Definition: Porcelain

por·ce·lain (pôr“s…-l¹n, p½r“-, pôrs“l¹n, p½rs“-) n. 1. A hard, white, translucent ceramic made by firing a pure clay and then glazing it with variously colored fusible materials; china. 2. An object made of this substance. --attributive. Often used to modify another noun. --por”ce·la“ne·ous (-l³“n¶-…s) adj.

Porcelain is a white, hard, permanent, nonporous pottery having translucence which is resonant when struck. Porcelain was first made by the Chinese to withstand the great heat generated in certain parts of their kilns. Sèvres ware, porcelain made in France by the royal (now national) potteries established (1745) by Louis XV at Vincennes, moved (1756) to Sèvres after changing hands. Copenhagen ware, several types of pottery, both underglaze and overglaze, produced in Copenhagen since c.1760. At that time a Frenchman, Louis Fournier, made soft-paste chinaware in the French style. Hard porcelain was introduced in 1775, when pieces with classical figures were in high favor. Bone china is a variety of porcelain developed by English potters in the last half of the 18th and early 19th cent. The clay is tempered with phosphate of lime or bone ash. This innovation greatly increased the strength of the porcelain during and after firing.