater will be its resistance to fire. Silicate of alumina is
unaltered at 1500° C., a temperature which may be taken as the maximum
at the command of the potter. The fusing-point is reduced by the
addition of silica, especially if some other bases such as oxide of iron
or lime, or again an alkali, are present even in small quantity. But
beyond a certain point the addition of silica raises the fusing-point,
and it is important to note that it is this excess of silica that
renders certain stonewares and fire-clays so infusible. In the case of
porcelain, on the other hand, the resistance to high temperatures
depends more upon the percentage of alumina present, and the absence or
small amount of other bases. Thus in comparing the composition of
different porcelains, we find that it is those that contain the most
silica that are the most fusible, or rather, to speak more accurately,
that become ‘porcelainised’ at a lower temperature.[3]
The relation of porcelain to stoneware on the one hand, and to ordinary
pottery on the other, will be made clear by the following figures, which
give the composition of stoneware, Meissen porcelain, and of a red
Samian ware:--
Stoneware. Meissen Porcelain. Samian Ware.
Silica, 80 per cent. 58 per cent. 61 per cent.
Alumina, 12 ” 36 ” 21 ”
Potash and Soda, 5 ” 5 ” 5 ”
Lime and Iron, 3 ” 1 ” 13 ”
The refractory stoneware contains a large excess of silica over the
amount required to combine with the alumina and the ‘other bases.’ In
the easily fusible Roman pottery, the ‘other bases’ nearly equal in
amount the alumina, while the Meissen porcelain not only contains less
silica than the pottery, but the ‘other bases’ only amount to a sixth
part of the alumina present.
But it is not enough for the manufacturer to discover a clay of which
the chemical composition corresponds to that of the type of porcelain
which he proposes to make. The question, as an experiment of Brongniart
long ago proved, is more complicated. Brongniart weighed out the
separate constituents for his porcelain--the silica, the alumina, and
the alkalis--and from them he formed his paste. He found, however, that
the paste readily melted at the heat of the porcelain furnace. The
analysis then of any ceramic product can give us but an imperfect clue
to the nature and properties of the ware. We want to know how the
elements are arranged, and this can only be inferred from a knowledge of
the materials employed in the manufacture. I will illustrate this point
by comparing the composition of Meissen porcelain with that of our
Dorsetshire pipe-clay, the most famous of our English clays, but a
material not sufficiently refractory for use in the manufacture of
porcelain. Both substances contain the same amount of alumina--36 per
cent.; in the Poole clay (after removing the water) there is 55 per
cent. of silica and 9 per cent. of ‘other bases,’ against 58 per cent.
and 6 per cent. respectively in the porcelain. The composition,
therefore, of the two bodies is nearly the same: the clay, while it
contains more iron-oxide and lime than the porcelain, is poorer in
silica.
True porcelain has indeed never been made from any other materials than
those so long employed by the Chinese and first described by the
missionary, Père D’Entrecolles, nearly two hundred years ago.
The two essential elements in the composition of porcelain are--(_a_)
The hydrated silicate of alumina, which is provided by the white earthy
clay known as kaolin or china-clay, a substance infusible at the highest
temperature attainable by our furnaces (about 1500° C.); (_b_) The
silicate of alumina and potash (or more rarely soda), that is to say
felspar. But the felspar is generally associated with some amount of
both quartz and mica, and is itself in a more or less disintegrated
condition. This is the substance known as petuntse or china-stone. It is
fusible at the higher temperatures of the porcelain kiln.
Of those substances the first is an immediate product of the weathering
of the felspar contained in granitic rocks; while the second, the
petuntse, is nothing else than the granite (or allied rock) itself in a
more or less weathered condition.
We see, then, that speaking generally, granite is the source of both the
materials whose intimate mixture in the state of the finest comminution
constitutes the paste of porcelain. It thus happens that it is only in
regions of primitive rocks, far away as a rule from centres of industry
and indeed from the usual sources of the clay used for fictile ware,
that the materials essential for making porcelain are found. By the term
granite we mean here a crystalline rock consisting of felspar, quartz,
and mica, and we include in the term gneiss, which differs only in the
arrangement of its constituents. The many varieties of rock that are
named as sources of kaolin and petuntse, such as pegmatite, graphic
granite, or growan-stone, are as a rule varieties of granite[4]
distinguished by containing little or no mica, and above all by the
absence of iron in appreciable quantity. As felspar is also the sole or
at least the principal element in the glaze with which porcelain is
covered, it will be seen that it is the mineral with which we are above
all concerned.
