History of Porcelain

The Invention of Porcelain in Saxony | Pre Chinese history of European Porcelain | Chinese and Japanese Porcelain | Reconstruction of the true history of East China | Additional Technical Details, the Porcelain Stone | Glass Mark Porcelain | Epilogue. History as a Respectable Business

Move on to stories with Chinese porcelain. If the silk had to play", the porcelain case relatively simply and transparently official version creates the impression that before dating with China in 16 century, Europeans didn't know and do porcelain couldn't this misinformation is easily refuted, unbiased enough to familiarize themselves with any qualified written description of the history of European ceramics: the only difficulty with Chinese porcelain and silkthat his invention is attributed to the Chinese people for quite some time. This fact highlights the porcelain and silk among the mass of other"ancient Chinese inventions, which mostly surfaced in the second half of the 20 century Chinese silk in Europe were interested in not earlier than 18 century legend of Chinese origin of silk approved barely earlier 19 century the Chinese invention of. myth in ancient porcelain emerged much earlier legends of Chinese silk, approximately at the turn of the 16-17 centuries. finding answers to question show and why this happened, and devoted to this small study.

"The history of and the development of porcelain and pottery in China as long as the history of silk it is silk and pottery were the main exports in the emergence of the earliest antiquity. porcelain date time of the Shang dynasty (1600-1100 BC).

Confidently assert that porcelain Chinese invented in unthinkable antiquity and for Millennium art in manufacturing reached a large porcelain tableware, figurines and other household and decorative items. In the 16 century Chinese porcelain was highly impressed the imagination of Europe, has become a matter of luxury and aristocratic prestige. Europeans have tried, but could not solve the mystery of Chinese porcelain. Finally, at the beginning of 18 century in Europe opened the secret of porcelain and in imitation of Chinese began to produce porcelain. This is the generally accepted version.

What is porcelain? Generally speaking, a variety of ceramics. Details of the porcelain production technology we will see next, now, under the porcelain imply a wide range of materials which differ from conventional ceramics by some special qualities. Conventional clay product porous and permeable non-tight porcelain for liquids and gases. Also much stronger than traditional porcelain stoneware packagings can be made from it. For porcelain are some opacity (defined by the subtlety of the walls). Thin-wall porcelain cup impact on it a wooden stick makes a melodious sound. Traditionally referred to as the firm and solid porcelain ceramics, wizards have sought more rugged and dense material. Also wanted to produce porcelain necessarily clean white, white porcelain without impurities was (and is) the most elite and prestigious.

The Invention of Porcelain in Saxony

The legend of the supposedly unique Chinese porcelain is a pure misunderstanding, the fruit of the paradoxical failure to understand the public to study the history of the European ceramics present, so-called hard paste porcelain first invented in Saxony in the beginning of 18 century a class a soft porcelain were known in Europe without China, at least from the 15 century.

"In Europe, the hard porcelain (Porcelain) called held strong firing ceramics, transparent to the light. In China, any ceramic, baking with sufficiently high temperatures and clinging to postukivanii, known as porcelain. In practice between these two definitions, the difference is small, since any sufficiently hard for Chinese standards, being quite thin, semi-transparent and will".

"Johann Friedrich Bettger (1682-1719) started to conduct experiments on porcelain in 1707/1708, led to the creation of"rothes Porcelain"(red porcelain) - fine ceramics. Experiments were conducted in areas where even with the 1400 's. There was a flourishing of ceramic production in Saxony, Dippoldiswalde, already been baking stoneware at temperatures 1200-1300 s. probably that is why experiments Bettger began in this area.

"However, this porcelain remained to be open. Chemistry as a science in its modern sense did not exist. Either in China or Japan, or Europe, the raw material for the production of ceramics is not yet able to identify in terms of chemical composition. The same was used technologies. Porcelain production process is carefully documented in notes on traveling missionaries and merchants, but these reports could not be used in technological processes».

As such, the secrets of porcelain manufacture prescription never existed, because all the ingredients of porcelain mass and technological techniques used in the production of ceramics has a long history. The real problem was that because of poor development of chemistry was not an accurate understanding of the process of obtaining porcelain (ceramics and in General, of course). Scientific knowledge of the technological process was not available and the manufacturers of various farforov, as we shall see, in Europe there were quite a few. Diverse porcelain foremen for the most part, empirically, adapting to local raw materials.

Key moments in the technology of solid porcelain are the proportion of kaolin (naturally looks like a white clay) and double (second baking at high temperature conducted roasting approximately 1400 ° (C) Double firing) to 18 century long ago and has been used extensively by the German Masters guessed add lot of kaolin porcelain.

"Understanding the basic principle underlying the production of porcelain, namely the necessity of burning mixtures of different types of soil, and those are easy to merge, and the merge is more complex-was the result of a long systematic experiments based on the experience and knowledge of the geological, metallurgical and chemical-alhimiko""relationship. Thought experiments on a white porcelain made at experiences to create a"Porcelain"rothes, because just two years later, in 1709 or 1710, white porcelain was already more or less ready for manufacturing.

Mixture, which was called"Versatz"("tab"), consisted of half the kaolin, White aluminium oxide, which does not melt, a quarter of feldspar, who served as a fluxing agent, and quarters of quartz. Until 1724, replacing feldspar made of Alabaster. Porcelain mixture is stringy material, after making the forms they need drying in the open air. Then porcelain firing passes twice. First, biscuit, roasting, the 900S, during the first firing of porcelain mass is compacted, and at the time of the second firing is glassiness. At the time of the second firing in 1350-1450S flux wraps kaolin, remaining at the time of burning particulate, and enters into his pores. As a result of this process, kaolin to condense. Glaze, which is similar to the porcelain, but in liquid form, is before the second firing and firing during the cult's surface.

It should be noted that Chinese porcelain from the modern point of view, the soft porcelainbecause it includes substantially fewer than in hard kaolin, European porcelain, it also Burns at a lower temperature and less solid».

In Europe 16-18 centuries, famous Chinese porcelain, and German Masters sought to unravel his recipe (just say, moral foster creativity distinct to the only German Masters Chinese contribution into development of the porcelain manufacture). German alchemist Johann Friedrich Bettger, as any good Alchemist, was getting thumbed gold. In 1701, escaped from the Prussian King in Saxony, where he was in 1704, attracted important public matter of great commercial benefit, secrets of porcelain. The work was carried out in secrecy by a fugitive from Prussia Bettger actually was in a position of honorary captive Saxon King Frederick August I, called August the strong.

