Tag Archives: porcelain

Fine Bone China

fiskplate and teapot fine bone china

England-Rose-Teaset-Fine-Bone-China

Chinese Porcelain FiguresBack in the 7th century porcelain was invented in China and porcelain art from China began appearing in Europe in the 13th century.  It took European craftsmen centuries to figure out how to make it. The secret was the high temperature at which the Chinese artisans fired the clay–up to 1,300 degrees Celsius. In 1710, German artisans began producing high-quality porcelain. In England, Thomas Briand of Chelsea developed soft-paste porcelain in 1742. Thomas Frye patented porcelain containing bone ash in 1749 and Josiah Spode in Staffordshire refined the recipe for fine bone china between 1789 and 1793 and this invention resulted in the fine bone china products produced then and now.His formula, which consisted of 6 parts bone ash, 4 parts china stone, and 3.5 parts clay found popularity among English pottery manufacturers and was widely distributed.

The best china has always been the thinnest and most refined. Bone china ware is very thin and very refined, yet is the toughest of porcelains. Production usually involves a two stage firing where the first, bisque, is without a glaze giving a translucent product (1200C-1300C ) and then there is a second glaze (or glost) firing at a lower temperature (1050C-1100C)

Blue-and-white porcelain from China was so prized in the Renaissance that a number of princes attempted to discover the secrets of producing this rare, exotic, and expensive material. Only in Florence, under the patronage of Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici, himself an experimental chemist, did alchemists succeed in developing an “artificial” or soft-paste porcelain. Because the Medici factory was continually experimenting with its ceramic recipe and glaze, its wares were thicker than true hard-paste porcelain from Asia and covered with a rather cloudy, bubble-pitted glaze.French porcelain

  • Bone china is produced much like porcelain. Because of its lower plasticity, however, more care is required in its production than with other types of porcelain production. The china stone is added to give the unfired body the plasticity it needs to allow for shaping of the material. The process and materials are typically more expensive, thus the reason for the expense of bone china.

The standard English formula for fine bone china is 25 percent china clay, 25 percent Cornish stone and 50 percent bone ash. The presence of bone ash in the porcelain led to bone china being strong, translucent, and exceptionally white. The clay body was of the best quality, very dense and less prone to chipping. The bone ash came from animal bones  heated  to about 1,000 degrees Celsius. This sterilizesd the bones and turned them to ash which was then grinded  finely and added with water before mixing it with the other materials.

The area of Staffordshire went on to develop a long  proud history. During the Industrial Revolution, the area around Stoke on Trent became known as “The Potteries” as names like Wedgwood, Moorcroft, Gladstone and Royal Doulton gave Staffordshire Pottery a well earned reputation for top quality ceramics and china and was recognized as  as the original source of fine bone china .Over the centuries more than 1,500 china manufacturers have operated in the area, some for more than 200 years.
English bone china is highly collectible and often begins with pieces passed through generations. While new fine porcelain can be purchased and added to collections, many avid collectors go to flea markets and yard sales looking for treasured finds to add to their collections. Bone china can often be identified by its translucency when held up to light.

Rob McIntoshMcIntosh® 'Sunflowers' Fine Bone China Cup and Saucer Set

Porcelain teapot

Chinese porcelain Teapot Qing-Dynasty

Chinese Porcelain Vase

Wedgewood Tonquin dinner plate

Wedgwood Tonquin dinner plate

Fine-bone-china-cup-and-saucer-collection

 Fine-bone-china-cup-and-saucer-collection

Royal Doulton Tea Pot

Royal Doulton fine bone china novelty teapot, ‘The Cockerel & Monkey’

HJicks and Meigh oval sugar bowl

Hicks-and-Meigh oval-sugar-bowl

Chinese Porcelain Tea Cannister

Tea canister, porcelain with underglaze blue; Chinese, 1790-1810. Pottery exhibited in the DAR Museum

 
 
 

 

Danish pottery ceramic tradition

 

Hans og Birgitte Börjeson Fulby

 

Denmark has a rich tradition of producing fine ceramics and original pottery dating back  several hundred years . The Royal Copenhagen porcelain factory was established in 1775 under the active patronage of the Danish Royal Court. Several of the first dinnerware patterns produced by the factory are still crafted and painted by hand, more than two centuries later. Tradition, craftmanship and innovation have been united in a blend of old and new to make Royal Copenhagen one of the world’s most successful producers of fine dinnerware and collectable art. Their Blue Fluted patterns are the epitome of fine porcelain and it has been given this name because the surface is fluted like a mussel shell. Since its introduction, the Blue Fluted pattern has been painted freehand by specially trained painters at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory. It takes over 1000  brush strokes to paint one Blue Fluted plate. Flora Danica is another famous line  under this brand.

 

The island of Bornholm in Denmark, to this day is still a mecca for artists using all the artistic mediums. Søholm, the oldest ceramic factory on Bornholm  was founded by Herman Sonne Wolffsen and Edvard Christian Sonne in 1835.  Søholm stoneware design has become a big collector’s item for retro devotees. The factory closed in 1996. Much of the pottery of Denmark matches the modernistic flare of the furniture they are so well known for.  Sleek lines, innovative use of materials, and streamlined design are typical of  the wares created and reflect the Danish Modern style popularized in the 50s and 60s. Some other famous Danish design studios for pottery and creramics are Saxbo, Hjorth, Bing & Grondal, Nymolle and Palshus.

Hjorth, blue vase, stoneware ( Artpottery Flickr )

 

 

Soholm

 

Per Rehfeldt Vase

 

 

Per Rehfeldt Stoneware Pot

Per Rehfeldt Stoneware Pot

 

 

Lidded jar, Bing & Gröndahl

 

 

Vintage Danish Soholm Stoneware

Vintage Danish Soholm Stoneware ( Per Rehfeldt )

 

 

Per Rehfeldt

 

 

Peter Duzanna Hansen porcelain vase

 

 

Per Rehfeldt

 

 

Saxbo Gunnar Nylund ceramic cup

Saxbo- Gunnar Nylund

 

 

Royal Copenhagen Vase  Royal Copenhagen Vase

 

 

Danish Dybdabhi Platter

Dybdahi Platter ( RetroPottery.net )

 

 

 

Bangholm Keramik Bowl and Plate

Bangholm keramik Bowl and Plate

 

 

Bing and Gronahl Vase

Bing and Grondahl Vase

 

 

Royal Copenhagen Fajance Bottle - 1973 - Ivan Weiss

Royal Copenhagen Fajance Bottle – 1973 – Ivan Weiss ( RetroPottery.net )

 

 

 

Jörgen Mogensen Vase

 

 

Maria Philipi soholm ceramic

Maria Philipi Soholm

 

 

Lene Regius, porcelain

 

 

Strandstraede Lidded Jar

 

 

Ursula Printz Mogensen

 

 

Bode Willumsen Royal Copenhagen.jpg

Bode Willumsen Royal Copenhagen

 

 

Holm Sorensen Vase ( Soholm )

Holm Sorensen Vase ( Soholm )