China
Ceramic whiteware is made of 4 basic components: feldspar, quartz, clay and kaolin. Only Chinese china has added special ingredient which is carbonized bone ash. Depending on the proportions of raw materials and burning method, various kinds of ceramic whiteware are obtained.
Four main kinds of ceramic whiteware:
Kitchen china - used at manufacture of dishes for baking. It is extremely resistant to high temperature, prefect for domestic ovens and microwaves.
Faience – the name comes from the Italian city of Fanza where this type of ceramics started to be burnt at the beginning of 15th century. Faience goods can be recognized by their bright colour (from white to light cream). It is often coated with opaque glaze. It is most often used for simple decorations, made manually.
China – the kind of white, transparent ceramics, of high quality, which comes from China (7th century). It is manufactured in a very hot temperature (from 900˚C to even 1500˚C).
At the beginning of the 18th century the production process was developed also in Europe. Its inventor was a German alchemist, advisor of the Polish King August II. Made on the territory of Saxony, china was then often distributed by the king as a gift and was so precious that it was called "white gold”.
China may have various hues. The most popular is blue-white and cream-white china and the most valuable is snow-white china.
Chinese china – extremely light and delicate. One of the most important Chinese centres of china production was Jingdezhen. It became so famous that it started to be called the Chinese capital of china.
China was always very valued in China. China cups were even used in gambling. The players filled them with hot tea and waited for the beverage to evaporate. The winner was the one whose cup dried the last. The rules of the game resulted from the properties of china. Most valued, thin china keeps warmth for a short time. So the beverage in a cup made from the best china evaporates longer. Additionally, white colour of china which characterizes the highest quality of the product, reflects sunlight, which prevents the cup and the beverage from heating up.
