A guide to porcelain as a ceramic material, how recipes and firing shape the body, and what to look for when reading and caring for an object.
Porcelain is one kind of ceramic
Ceramics are made by shaping mineral materials and firing them; porcelain is one family within that broad group. The Canadian Conservation Institute describes ceramic bodies as clay minerals, with possible non-plastic inclusions, while the Victoria and Albert Museum’s glossary treats porcelain as a distinct ceramic body with its own materials and firing traditions. A piece can be understood more precisely by identifying its body, surface treatment and production record.1,2
Porcelain has more than one recipe
Hard-paste porcelain traditionally combines kaolin, or china clay, with petuntse, a feldspathic rock, and is fired at high temperatures. For hard-paste bodies, the V&A gives a broad reference range of 1,200–1,450°C; individual firing schedules vary by maker and formulation. Other historical bodies used different mixtures. Bone china, for example, includes bone ash. For a useful comparison, identify the stated body type and the maker’s material details.2,3,4
The body, glaze and firing work together
A porcelain object takes its form from a prepared body, then firing changes its colour and texture. Where a glaze is used, it is a glass layer fused to the ceramic body; pigments and firing conditions can shape the surface result. Kiln temperature and atmosphere also affect the appearance of ceramic glazes. Read the form, body and surface treatment together; whiteness is one clue among several.1,2