"At the end of December, 1707, was successfully test firing of white porcelain. Subsequently Bettgera was kept under strict military surveillance. The first laboratory notes on usable porcelain mixtures are January 15, 1708. April 24, 1708, a warrant was issued for a porcelain factory in Dresden. The first samples of porcelain, firing in July 1708, were neglazurovannymi. By March 1709, Bettger solved this problem, but covered with glaze porcelain designs he submitted to the King only in the year 1710. Technical problems were solved, the creation of porcelain but Bettger didn't feel satisfied, because he had intended to give an art form red and white porcelain.

In 1710, the Easter fair in Leipzig was provided with suitable for selling tableware of porcelain ", as well as samples of Ch'ing enameled and white porcelain. In 1710, efforts were made to address the problem of Underglaze Blue porcelain decorating with paint, but experiments had been successful only in the year 1719. The purpose of experiments - majsenskij porcelain to resemble Chinese porcelain.

As a famous majsenskij porcelain. Porcelain factory started to produce profits. Saxon King in 1714, merit has granted Bettgeru freedom and drapery. It was rumoured that Bettger would like to escape from Saxony and was poisoned on the orders of the King. It's doubtful, probably libel enemies on the Saxons, Bettger was already seriously ill, probably as a result of long work with any harmful chemicals.

The first Saxon porcelain factory to store secrets in majsensky Castle Albrechtsburg. The master secret is the recipe for porcelain mass. However, the Saxons were not able to permanently save a production secret.

In 1717, a Flemish painter had obtained drawings mejsensky"porcelain"furnaces and two years later began producing porcelain in Vienna shortly in many cities in Europe, the former mejsensky workers helped organize new manufactory. the best known of them were based in Berlin (LLZ), Hehste, Petersburg (PPE), Moscow (the Gardner factory) in its early years, many factories Germany, England, Russia and France not only made things on the designs and forms of Saxon porcelain, but even their famous branded the Meissen marka two blue crossed swords.

Is believed that the mystery of the Saxon porcelain stole some Hunger, Flemish painter working for majsensky factory. But this version seems to be doubtful. It is more likely that Hunger frontman because never had farfor/porcelain production in Russia.

In 1744, when was founded the first Russian and the third in Europe the Petersburg Manufactory Empress Elisabeth invited by I.k. from Sweden, who had previously created a hunger was invited to farfor/porcelain production in Vienna and Venice he conducted"research"about three years, and then left without any results.

At that time the hullabaloo on Europe porcelain charlatans (specialists in porcelain), promising to interested persons to farfor production is not worse than Saxon.

"Fashion for porcelain after the founding of Mejssenskoj, in the year 1718 Manufaktura Vienna (Austria) in Germany that every vladetel'nyj Prince, not stopping to expensive, tried to found farfor. but they had major difficulties, and Meissen and Vienna for a long time remained the only solid European porcelain factories in 1745, during the Silesian war Prussian troops, after Meissen, stole supplies kaolinite and removed some working. but not enough to cause Manufactory in Prussiaand the Berlin factory was opened only in 1751, merchant Vegeli.

Enjoy the beauty of porcelain and other high consumer qualities. They are valued as luxury items and works of art, they were expensive, were the objects of prestige, porcelain collected aristocracy and Kings.

"Early Bettgerovskaâ ceramics and porcelain of Bettgerovsk were copies of Chinese subjects.

As we can see, the original Saxons imitated kitajŝine. But it still does not follow that the famous in the 17-18 centuries Chinese porcelain was really invented and made in China. Original Chinese"porcelain"is a type of soft porcelain and leads developed ancestry in Italy technology of majolica. to see this, just a little deeper into the history of the European standard.

Pre Chinese history of European Porcelain

Banal sounds, the history of ceramics goes back to antiquity.

The expression"ceramics"should be placed to the Greek symbol clay, which is the Greek word keramos - pottery., ceramics are those products for which clay (in case of kaolin), CME-sannaâ with feldspar, quartz, or lime, serves as the principal raw material. these source materials are mixed and pererabaty - in mass either by hand or on a turning circle is formed and then fired.

To provide a general idea about the subject here is the most common European classification of soft porcelain. In fact, clear boundaries between species farfor does not exist, as there is no strictly specified common terminology and classification of pottery. Division of porcelain stoneware on species in many ways conditional, as some formally, in a soft, almostPorcelain technology can give no hardness in Saxony this hard porcelain.

Tonkokamennye products are speksijsâ neprosvecivauŝijsâ white or dyed in are grayish beige, blue, a crock with water absorption -3.0 0.5%. They have high mechanical strength and heat resistance. Apply them in producing tableware and decorative goods, and some variety - for heat-resistant Cookware.

Polufarfor is the tonkokeramiceskie product with neprosvecivauŝimsâ white or colored cerepkom with 0.5% water absorption -5.0 polufarfora make the dishes of various artistic and decorative products.

Faience tonkokeramiceskie is a product with a porous neprosvecivauŝimsâ cerepkom white with a yellowish tint in our country were producing hard faience with 12% water absorption-9. it contains 60-63% clay and only 5-15% with smoother. Thus, the main phase, if burnt to 1250-1280onwith a crystal. Vitreous phase (about 20% of the volume) is located between structural elements, allowing them to communicate, but not filling. Total porosity 26-30%.

Due to the high porosity faience always glaziruut, but in this case he inclined to vlaznostnomu Exchange swelling. Impact faience publishes thud. It is lower in comparison with heat resistance and durability of porcelain. Thermal lowered due to high thermal expansion of faience fusible coating and sharp honors its composition of clay-silica to. Used in the manufacture of faience ware, mainly dining and art products.

Majolica tonkokeramiceskie is a product with a porous neprosvecivauŝimsâ cerepkom. Their are divided into two types: the majolica wares from AMIS by belozguŝihsâ clay and mass based on color clays. water absorption of majolica and white cerepkom-12%, with color-16% less durable and Maiolica. heat resistance within than faience, but purely decorative.

As we can see, faience and some other types of so-called stoneware technology and composition are pretty close this"hard"porcelain. on average, a few are porcelain or in hardness, porosity or. or pure white Unpainted white colour without impurities to valued because it allows you to clearly see the slightest defects of the products also enables a crock white to more expressive decorative figure, which shows through on the back (inside) side of the product (cups, vases, dishes etc) Is elegant and beautiful.

"If we talk about the disadvantages of faience the first thing you want to say about its porosity which leads to absorption of moisture from the air, which leads to some of his ' (0.016-0.086% of the total), the rupture of the glaze and a Tseka (cracks glaze), increasing over time at all antique tableware products glaze is covered with a grid that is for collectors Tseka a sign of authenticity of long-standing origin old majolica or faience.

Glaze for faience is frittovannaâ legkoplavkaâ. Introduction to mass of 3-4 per cent chalk, magnesite and dolomite, as well as, rising temperatures firing at 20-40° c can eliminate the Cek. Usually faience reach limit increase their volume in two or three years."

