Porcelain Pottery Making and Methods

In making porcelain, ceramic material is treatedThe method used for forming, decorating,
and heated and clay is included in the form offinishing, glazing and firing ceramic wares is given
kaolinite. The temperature is between 200C tobelow-
1400C. The porcelain material is blazed at highForming: The porcelain pottery is formed by pulling
temperature, so it is very tough, translucent, andclay upward and downward into the desired
high in strength. It is white polished cowry and itsshape. It can also be formed on a wheel. The
name is derived from the old Italian word porcella.throwing of clay seems to be very easy when it
Porcelain has the properties of low permeabilityis done by an expert potter. Mishandling of the
and flexibility, high strength, solidity, glassiness,workpiece can destroy the shape of the item.
permanence, whiteness, fineness, significance,Glazing: It has been considered that the initial
fragility, high resistance to chemical attack andglazes are unintended, and these are due to the
thermal shock.existence in the furnace of lime-rich firewood ash,
Tables, kitchen ware, sanitary items, fine art, tileswhich proceeds to the exterior as a flux. The
and decorative things are the items made fromiron-containing glazes were designed especially for
porcelain. It has a high resistance to the flow oftheir prominent sound effects on porcelain.
current and therefore porcelain is a good insulatingDecoration: The porcelain wares are decorated
material. Dentists use porcelain in making falsewith the help of cobalt and copper. In modern
teeth, crowns, caps etc.wares these are chowder-fired at 1000 Celsius,
One material used in making porcelain ware isand then they are sent to glazed-firing at a
clay, but actually clay is used only in smalltemperature 1300 Celsius. In Chinese and
proportions to the whole. The main materials usedEuropean method both the process are done in
in preparing porcelain are highly variable, but chinasingle operation.
clay consisting of the mineral Kaolinite is often theFiring: it is the process of heating unfired ceramics
most important ingredient. Other materials addedat high-temperatures in a furnace to prepare their
with china clay for producing porcelain clay arefinal shapes. Compared to earthen ware or stone
steatite, glass, steatite, bone ash, quartz,ware porcelain is always fired at a higher
petuntse, alabaster and ball clay.temperature to vitrify the clay and make it non
According to the degree of plasticity the clays areporous.
described as long or short. Long clays are ofThere are basically three categories of western
higher plasticity and are sticky. Short clays are ofporcelain: hard-paste, soft-paste and bone-china.
lower plasticity and thus are not cohesive.The divisions are made on the basis of the
Porcelain clays have lower plasticity compared tocomposition of the material (known as paste)
other clays which are being used in makingused to form the body of porcelain.
pottery.