History of porcelain: a brief history of development, types and description, technology

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Ceramic products are the oldest kind of craft from all the skills mastered by man. Even primitive people made primitive dishes for personal use, hunting decoys and even clay utensils like hut ovens for cooking.

Of course, people did not have any craving for creativity or art in those days, and any craft was considered only as another aid to survival. However, later a person learned to find beauty in any kind of work.

The article tells about the history of porcelain, its types and method of obtaining, as well as the distribution of this material and its path in the art of various peoples.

Porcelain

Porcelain works of art are rightfully considered the pinnacle of ceramic products, as well as the most difficult group of products in pottery production, since porcelain processing is not an easy task, and only the skill of a glass blower can be compared with itby danger and difficulty.

It is porcelain as a type of ceramics that is considered the most noble material. Unlike most other materials, it has many subspecies, each of which has special processing conditions.

Types of porcelain

They directly depend on the consistency, as well as on the proportion of the ratio of the porcelain mass itself and the glaze in its base. Based on these indicators, three types of this material are distinguished in the composition of porcelain:

1. Solid. It consists of only two materials: kaolin and feldspar. It is to feldspar that porcelain owes its infusibility and ductility of the structure. Solid material is not used in ceramic production in its pure form. Usually quartz and sand are added to it for strengthening. Musical instruments are made from it, as well as souvenir bells, because thanks to the solid semi-metallic structure, the material is able to produce high pure sounds. The first to receive hard porcelain was the German chemist and glass blower Johann Friedrich Betger.
2. Soft. It is from this material that most of the works of art known to us are created. Due to its soft structure, the material is easy to process and quickly takes any given shape, instantly freezing in the accepted position. The material owes this structure to the silicon, s altpeter, soda, and alabaster contained in its composition. Soft porcelain was invented at the end of the 16th century in Italy, and was immediately directed into the mainstream of art, giving life to most of the known to us.ceramic luxury items.
3. Bone. This material is, in fact, a mixture of the first two types of waste. It is made quite simply by mixing waste and adding a small amount of feldspar to them, which leads to a brittle material. For a long time, cheap dishes and household items were made from bone china. In the field of art, this material has never been used because of the dirty yellowish color and excessive fragility. Bone china was discovered in 1748 by the Dutch chemist Thomas Fry.

Porcelain production

This is a long process that requires a lot of painstaking preparation. It takes a lot of time to mix ingredients, weigh raw materials and form a product, while the result of this labor is achieved by almost instantaneous firing in a furnace at a high temperature.

When preparing raw materials for mixing in special forms, the components are thoroughly cleaned from secondary impurities. The lower the impurity percentage, the higher the quality of the porcelain. The raw material is carefully sieved on production sieves, dried in a hot air stream and mixed with water, mixing with a special device until the consistency of thick jelly.

The resulting mass is stirred for a long time to make it homogeneous and poured into pre-prepared molds that enter the kiln.

After firing, the resulting pieces are waiting for grinding with a wet cloth, polishing, painting and packaging.

Porcelain in the East

Hard porcelain wasinvented in China at the beginning of the 6th century. Chinese porcelain, which has a history of almost one and a half millennia, was produced for a long time only at the emperor's personal factories, in an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy.

Needless to say, ordinary Chinese at that time did not have access to porcelain products. In the 7th century, its production began to develop rapidly. For a long time, Chinese chemists experimented with the nature, consistency and color of the new material, and by the beginning of the 15th century, Chinese porcelain production reached its heyday. It was the Chinese craftsmen who were the first in the world to master the technology of painting hot surfaces with paints from cob alt, hematite, chromium compounds, which made Chinese porcelain history as one of the highest quality in the world.

A century later, Portuguese navigators bring the secret of pottery production to Europe, but at first the new craft does not take root.

In the middle of the 16th century, porcelain began to be mass-produced in Japan. The quality of the Japanese counterpart was not as high as the works from the Middle Kingdom. However, the masters quickly mastered the technology for the production of various complex forms. Also, the Japanese were the first to come up with the idea of decorating porcelain items with the thinnest sheets of gold.

Porcelain in Italy

The history of the creation of porcelain in Italy is also interesting. The fact is that at first all porcelain items that appeared in Europe were exclusivelyimported. Since luxury goods were supplied in rather limited quantities, those rare items that did not fall into the treasuries of various monarchs settled in the vaults belonging to various abbeys.

At first, the medieval masters of Europe tried to copy the composition of the new material. However, all attempts were unsuccessful. Porcelain either burst almost immediately after the casting of the product, or did not want to turn into a thick jelly-like consistency.

The rarest examples of experimental European porcelain that have survived to this day are in the Vatican, in the treasury of the Pope.

Italian craftsmen achieved great success, having managed to set up a small production of porcelain at the end of the 15th century. However, it soon became clear that the products they produced were not made of porcelain at all, but of very fine polished clay.