"The word"faience"are derived from the name of the Faèncy city in Italy (Faenza), famous for the production of these products (1487), but you have to remember that in France (in the province of Provence) is also an ancient town of Fayence and out there with the same times did this kind of utensils. However, subsequently known as"faience"has no any symbol of Italian products of this type (XV and XVI.). (...) lost the original name for this Italian faânsov with yellowish and reddish skull, most used the name"maiolica".

In the evolutionary sequence of European porcelain manufacture majolica technique is first. This technique is known in Europe since ancient times.

"The easiest way to prod-production was to pore through an opaque layer of stone's Pok glino-zema believes that people as the basis for raspisnogo or procara-pannogo (sgraffito) decoration and even before firing to cover the thin transparent singing, usually colourless, easily dissipated through the melting and the the shiny lead glazes in southern Europe from Persia and Turkey, this technique is of vestnaâ, called polumajoliki, was the nesena the Arabs in the 14th century, however, the widespread use of it finds itself in the late 15th and early 16th centuries in Northern Italyin particular, in the workshops of Padua, Bologna, Perugia and Città di Castello.

"But the ultimate stage forms a technically Bo-Lee pritâzatel'naâ and improved artistically this maiolica - with opaque and shiny tin-lead g-zur'u and decor, full fire resistant paints. And the majolica came to Europe via Arab merchants, with a particularly important role here was played by Mediterranean Harbor, and it may be that the term"maiolica"originates from the island of Mallorca, the main centre for the export of Spanish-Moorish ceramics in Italy".

The Arabs pripleteny to Pushcha beauty history. Lifelike version of that technology is borrowed from the Byzantines majolica (on some important and complicated reasons, in 16 century Byzantine influence in European historiography totally replaced the Arab).

On the site of some American artists met a map illustrating the commonly accepted version of the historical path of technology of majolica in Italy (a Historical Overview of Majolica ).

Historical Overview of Majolica

So here's the long way round the historic de by majolica Majorca island hit (or Mallorca, from which the island if his name and majolica leads), and from there was brought to Italy. In my opinion, the version more than doubtful. You cannot understand why for centuries maiolica travelled to Italy for some zadvorkam the Mediterranean. If this technique was originally developed in pottery of Persia, why not come to Italy through the centres of civilization and trade of that time - Egypt, Levant, Asia minor and Greece, finally.

It seems more plausible that majolica was originally invented in Italy or somewhere nearby is considered to be the earliest products of Italian majolica belong to 13 century. it is certain that in Italy is already quite a developed production of majolica in 15 century. museum exhibits can be admired here: Archaic Period (mid 13th to 15th centuries).

The majolica Technique is well known in Europe with 15 century. Covered products coating not only (and not so much) beauty Foundation to be porous, and glaze, rasplavlââs' on the surface of calcinations, provide proof of the walls, and typically the bottom containing Tin layer glaze was opaque, it painted the paints and covered protective layer of transparent and enabling the brilliance of lead glaze, majolica were burning. relatively low temperature of about 1000 degrees. (C).

"By the end of 16 century finds its way to Europe majolica. Having a porous cerepkom containing iron and lime, but white earthenware clay tiled or mass, it is covered with two glazes on: opaque, containing of a Tin and a transparent shiny glazed. Majolica is originally from zaal'pijskih countries is called faânsom. Decor wrote majolike on wet icing before to burn the product at a temperature of about 1000° c. Paints for the painting have the same chemical composition as glaze, but an essential part of these oxides of metals that can withstand high heat (Naz. fireproof paint-blue, green, yellow and purple). Only since the 18 century turned to so-called mufel'nym paints, which have already been nakosilis' away the glaze, and with their help, especially on porcelain, reach-it.

Manufactured the first step on the way to China. Further development of the European ceramics coming on way of mixing different materials in order to obtain a solid, neporistogo and thin to products. In Germany, the 16 century widely used so-called stone mass produced as a mixture of some sorts of clay with different minerals.

"In 16 century in Germany, race and distributed production stone utensils. White (e.g. in Siegburg) or coloured (e.g. in Rerene) is very tight a crock it consists of clay mixed with field-PCA, quartz, samotom and other substances. Obzigaâs' at a temperature of 1200-1280° c, stone ware very firm and almost neporistain Holland, along the lines of Chinese ceramics, it began to make red, the same feature detects stone ware Bëtgera.

A very unusual type of stone utensils made Wedgwood in England. Thin stands as a special class of ceramics in England, rye in the first brought in the 18th century. With a white foam, covered with a white cerepkom the same glaze, depending upon the credit of doing to divided into soft thin hollow with a high lime content, the average is lower its content and solid, no lime. This last composition and fortress to often reminds Kamen-GE ware or porcelain.

Stone Cookware produced very little hard and porous. The properties and technology it has already pretty close this hard porcelain. Remember, between porcelain, faânsom and some other varieties of soft farforov there is no insurmountable boundaries. Also note that already in the 16 century Germany seriously competed with Italy for the production of ceramics.

"Italy. The production of majolica circulated here already present in the middle of the XV century,at that time the sculptor Luca della Robbia Florence had applied this technique to large rel'efam, which, in addition to paintings, coloured glaze. in this regard, the work of his workshop shall alone, because until the last quarter of the 15th century Italian maiolica sky is by and large had been influenced by the Spanish-Moorish ceramics, the imstvuâ from it not only formsbut also how to decor. The technical level of their image-CA it reached, but only when and in Italy known golden chandeliers, so characteristic of the Hispano-Moorish ceramics.

1470-1500. A departure from other people's designs and build your own artistic conception occurs in the last quarter of the 15TH century,(I) when traditionally the Gothic language (vegetable sprouts with stylized leaves, leaf ornament, Gothic minuskulom) enter, amplifying, elements of the early Renaissance (pomegranate pattern, outlets, pal'metty, acanthuses, decorations, dividers, and Flake pattern, Arabesque, bust images of men and women in costumes of the time) because this era makes very precise performance styleIt pristal the epithet"strict style"; the Centre of this style was Faenza.

1500-1550. With the beginning of the XVI century majolica production is included in the overall flow of Renaissance art, eventually becoming a full scope of creativity. majolica Function changes and therefore changing its types and forms in the 15th century, when it served as the main domestic purposes, mainly manufactured albarelli, vessels for wine and water jugs in the sixteenth century ceramics has become something of a necessary Luxury interiors Viennese homeswhere the clean holiday tables, or it serves as a valuable gift. The basis is a flat tableware - plates and dishes more efficiently than other tubes, could serve the purpose of decorating. Changing a function has the following technical gains, but more attention was given to careful dressing clay and forming, so the proportions of the vessels were more subtle and elegant. Quality of the glazes, in turn, improves, and the how opaque, served as the basis for paintings, Tin glazes, and the top of it is a colourless and transparent glaze, which heaven, obzigaâs', transmitted by the surface of the receptacle your brilliance. I colored glazes were used, namely light-blue (smaltino) and dark blue (turchino).

