Nymphenburg porcelain (about 1760-1765)Dakin Building, Brisbane, California using porcelain panels
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Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating selected and refined materials to high temperatures. These materials often include clay in the form of kaolinite. more...

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According to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities, porcelain is "completely vitrified, hard, impermeable (even before glazing), white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness) and resonant." Raw materials for porcelain, when mixed with water, form a plastic paste that can be worked to a required shape before firing in a kiln at temperatures between about 1200 and 1400 degrees Celsius. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation at high temperatures of glass and the mineral mullite.

Porcelain was named after its resemblance to the white, shiny Venus-shell, called in old Italian porcella. The curved shape of the upper surface of the Venus-shell resembles the curve of a pig's back. (Latin porcella, a little pig, a pig)

Properties associated with porcelain include low permeability, high strength, hardness, glassiness, durability, whiteness, translucence, resonance, brittleness, high resistance to the passage of electricity, chemical attack, and thermal shock, and high elasticity.

Porcelain is used to make table, kitchen, sanitary, and decorative wares, objects of fine art, and tile. Its high resistance to the passage of electricity makes porcelain an excellent insulating material. It is also used in dentistry to make false teeth, caps, and crowns.

Scope, materials and methods

Scope

Porcelain has many uses but this article is concerned mainly with its employment as a material used to make objects of craft and fine art, including decorative and utilitarian household wares. This follows the Wikipedia policy of drawing a line between technology and the arts, though in the case of porcelain the line is a difficult one to draw. Industrial and other uses are not covered here. Another difficult line to draw is that which divides high-fired stoneware from porcelain. Where this line is drawn depends upon how the terms porcelain and stoneware are defined. In this article the term porcelain is taken to encompass a broad range of high-fired ceramic wares, including some that might according to some systems of classification fall into the category of stoneware.

Materials

Further information: Pottery

The material used to form the body of porcelain wares is often referred to as clay, even though clay minerals might account for only a small proportion of its whole. The porcelain clay body, unfired or fired, is sometimes spoken of as the paste and porcelain clay is itself sometimes described as the body (for example, when buying materials a potter might order such an amount of porcelain body from a vendor).

Read more at Wikipedia.org


Vintage Clown Christmas Tree Ornaments $5.00 Hallmark Keepsake "Hand Painted Porcelain Santa, 1983 $2.75
Vintage Enesco Porcelain Bell Ornament-1980 $1.99 Huge Lot Of 32 Vintage Christmas Ornaments!!! $19.99
Nib Hibel 88 Candy Angel Ornament Cane Porcelain German $5.99 Vintage Porcelain Upside Down Clown Ornament Japan $2.99
3 Goebel Annual Christmas Ornaments - 1979, 80 and 81 $4.99 Bing & Grondahl 1989 First Edition Porcelain Ornament $15.50
Kitty Cucumber Cat Christmas Ornament Schmid 1986 $5.95 3 Avon Miniature Christmas Plate Ornaments 78-79-80 $2.50
Vintage Lenox China 1982 First Christmas Ornament Lm/Ed $6.99 Vintage Lenox China 1983 2Nd Christmas Ornament Lmt/Ed $4.99
Vintage Goebel Christmas Ornament 1982 Santa Nib $6.00 Set 8 Evergreen Express Porcelain Christmas Ornaments $18.99
Hallmark Sister Christmas Bell Ornament 1988 $5.00 Genuine Lladro Porcelain Christmas 1989 Bell $9.99
Teddy Bears And Apple Ornaments $2.00 2 Vintage Angels Christmas Tree Ornaments $5.99
6 Vintage Ceramic Porcelain Christmas Balls Ornament $24.99 Mini Snowman-With Love For Christmas Bell Ornament! $2.50
Kitty Cucumber Christmas Ornament Schmid Shackman 1988 $5.95 Vintage Virgin Mary Bells Christmas Ornaments Porcelain $7.85
Vintage Porcelain Wall Ornaments Japan $9.99 2 Vintage Christmas Choir Boy Figurines Porcelain Heads $5.00
Spode Porcelain Christmas Ornaments Set of 2 $3.99 Vintage Girl Skater w/ Suede & Fur Ornament European? $3.99
Rosenthal Porcelain Dble Sided Christmas Tree Ornament $9.99 Hutschenreuther Porcelain Christmas Ornament, Star $9.99
Set of 3 - Heavy Porcelain Festive Fragrance Ornaments $9.99 Set 6 Japan Christmas Ornaments W Box Mouse Bell More $3.99
Roy Rogers Dale Evans Christmas Ornament Porcelain 321 $9.99 Vintage X-Mas / Harkerware / Plates / X-Mas Trees (1) $5.80
Vintage Angels w/ Instruments Christmas Figurines (2) $9.99 Vintage X-Mas / Ornaments / Lenox / Drummer Boy / China $7.80
Very Nice Set Of 6 Porcelain Ornaments Open Compartment $3.99 2 6.5" Clothtique Gentleman/Woman Carolers Christmas $9.99
Nib Baum Brothers Ivory & Gold Collection Musical Santa $24.99 Vintage Avon Porcelain Christmas Ornaments, 1980, 81,83 $9.99
Porcelain Christmas Ornament-Fitz And Floyd-1978! $9.99 Collectible Lot of 5~Porcelain Enesco Ornaments~1988-90 $7.99
Porcelain Beautiful Blue with white flowers ornament Vg $4.99 Porcelain Beautiful Blue ornament with teardrop Vgc $4.99
1980 Norman Rockwell Santa Good Boys Christmas Ornament $3.99 Old Vintage Christmas Bell Ornaments w Box Santa Angels $9.99
Vintage Jsny Mouse Bell Christmas Ornament $1.95
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Prices current as of last update, 11/21/08 1:00pm.


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