Various written sources, as well as records of artisans of those times, do not contain more accurate information about either porcelain or its export to Europe until the very end of the 16th century.

In 1575, the legendary Duke Francesco de' Medici opened the first porcelain factory in Europe in his villa. Resourceful Italians decided to make it of the highest quality, without wasting time on the production of a trial series of products of medium and low quality. The risk paid off. The porcelain obtained by the Medici became a unique white material. It consisted of white clay from Vicenza, as well as gray quartz. Glaze, at the insistence of the count, was also used onlywhite, which gave the finished product a matte whitish tint.

Because the production was rather small, only about fifty artifacts have survived to this day - thin table dishes, large vases, trays, and about seven field flasks for drinking water.

All these works of art were carefully painted by the best artists in Italy, depicting floral patterns and various still lifes on them, which was quite a fashionable trend for that time.

Porcelain in Germany

The history of the creation of porcelain in Germany is not so romantic. From Italy, with the assistance of Venetian merchants, the material goes to Germany, where leading manufacturers of ceramic products immediately show interest in it.

The city of Meissen in West Germany was at that time the leading city in the field of pottery. And it was here, under the leadership of Count Ehrenfield von Chirnhaus, that experiments began to identify and improve the properties of porcelain, as well as experiments to create new compositions. The count was interested in creating a manufactory that would provide the country with export raw materials and make a significant contribution to the German economy. Glass-blowing experiments had already been successfully carried out under the supervision of Tschirnhaus. However, the Earl knew that the glass industry was not yet popular enough to bet on.

But this is where the Kahla stigma was born. The history of porcelain has its roots in the history of the legendary chemistBerger, who signed all his works in this way.

In 1704, under the responsibility of Chirnhaus, the legendary twenty-year-old pyrotechnician Berger was released from the royal prison, whose experiments were considered too dangerous not only for the citizens of the country, but also for the royal government. After all, Berger was actively engaged in the creation of bombs and land mines with enhanced power.

Chirnhouse offers Berger a job in a full-fledged laboratory in exchange for help and joint work on the problem of soft porcelain. Six months later, Berger realizes that hard porcelain differs from soft porcelain only in the amount of quartz dust in its composition. Thus began the story of Kahla porcelain.

By the end of the 18th century, almost all species known to us were discovered, and mass production of products of various qualities was also established. Basically, it was stylishly decorated dishes, various decorative figurines, which were readily acquired by we althy collectors to decorate houses and country villas.

In Russia

The history of Russian porcelain is also full of interesting facts and entertaining details. In our country, its production did not take root right away, because for many years the country had its own, “folk” material - majolica. By the end of the 18th century, its production in Russia was so large-scale that at international shows and exhibitions, the Russian product was in no way inferior to world competitors.

In 1724 the first majolica plant was founded, where underThe production of artistic majolica began under the leadership of the merchant-enthusiast A. K. Grebenshchikov. It was from her that the history of porcelain in Russia began.

Majolica was distinguished by its subtlety and elegance, and the painting on the cover was always done in traditional Russian styles such as Gzhel, Khokhloma, Palekh. Such works of art were incredibly appreciated in Italy, France, Germany and Spain.

In addition to majolica, the Grebenshchikov plant also produced ordinary pottery on an industrial scale, which was painted by Gzhel masters. The Gzhel technique was originally famous for its rough but bright strokes, merging into one image. Hand painting was not cheap at that time, but even pottery from the factory sold out in a matter of days. Enamel cups with floral patterns were popular throughout the middle zone of the Russian Empire, linking the history of the country with the porcelain era.

For a long time, domestic scientists could not determine the composition of porcelain. The history of porcelain in Russia even almost ceased to exist. It is known that even during the reign of Peter I, a special expedition was sent to Germany, the purpose of which was to find out the composition. However, the expedition failed, failing the mission. Later, one of its leaders, Yuri Kologrivy, will still be able to get porcelain by experience in his laboratory in St. Petersburg.

In 1724, Grebenshchikov abandoned his experiments with porcelain and switched to faience, a material that was more accessible and cheaper to process. Literally in two years, the merchant succeedsachieve industrial production, as well as gain a reputation as one of the highest quality manufacturers of earthenware and other household and artistic products. Tea sets became widespread and became an indispensable attribute of every self-respecting family of that time.

Kuznetsov porcelain, whose history is truly entertaining, owes its appearance to the work of the domestic chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov, a friend and associate of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov himself.

January 30, 1746 will go down in history as the day of Russian porcelain. It was on this day that Dmitry Vinogradov managed to get the first experimental composition in his laboratory. The history of the emergence of porcelain in Russia began when the first bowls from this material were cast at the factory of Pyotr Afanasyevich Kuznetsov.