Improvement of painting means God of the colour and large thematic diversity becomes a matter of artistic ambition. Dekorirovka was of such high quality that some of her remarks as"pre-Red style."It reaches its highest point in the second quarter of the 16th century, developed in different directions."

"At the same time groteskovoj is not which ran workshops or cvetoc - NAI decoration"a foglie","a flori"or also called"alla porcelana", original imported Chinese porcelain. On white or light blue glaze issued curls. However, the artistic significance of this type of decorating peaked in the middle of the 16th century in Venice, where he was held back in the second half of the 16th century, when monohromnost' became to mnogokrasocnosti and Mel-related flowers marginalized by lush akantami (style of Domenico da Venezia).

As we can see, in the early 16 century in Italy is produced in quantities similar pottery"Chinese porcelain"According to the official version was introduced to Chinese samples. imitation with all due respect, Chinese"porcelain"could not possibly have an impact on the Italian majolica in early 16 century. Just because the Portuguese reached China in 1517, and the more-or-less regular trade relations were established later, about the middle of 16 century.

And in any case, at the time a Portuguese China in Italy already have developed a rich history production of so-called soft farforov. And in the middle of 16 century in Europe there is Chinese style porcelain. And why, if only out of pure scientific skepticism did not consider the version that the production of porcelain was brought to China from Italy. And then, for some reason, which I'll discuss later, Chinese porcelain in Europe created the original glory, èkzoticnogo and surprisingly ancient.

Logical question, do the Italians in 16 century knew how doing this hard porcelain? first, it couldn't do the Chinese, they farfory to the modern classification of soft...and secondly, in the 16 century Italians knew how to make pottery in quality quite close has been created in the 18 century Germans firmly porcelain, and opportunistic later famous"Chinese porcelain».

It is known that in 1470, Venetian master Ancuokpo made ceramic vessel transmission. Half a century later, his compatriot, the manufacturer of mirrors Petpnger. stated that may make this Chinese porcellan".

The so-called"Medici porcelain which properties held midway between hard and soft porcelain, albeit transparent thanks to the white clay from the Vicency, but the yellowish, and glaze so used white, already familiar to majolicnomu production".

Podcerknëm one important circumstance, prior scientific chemical analysis using even identical technologies in different localities produced different results. The fact is that the production of ceramics is mainly an empirical character, defined characteristics of local raw materials, and therefore precisely reproduce the product in a different location was difficult. In the donaucnuu era of porcelain production technology (soft or hard), it was not easy to move and try on a different source. So the Italian masters, in principle, could accidentally get hard porcelain and in 16 century and earlier, or Chinese raw materials with better quality than at home in Italy. Progress of the Germans largely favourable local conditions for the production of glass and ceramics.

Will get acquainted with the history of European ceramics.

1550-1620. As a reaction to the painting in the urbinskom style and at the same time due to the admiration of Chinese porcelain, which TSB - zilsâ to Italy via Venice, in third on Thu, 16th century covered production Verga, in white majolica. Here the lead held Faenza. Finishing vessels limited-subject among èskizno planned every - brazeniâmi putti, busts or schematic traktovannyh curls, determined by a blue and yellow in the style created by Virdziliott Kalamelli and his successor, Giovanni Bettizi ("stilo compendiario")"

France. With regard to Tin glazes, then for a long time their application ograniciva-Elk in France those types of pottery Pro-products that came from Italy. At the same meet, products falling from the Italian influence were used exclusively and svin sizing glaze. They are found on two nityh groups of the French national flag of Renaissance ceramics - the so-called Saint-Porsere and Bernard Palissy's products.

"Majolicnoe production appears in French, was in very late, and progress in this field is visible only in the Baroque style. In the 16th century with Tin containers, with further sporadic experiments were the glazes on the, and was widely used this technique in the production of razcov-by communicating especially named Masseota Abakena. The first experiments were probably those Italian potters, who in the early 16th century, moved to France, like, for example, Girolamo della Robbia from famous Florentine family. In the second half of the 16th century was followed by a number of majolicistov. In 1556, the majolik workshop in Lyon open Sebastiano da Po Griffo from Genoa and Domenico Tardessir from Faèncy. Products of their shop dekoriro-Vana in the urbinskom style, colour and detail reveals the peculiar CSER - you. In the 1980s Italian workshops occur in Nantes, Nimes and Neve - re; but when it comes to local goncarah, tin glaze among them still not semi-Chala distribution".

Germany. A similar situation occurred in the 16th century in Germany. Local majolicnye products come only from South Germany, Mania and style so similar to the Swiss majolica of the time that they are difficult to distinguish from it. Were is the plates and al'darelli, that is exemplary of the Italian majolike, to which historical and cultural rather than artistic. Exceptions are the vessels in the form of an OWL, with which, however, there are many copies. Net of these imperfect imitations of Italian majolike, German Renaissance ceramics there are two clusters of: the so-called gafnerkeramika, which comes from the tradition of the middle ages, bringing them up to completion and stone utensils, Ko-which, with the exception of porcelain, is part of Germany's greatest contribution to the development of the whole of ceramics".

Stone utensils. Its production began in the first half of the 16th century, in the area of the Rhine. The high roasting required temperatures of and therefore needed a good to-licestve wood, which lacked in Wed-dizemnomorskom area. Both dishes ran Kamen - out first-class raw materials provided by implementation after firing such not porous, which does not have any glaze. All the same glazes were used, however with special properties required in view of the strong kalil'nogo heat. Most entries were sole - legal education glazes, which are awarded when stowing the DILO-bake salt during the obzi-HA. Soda, salt, entered in connection to coat aluminium oxide and silikatami, forming a thin and hard nasloi on the outer surface of the receptacle. Decorated this product naleplennymi before roasting and espresso-bathroom in model ornaments. Subsequently resorted to engraving to or pressing the pattern using wooden stamps. Forms of pitcher were created by Ori - project, describing a marginalized from - sound centers. Where is made the first Ka-mennaâ dishes - in Cologne, Freheve or Zigburge, is still unclear. In all three cities were the same assumption of shortcuts to do this, the tradition of ceramic production dates back to the middle ages.

Stone ware was the direct predecessor of porcelain. Some sample articles from the so-called stone is not inferior to the porcelain, and actually are this hard porcelain (the main difference to stone ware from porcelain that he is white and opaque). Again, the problem was the result of instability that was dependent on the proportion of aluminium oxide in source raw materials (see table of chemical composition of farforov and faânsov). The opening of the Bettgera that he guessed about the role of kaolin and use it consciously.