Now, of the three minerals that enter into the constitution of these
granitic rocks (the others are quartz and mica), felspar is the one
most easily acted on by air and water. The carbonic acid which is always
present in the surface-water gradually removes the alkaline constituents
in the form of soluble carbonates, the silicate of alumina which remains
takes up and combines with a certain quantity of water, and in this form
it is washed down into hollows to form the beds of white crumbly clay
known as kaolin. This is, of course, a somewhat general and theoretical
statement of what happens. If we were to examine the actual position and
geological relation to the surrounding rocks of the beds of kaolin in
Cornwall and in the south-west of France, there might be some exceptions
to be made and difficulties to explain. Where, indeed, as in many places
in Cornwall, the kaolinisation has extended to great depth, the
decomposition may have been caused by deep-seated agencies; in such
cases the kaolin is often associated with minerals containing fluorine
and boron.[5]
As for the other constituent of porcelain, the petuntse or china-stone,
we have called it a disintegrated granite, and this is the condition in
which it is usually excavated. It corresponds to the French _cailloux_,
the stony or gravelly material as opposed to the clay. In French works
it is not generally distinguished from felspar, and indeed some
varieties of petuntse may contain little else. However, if pure felspar
is used, the second constituent in granite or in petuntse, I mean
quartz, will have to be added to our porcelain paste in the form of sand
or powdered flint. The third constituent of the china-stone, the mica,
is usually neglected: in many cases the mother rock contains but little,
and what there is is eliminated in the washing. Mica is more fusible
than felspar; the white variety, muscovite, is practically free from
iron, and only from granite rocks containing this variety can petuntse
suitable for the manufacture of porcelain be obtained. The importance of
mica as an element of the Chinese petuntse has only recently been
recognised (Vogt, _Comptes Rendus_, 1890, p. 43). As much as 40 per
cent. of muscovite has been found in samples brought from China. The
pegmatite of the Limoges district, on the other hand, contains only 30
per cent. of this white mica, and of this only a small portion passes
into the paste. We have here, perhaps, the principal cause of the
greater hardness and the higher softening-point of European compared
with Oriental porcelain.
We shall see later on that this softer Chinese paste has many
advantages, especially in its relation to the glaze and the enamels, but
for the present we will continue to take the more ‘severe’ European
porcelain as our type.
Let us consider what takes place during the firing of a paste of this
latter description. After all the water, including that in combination
in the kaolin, has been driven off, we have, as the temperature rises,
an intimate mixture of two silicates, one of which, if heated alone,
would be unaltered by any temperature at our command--this is the
silicate of alumina derived from the kaolin; while the other is a
fusible silicate of alumina and potash. There is also present a certain
amount of free silica. There is reason to believe that at a certain
point a chemical reaction takes place between these constituents,
accompanied by a local rapid rise of temperature in the materials, the
rise being due to this reaction. As a result there is a rearrangement of
the molecules of the mass, although no complete fusion takes place. It
is now, says M. Vernadsky (_Comptes Rendus_, 1890, p. 1377)--we are now
following the account of his experiments--that the sub-crystalline
rods--the baculites of which we have already spoken--are formed. M.
Vernadsky claims to have separated these rods from the glassy base by
means of hydrofluoric acid, in which the former were insoluble. He found
them to consist of a very basic silicate of alumina, containing as much
as 70 per cent. of that earth, while the glassy base was chiefly
composed of silica in combination with the potash and with a small
quantity of alumina. In their optical properties the crystals or
baculites resemble the mineral known as sillimanite, a natural silicate
of alumina.
This is all that scientific research has so far been able to tell us of
the intimate constitution of porcelain; but as far as it goes, it is
evidence in favour of our claim that we are dealing with a definite
substance, _sui generis_, and not merely with a casual mixture of
certain superior kinds of clay, something, as we have said, between
glass and stoneware.
There are certain other elements that enter at times into the
composition of porcelain--magnesia, which may have been added to the
paste in the form either of steatite or magnesite; and lime, derived
either from gypsum or chalk. These additions generally tend to increase
the fusibility of the paste, especially when accompanied by an
additional dose of silica; but as their presence is not essential we are
not concerned with these substances here.
The glazes used for porcelain are as a rule distinguished by their
comparative infusibility and by their containing no lead. The
composition of these glazes follows more or less that of the paste that
they cover, with such modifications, however, as to allow of a somewhat
lower fusing-point: as in the case of the paste, there is a harder and
more refractory, and a softer and more fusible, type. The harder glazes
are composed essentially of felspar, with the addition in most cases of
silica, kaolin, and powdered fragments of porcelain. At Sèvres, a
natural rock, pegmatite, consisting chiefly of felspar, has been melted
to form a glaze without further addition. Of late years, however, the
introduction of a milder type of porcelain has necessitated the use of a
more fusible glaze, containing a considerable quantity of lime, and it
is a glaze of this latter type that has with few exceptions found favour
in other districts where porcelain is made.
We have attempted in this chapter to give some idea of the nature of
porcelain from a physical and chemical point of view, and in doing so
have taken as our type the hard, refractory paste of Europe. When we
come to describe the porcelain of the Chinese, we shall notice some
important divergences from this type. We say nothing here of the
soft-paste porcelains, seeing that so long as we confine ourselves to
the question of chemical composition and physical properties, they lie
entirely outside our definitions. It is only from the point of view of
its history and of its artistic qualities that this group has any claim
to the name of porcelain.