The production of porcelain was continued by the descendant of Peter Afanasyevich - Mikhail Sergeevich Kuznetsov. He became the first Russian monopolist in the production of porcelain and earthenware. In addition to household items, the Kuznetsov Manufactory became famous for its incredibly beautiful art products and luxury items.

The decline of Russian porcelain falls at the end of the 19th century, when instead of the conceptual embodiment of ideas, breeders focus on the complexity of forms, releasing absolutely meaningless vases, teapots or sets with muddy watercolor patterns. High-quality traced engravings have disappeared from the products, giving way to tasteless landscapes.

In the era of modernity, the history of porcelain in Russia finally ceases to exist. Instead of manual workeminent masters comes standard factory casting with the same stenciled images of sunsets and sunrises.

History of Soviet porcelain

After the revolution, when the Soviet government desperately grabbed every opportunity for agitation, turning all the arts available to it into mass propaganda media, Russian porcelain was not forgotten. Moreover, he became one of the main, reliable and long-term executors of state propaganda orders. The porcelain factory in St. Petersburg was closed for reorganization in 1917, and in 1919 it began to produce products of a new type.

In just two years, a team of the best craftsmen has been assembled at the plant. Writers and artists, masters of casting, painting and gold knitting are involved.

The first experimental batch consisted of propaganda figures of workers and armed sailors with red banners. These ceramic soldiers immediately became the subject of admiration for the boys and gave rise to a boom among buyers and collectors. Each of these soldiers was branded with a factory, and hundreds of people became interested in the history of porcelain stamps.

The next batch included household items decorated with symbols of the new government.

In subsequent years, the production of propaganda porcelain only gained momentum. Gradually, factories began to produce children's toys, kitchen utensils, collectible busts of famous figures of the revolution, Christmas decorations.

Soviet porcelain is getting closer to the people, releasing at the same time the population needs andat the same time, items that are ideologically correct from the point of view of power.

In the USSR, the history of porcelain is short. It ended in the mid-1980s, when the population no longer needed ideological products. Since all factories were set up to produce only ideological products, production had to be curtailed, since it was not possible to find experienced graphic designers at that time.

Russian porcelain in our time

Despite the sharp decline in the popularity of porcelain products and the almost extinct production, it still remained a folk craft early on and continued to appear on store shelves. Only now it was made by an artisanal method. Of course, the quality of such products left much to be desired, but this did not affect demand. The population is accustomed to unpretentious Soviet toys made of cheap porcelain. Therefore, handicraft analogues were quite popular, especially since many manufacturers were fired from factories by workers and were well versed in the technique of creating works of art from porcelain and earthenware.

In 1994, the plant named after Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was reopened in St. Petersburg. In 1995, he released an experimental batch of New Year's toys. Painters from all over the country were involved in the restoration of the plant.

The history of Soviet porcelain was continued by descendants who returned to the origins of the appearance on Russian soil of this amazingart. A few years later, the plant began not only re-producing once-cast figures, but also developing its own designs, as well as layouts of new works of art. Since 1998, the best manufacturers around the world can envy the regularity of the release of new collections of the plant. The quality of Russian products is again becoming a benchmark, winning first places not only at art exhibitions, but also on the market for such products.

In 2008, the plant receives a grant from Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, as well as funds to upgrade equipment.

Modern handicraft porcelain still exists and is a fairly large folk craft. On the territory of Russia there are even entire villages of breeders who create unique works of art using the native Russian techniques of porcelain boiling and painting.

In the village of Dulevo, Samara region, the master fisherman Pyotr Vasilyevich Leonov has been working for many years, working in a unique brushstroke painting technique. He paints hot porcelain with his fingers, rubbing the paint with strokes into the work that has not yet cooled down. Despite the seeming rudeness of the movements, the work of Pyotr Leonov is incredibly appreciated all over the world.

“The history of cold porcelain has long outlived its usefulness,” says the artist, explaining to reporters that “his soul lies in the warmth of porcelain, and you can’t be cold with it.”

Porcelain Resurgence

Recently, against the backdrop of the growing popularity of the art of working with porcelain, almost forgotten in the country, more and more children are interested in this craft. Inmany cities of Russia opened schools for painting porcelain and faience. There students will learn a lot of interesting things. They are not only told about the history of porcelain production, but also taught how to paint the material in various techniques.

Modern trends in the revival of crafts are key to the revival of Russian culture and customs, which is an incredibly important part of the public outlook.

The history of porcelain and hallmarks can be interesting not only for adults, but also for children. In 2008, the Azbuka publishing house released a series of educational books about Russian crafts. The series was a huge success and was reprinted more than once. Many critics say it's hard to find a book that presents this kind of material for children in a more accessible way.

Of course, the publication of "History of Porcelain for Children" is only a small part of it, but other crafts are becoming popular among young people, which indicates the revival of traditional Russian art.