Thus, the farforovoe production developed in Europe for centuries, and had come to the invention of hard porcelain. And where is Chinese? From about the middle of 16 century in Europe are widely traded Chinese porcelain.

"The Cost in 1557, the Portuguese were found on the island of Macau S.A.R. near Canton own trading post, as simultaneously with importation in Euro-Pu far East porcelain is a growing demand for this product. In 1605, the Dutch set this trade myself, and founded in 1602, the Dutch East India companies - to our inquiry begins to bring in porcelain. In subsequent years, the import takes great placement, rea, porcelain becomes cheaper: becoming a fashionable item, it is, of course, could not fail to affect only black-zestvennoe appearance of the Dutch faience. Throughout the first half of the 17th century decor Chinese porcelain of the Minsk dinas-tii directly copied us, and not only the motives of paintings, but also in the way it took of blue paint on white background. Podraza of stopped, but on an external catlenii, and find all of the paintings notable lack of artistic intuition and imagination. Production of tableware vessels assigned the production of tiles, closely concentrated in Harlem, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

In the second quarter of the 17TH century the importation from China zastoporivaetsâ until about 1640, no stops. However, the Dutch managed to obtain mod - nopoliej on the import of porcelain from Japan, but the number of supply has not kept pace with demand. The current state of del'ftskie faânsovŝiki have been able to use in their own way, they began to imitate dal'nevostocno - Mu porcelain much more committed to and read than before. A number of basins, arising in Delft in between 1640-1660, obtained through its you - sokokacestvennyh faânsov such success that could compete with imported Japanese porcelain. The del'ftskie manufak-tours to large enterprise, including the ability to adapt to the wishes of the customer, craft skill and you-sokomu art, as well as its cultural links with most major centres of Dutch painting. A lot of knowledge of the chill, of course, a direct example of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Technically, in Delft the achievement of such a perfect thin glaze, and painting tothat at first glance could get off for porcelain, faience».

"So new that was in the production of del'ftskogo faience, is closely linked to the new mate-rial, namely the Red Stonefrom which run kettles. Imitated in the Chinese zavarivavsim tea is not the headlamp of forovyh tea pots and tea pots of stone. In Europe they came together with porcelain, and emulate the class of ceramics in the Netherlands were probably about the year 1670, as since 1678, he often is found in the inventarâh.

Let's look at the important historical details. In 17 century in China make products from stone, which was invented a century earlier in Germany. In the same century the Dutch to spoof the Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Argue that, despite remarkable external similarities, still can distinguish Dutch faience from Chinese porcelain. The one who can be identified, but whether all the distinguished Dutch product may be distinguished from the Chinese original? Take into account the unresponsive issue without decision because of the lack of objective criteria.

When meeting with the official version of Chinese history, it is difficult not to notice her starring feature in the 16-18th centuries in the process of making contact with European civilization, the Chinese are mostly memories - painful remember and re-enact their firmly forgotten diligently. ancient art and handicrafts (and Chinese porcelain, as seen, not deletion). for the rest, the same for the Chinese civilization is characterized by stagnation in the arts, Sciences, and there is no active innovation (this commonly accepted fact). on the other hand the European civilization, at least in the 15-16 centuries (and beyond) is the creative spirit, in all areas is developing rapidly, and, above all, grows intellectually. Here one typical example from the history of ceramics.

The famous French Potter Bernard Palissy (1509-1589). Judging by the names to have Italian roots. Produced products made of glass and ceramics, a lot of experimenting. Fifteen years of life fanatically devoted to invention of glazes for majolica (or faânsov, as the view). Famous scientist, social activist (died in the Paris prison where he was imprisoned as an gugenot). In 1575-1585. reads in Paris lectures on science.

"Published a treatise"The Potter's art, his use of enamels and fire"(1580), which described his multi-year study of artistic glazurnyh coatings tableware products reported that the glazes are oxides of Tin, lead, iron, antimony, copper, as well as sand and soda, but not on their relationship (the secrets of producing some glazes still not disclosed) claimed that the mineral salts are necessary for plant lifeand recommended that distinguish between General flag of soluble salts and marl to navozu and other organic fertilizers.

And as always,"at the end of the 19th century workshops Bullet in Paris and Avisso in the City Tour is very cleverly fabricated things Palissy.

For many technical and Palissy is artistic achievements in ceramics. Especially famous for his"rural clay".

"His studio produced decorative ware without a Potter's wheel by pressing in the forms of Palissy's workshop works highlighted the so-called"rural clay"-Oval dish with bosses, based on the imprints from nature images of fish, shells, green snakes, lizards and frogs are all high quality they are different and unusual color combinations of icing. they can be endlessly, but every time I find a new parts..."

Rural Clay Oval Dish Rural Clay Oval Dish Reconstruction

"Plants, reptiles, insects are depicted accurately and convincingly to the illusory. Secret technology"rural clay"was a. And while many have tried to ' explain ' technology amazing masterpieces Palissy, but these"reconstruction"are fantastic."

Oval Dish 1560 Louvre Paris

Oval dish. 1560. Louvre, Paris

Ceramic Dish 1570 the Victoria and Albert Museum London

Ceramic dish. 1570. the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Example of Palissy tells how high-level European art pottery was located in the middle of 16 century. Wizards knew how doing things artistically refined and technically sophisticated. And on Italy in 16 century France is still on the periphery of the European civilization. And remember that Mastery Secrets carefully preserved, safety production secrets of mortgage of commercial success. Even Palissy, who publicly as an academic educator, uncovers the secrets not all their achievements. And not to mention the Italian masters, first of all, to maintain its monopoly on faânsy and farfory.

And note the important fact. Development of ceramics, the invention of porcelain in Europe is inextricably linked to the progress of science, experimental and theoretical. And in China, no science, strictly speaking, even in its infancy otrodâs'. Did not exist in China and social structures specializing in intellectual activities and conservation knowledge, similar to European universities. This paradoxical fact not challenged official history and is the subject of deep reflection. Usually umozaklucaut that for thousands of years of history in some mysterious way the Chinese did all the great invention. But since no similarity and universities, by the time the Europeans have lost almost all mined in ancient knowledge and advanced technology.

Chinese and Japanese Porcelain

Now we turn to the history of Chinese porcelain. (BSR) great Soviet encyclopedia said:

"Frafor usually get high temperature firing a fine mixture of kaolin, plastic clay, quartz and feldspar (the porcelain is called polevospatovym). with the development of technology there are varieties of porcelain: alumina, cirkonovyj, bornokal'cievyj, lithium, etc.

Depending on the composition of porcelain mass there are so-called hard and soft porcelain (soft paste porcelain has slightly less hardness than hard). Hard porcelain poorer fluxes and glinozëmom richer than soft; to obtain the necessary density and prosvecivaemosti it requires a higher temperature roasting (up to 1450° c). Soft porcelain more diverse chemical composition than hard; firing temperature of up to 1300° c. The soft paste porcelain is also bone porcelain, composed of up to 50% bone ash, and quartz, kaolin, etc., Bone porcelain is characterized by the greatest whiteness and prosvecivaemost'u.

And actually the Chinese porcelain is known to historians:

"With 14, when porcelain Jingdezhen became a centre of production, spread products decorated with lead glazes on assorted ("San-Tsai") or underglaze cobalt blue painted, 15 b. often combined with nadglazurnoj painting ("Dow-CAI"-"Control Panel). In 16 c. samples paintings sometimes served patterns sëlkovyh tissues. Subtlety, purity and whiteness forms to uzornost', and the brilliance of the painting are products 17-18 centuries, especially with painted enamel green and pink and t. n. plameneuŝego porcelain coated, rolling from blue to red. Wealth and the plasticity of forms are different shapes of the divine mythical characters, legendary beauties. At the end of the form 18. become precious, mimic the lacquer ware, bronze, stone, etc.in 19 b. porcelain industry has fallen into decay. Modern products of Chinese porcelain is usually simple in form, often monohromny and covered with traditional colored glazes on (grayish-green, blue-grey, red).

Note that Chinese porcelain 16-17 centuries in composition, color palette and technology of glaze similar to Italian (klâtvennye assurances that the Chinese are already one and a half thousand years to produce porcelain until we leave without attention).

"Chinese porcelain in Europe on the predominance of the colors in the painting were divided into family: pink, green, yellow, and black in these articles attracted finesse forms, clean surface in connection with export porcelain to the West subject painting rebounding: articles have subjects drawn from European engravings, custom-made heraldic figures".

Also, keep in mind that the exquisite Chinese products, according to a disinterested testimony of Europeans in China for the most part were pretty rough and artistically primitive pottery.

Brockhaus and Efron show features Chinese and Japanese farforov:

"podmes' to kaolinu pyleobraznoj MICA increases the ductility of kaolin, mica, intangible on fineness powder, can produce a consistent dough with water; this is due to the fact that the dough of Chinese and Japanese farforov plasticnee European because Eastern kaolin contain up to 20-25% MICA dust, whereas European-only up to 10%.

"the Chinese and Japanese porcelain mass, melts at a lower temperature than some European hard paste porcelain".

Oriental farfory by European standards relate to mild farforam. This is the 19 century. And how were cases with Chinese porcelain in the 16 century? Referring to the secrecy and total falsification of written sources in Chinese history by the Manchu government in 18 century, authentically to judge about the subject difficult. Well, then take the Japanese help, as we have done in the case of the silk.

I shall explain why the Japanese history 16-17 century is known for a lot more authentic Chinese. The Jesuits established themselves on the Japanese islands in the middle of 16 century and the end of the 16-century Japan has become a predominantly Christian country, precisely, a Catholic.

"Thirty years of activity of the Jesuits in Japan 200 Catholic churches were built, converted to Christianity were made one hundred and fifty thousand Japanese people, and a large number of them were representatives of Samurai elite. Especially the Jesuits succeeded in the South of the country, the Centre of their activities became the major port city of Nagasaki on the West coast of the island of Kyushu many daimyo from the South, not only personally accepted Catholicism, but also helped the Saints to the fold of the church fathers to pay up to a third of its subjects, particularly known for his Christian daimyo Takayama Ukon radeniem wasChristianity as early as 10 years of age with his parents, Omura Sumitada, who gave in the hands of the Jesuits port of Nagasaki, and even such famous Princes as otomo Sorin and Arima Harunobu, whose possession lay on the island of Kyushu. Many Japanese clans in the entirely converted to Christianity and became the Jesuit fathers of bodyguards.

However, at the beginning of the 17 century in Japan make the Dutch and the English, Spanish and Portuguese, the Jesuits begin serious problems. They violate the Japanese monopoly Catholics in Japan going on violent conflict of two European orientations - Catholic and Protestant. In 1637-38. comes to the armed intervention of the Samurai-the Jesuits, rebellion the Government suppresses the Shogun with the military assistance of the Dutch. It ends in the 1630 's, the Japanese authorities will honour for the benefit of the move to the self-isolation of the country. In 1639, the right of limited trade with Japan are some Dutch.

Intervention by the Dutch (and British) did not permit the Jesuits and rewriting Japanese history zalegendirovat' 16-17 centuries, such as in the 18 century was done in Chinese history. The Japanese are well aware of the important role of the Europeans in their history. Japanese historiography peacefully coexisted in two parallel worlds. One Japanese mythical history, a very ancient and in the spirit of the Samurai romance. And second, the real beginning with the arrival of Europeans in the middle of 16 century.

Incidentally, a similar case in Formosa (now Taiwan island). The Portuguese did not allow them to enter the mainland China and the Dutch in 1624, settled in the Formosa (displacing the Spaniards). As a result of the official story honestly admits that before Europeans did not have a clue about the Chinese island, Chinese - more precisely, displaced persons from the Mainland to labour on the island brought the Dutch colonizers. And for the first time in the history of Taiwan was annexed to the Manchurian Empire only in 1683, and then formally. Rather than visit on the island of Taiwan, the Dutch would be many thousands of years to the original Chinese possession (official Chinese historiography that is asserted, but European historians it were forced to do not believe).

On Japanese porcelain by BDT, with rare candour reports that

In Japan, the production of porcelain in the 16th-17th centuries.under the influence of China and Korea».

"At the end of the 16th century in Kyushu near Arita found feldspar and kaolin deposits at the base beginning to unfold farforovoe production based on the experience of Chinese and Korean craftsmen".

You cannot understand why the Japanese have one and a half thousand years to wait for the arrival of the Portuguese and the Jesuits Koshu Island (Nagasaki, founded as a Portuguese outpost, in the second half of the 16 century Island main center of Japanese Christianity) to begin the production of porcelain in the experience Chinese and Korean masters.

Korean porcelain masters anecdote. Allegedly, the Japanese captured them during the incident in late 16 century zavoevatel'nogo's invasion of Korea, was taken to Japan and Korean porcelain vyvedali mystery. But the thing that Koreans and now do not know how to do high-quality porcelain.

Korean porcelain is distinguished by exquisite form gentle and deep flavor, diversity ornamentacij. The best is considered blue-green porcelain. In Korea, it is called"colour"Kingfisher.

"In the iron oxide content about 2% of the skull is greenish-blue hue from iron oxide compounds kremnezemistogo double and Cali, that for a good porcelain was considered intolerable»

There is no point seriously go into ridiculous fabrications about ancient Korean porcelain, which allegedly occurred at the Japanese.

In fact, farforovoe production, like anywhere else in Japan have developed a hard-working fathers Jesuits.

"The Jesuit porcelain is a Japanese porcelain of the second half of the 16th century, who, on the instructions of the Jesuits missionaries was razrisovan images of the Madonna, Christian Saints, emblems, etc. To exile the Jesuits subjected was destroyed, which now stands at ceramic rarity.

Judging by the available objective data, the production of porcelain and silk was moved to China by the Portuguese (behind their backs by Italians) is pretty much the same as in the second half of the 20 century, the Western powers in Japan, and then in the people's Republic of China to manufacture electronics and cars. But, it seems, no one argues that the transistor and car invented the Chinese or Japanese. So far, anyway, to new discoveries of Chinese archeologists.

Now it is logical to ask where in Europe the mid 16th century appeared the refined supposedly Chinese porcelain, which at first imitated Italian masters, followed by the rest of Europe?, hard-working Ant Pipers are Chinese but hardly they had time for 2-3 decades to learn the ins and outs of the Italians and achieved peaks. explanation is simply opens, Chinese porcelain (any antiquity) began to produce in Italy in the first half of the 16 century, before production was moved to China and both will see mass production of porcelain in China Jesuits succeeded only in 18 century.

It should be reminded that according to the official historical versions of Chinese porcelain TSB is zilsâ to Italy via Venice, in third on Thu, 16th century Verga"This is wholesale supplies, and there are ware of Chinese porcelain in Venice even earlier, at least in the second quarter of the 16 century and how it could be, if in 1509, Venetians suffered a crushing defeat in the Indian Ocean from the Portuguesein 1517, Egypt, and Eastern lost trade Venetian Republic disintegrates. Spaniards and Portuguese to control trade in the Indian and Pacific Ocean until the end of the 16 centurythe Venetians could not get their hands on trade of Chinese porcelain. Even if the porcelain then there was.

So the only believable version in 16 century Chinese porcelain was imported by sea, and produced on location in Italy. Italian artists have developed an exotic oriental style, which subsequently imitated the Chinese themselves. The 16 century made in Italy are already pretty close solid porcelain classes, you know.

"...We are talking about the cream vitreous substance with high clay. all this mass of grinds and filter, carrying to ductile State of the processed object is baked when. 1100-1500 with goes dry and non porous glass mainly Glaze., i.e. from legkoplavkogo lead oxide-rich substance that contains, in addition, sand, soda, potash and lime glazed products are already burning in 1050-secondary 1400, when the glaze is connected to cerepkom.

In comparison with solid soft porcelain transparent, white color it more tender, sometimes almost cream tones, but zaroustojcivost' the porcelain below. Breakdown direct, unglazed part in turn of the zernista. Early European porcelain in most was soft, giving an example of excellent and very valued products old Sevres. He invented in the 16th century in Florence (Medici porcelain).

"In 1575, at the behest of the Grand Duke Francesco I de ' Medici of Tuscany takes soft Porcelain Manufactory in the famous Florentine Boboli. so-called Medici porcelain, travertine held midway between hard and soft porcelain, albeit transparent thanks to the white clay from the Vicency, but the yellowish, and glaze so used white, already familiar to majolicnomu production".

A precise description of the Medici porcelain production technology, but something is known.

"As described in the treatise of the Florentine library Mal'âbeke porcelain, this included 16 parts glass frit, 24 parts sand, 12 pieces of white clay from Faèncy and a bit of kaolin from same; manufactures covered glazed or Tin polivoj. turned out kind of Ch'ing enameled and raspisannogo glass, manufactured and decorated with potters which took the form of far eastern or Middle Eastern articles. This was not the porcelain, however wonderful that these experiments were the first organized activities for the reproduction of porcelain in Europe. Porcelain de Medici was a predecessor of the French"Pat tandr"(soft paste)or soft porcelain. These are very beautiful; they felt a subtle understanding of the spirituality of Oriental art. Some of them were very good imitations but not porcelain and Chinese blue-and-white ware. Duke Francesco di Medici has decorated his palace Medici porcelain works, and used it as diplomatic gifts to other gosudarâm. There are only about forty pieces of porcelain de Medici, rough and heavy. Apparently not preserved specimens have more thin and fragile, and is the cause of their deaths.

Note that the Japanese and Chinese farfory traditionally are some steklovidnost'u (greater transparency) with increased content of MICA. Generally speaking, when an identical production technology East porcelain could not be identical to the Italian. Transfer of Italian technology in Japan and China (and everywhere) inevitably would lead to slightly different results, because of the nature of the local raw materials, chemical composition which then define couldn't.

But can it matter to 16-17 centuries Italians massively produced fake Chinese porcelain? Not only possible but also quite ordinary, even normal. All solid farforovoe production in Europe began with the manufacture of fabrications. In the 17-18 centuries in Europe famous Delft. Or on traditional European classifications - faience. Division of parole, Chinese porcelain and faience was not recognized and do not distinguish, their entire"porcelain". The Chinese terminology simplicity as a proxy for that farforovoe production was entered in China, historically, relatively recently.

The production of majolica in Dutch city of Delft was founded by Italians in the 16 century. In the middle of the 17 century Delft faience has made great strides in the mass production of the refined Oriental style porcelain.

The level of technical skill of potters was extremely high : well imitirovalsâ decor blue and white Chinese porcelain; applied muffle paints (enamel fusible) and gilding; produced Japanese (mostly red) porcelain, imitating the black lacquer and èmalevidnye background irrigation»

In turn, the Saxons, having invented this famous hard porcelain, first began to manufacture Chinese products.

The stylized image of the red with gold dragons and roosters subsequently became one of the most popular pattern in the style of"Saxon Chinoiserie-style"developed by design prints, beginning in Europe via the Netherlands.

"Fashion for Chinese porcelain was so great that until 1724, the mejsenskih things were Chinese brands».

Then in Europe to have falsified a famous saksonkoj porcelain.

In its early years, many factories Germany, England, Russia and France has not only made things on the designs and forms of Saxon porcelain, but even their famous branded the Meissen mark, which is two blue crossed swords.

Opened in 1766, Russian porcelain drapery Franz Gardner acted in conditions of a rigid competition with fashionable and expensive porcelain majsenskim. He went towards the so-called small factories of Thuringia, having the form and decor contemporary designs Saxon porcelain and imitating the brand"swords"or"swords with a star (mark Markolini). Thus there were small factories of Europe and England".

As we can see, the falsification of famous brands farforov lesson issued. Counterfeiting has been practiced for many centuries in the past, and also not the Chinese invented. Of course, the question, with which the Italians decided to produce a"Chinese porcelain", rather than to produce porcelain under their brands (like factory Medici)? the compelling business reasons were available, we will discuss them in detail in a later section of the article.

In principle, the production of porcelain in"China"to the Jesuits in late 16 century 17 early. It is said that at the beginning of the 17 century Chinese porcelain steel purchased the Dutch. However, it recognized that the kitajŝinu for the most part produced in the Netherlands.

And anyway, when China began production the most lifelike porcelain? version of that in the first half of the 18 century and there is direct evidence of the Jesuits to establish initially unsuccessful in China to manufacture porcelain in the late 17 century. these facts the official history is interpreted in such a way that the Jesuits had only participated in the restoration of porcelain workshops which impressed Manchu China Permanently. dynasty initiated the revival of the alleged lost ancient Chinese arts and crafts. If in the 17 century, the Chinese people do not do-it-allthat could begin, and especially seem to have forgotten how to make porcelain. Had to use the Jesuits 'recall».

In 1680, the Emperor Kangxi established at the Palace workshops for the manufacture of tissue products of lacquers, enamels, glass of partition, furniture, jade and porcelain; some of them together with the Chinese craftsmen were Jesuits. The porcelain project was soon on as failed, and in 1682 the Kangxi Emperor sent his Commissioner of parks, Zang In'suanâ in Czindèczèn to restore the Imperial workshops, destroyed during the civil war. Zhang In'suan' and two other officials, Nèn' Siâo and Tang Ying, maintained the highest level of decorative art until the mid-18 c. They introduced many new technologies, new colors and types of glaze - such as the exquisite"pumpkin","tea dust"and"Moonlight". Enamelled porcelain, known in the West as famille verte due to its predominant green became popular during the Kangxi Emperor, and during the short reign of Yun Cheng was the pink family"or"foreign color-technology may be brought by the Jesuits. Manual Nèn' Siâo won fame for the imitation of ancient and new invention".

Apart from tales of ancient Chinese porcelain, the beginning of large-scale production of Chinese porcelain is sensitive guidance of Jesuit fathers ubiquitous - refers to the period not before the end of 17 century, more realistically, the first half of the 18 century. At that time, the Chinese launched a massive fabrication and ancient Chinese porcelain:

... the amazing copies of classical sunskogo and the Minsk porcelain, with simulations products era mines were achieved not only new glaze effects, but also established such bizarre things as porcelain lamps and even musical instruments, those manufactured for the European market. European influence is felt also in products, decorated with the use of shadow paintings in Western style, known as "Gu-Yue-Xuan". In 1712 and 1722 a Jesuit priest d'Antrekol' sent to Rome, two letters containing important information about production in Czindèczène. They described the most complex production process, more and more keen to bezziznennomu perfection tsinskogo porcelain. The old charm has been preserved only in a rough product and some provincial export workshops".

"In the 18th century in the Canton come ships most European States They were very much porcelain. at this time there is another trend - workshops are starting to take orders for the image of certain subjects on porcelain. The first stories were linked to the spread of Christianity and religious nature. Among these stories the most popular image Christ's crucifixion, his baptism".

The first scenes, which the Chinese painted on porcelain illustrated Christian stories. The low artistic quality of images on a porcelain products historians explain the cultural cuzdost'u of Chinese masters European topics. But in fact, in the late 18 century 17 early Chinese were still only draw under the leadership of European artists, and particularly difficult Chinese were given pictures of people.

The creation in 17-18 centuries under the guidance of the Jesuits of porcelain (and many other) production and mass production were imitations - who is not known as distinguished from originals, if any, would have prevailed and originals - ancient Chinese products official history is as a revival of the Manchurians forgotten (?!) Arts, following ancient Chinese designs.

"Wishing to improve their skills, Chinese masters are looking for new ways and return to the old, already forgotten techniques. illustrated the emergence of different crafts and industries descriptions in antiquity and in the middle ages".

"The most brilliant period is 18 century when across China are hundreds of workshops is a gradual revival of manufacture of porcelain in Czindèczene. There again major orders are sent to the Palace in a significant enrichment of ornamentation".

"European, who managed to ferret out"the secret of porcelain", was a Catholic priest, Jesuit, French Pastor d'Antrekol', who was in China missionary. somehow it entered the closed city King-Chen, Center of the Imperial porcelain industry, where, according to him, there were more than a million craftsmen".

With a Jesuit priest d'Antrekolem suspicious story. The reported information on the extent of porcelain production in China are, to say the least favored, exaggeration, deliberate mixing seeds of truth and horse doses of misinformation.

"In a message sent to Paris in 1712, he vividly described his impressions of the secret City: "the capital of porcelain, surrounded by high mountains, lies at a depth of Kiangsi Province. There are two rivers. There is a river port in much longer than a mile. Sometimes there is so much, that they form two or three rows of...Day and night are three thousand stoves. Night seems a city covers huge campfire. The city is surrounded by protective walls, which can grow in all directions. This also facilitates the delivery of materials and finished products from ships to factories and back. In total more than one million souls city consists of eighteen thousand families of potters. Every day it absorbs ten thousand tons of grain and a thousand pigs, not to mention Konin and sobac'em meat..."As can be seen from the reports of monk-King-Chen impression of the city, built on a judicious plan: "the streets are perpendicular to each other, one height; rich merchants lived in beautiful homes, but a huge number of poor people in the city. Clearing out old people, children, blind and crippled-all they have to work, to mix paints to earn a living. The city is ruled by a Mandarin using dedicated to him. On every street, depending on its length has one or more managers, assisted by officials responsible for every ten houses. At night put barricades and Mandarin personally followed the order.

'S do not have the right to live in the city. They must either remain in its own courts, or webcast from their friends who are willing to vouch for them. Well-being and life in the city are completely and entirely of porcelain. The factories are working conveyor method: every product goes through 60 pairs of hands".

Pastor d'Antrekol' closely monitored process of manufacture of porcelain and have memorized everything down to the last detail. Information from it regularly came to France. Despite suspicion and vigilance of the Chinese authorities, the Jesuit father managed to get home even samples of kaolin.

But Europeans lacked a critical ingredient to produce similar to Chinese porcelain, kaolin, the very substance of decomposition products of clay and feldspar, granite and pegmatite. This side of the ground (kaolin) is named after the hill near King-The-Chan, which was discovered".

At the time of publication of the revelations d'Antrekolâ Saxons already invented porcelain, kaolin and samples from China were not needed. It seems that the fabrications and exaggerations of the Jesuit d'Antrekolâ were intended to support the reputation of Chinese porcelain in the thinking of the dangerous saksonkoj competition.

However, a plant for the production of porcelain in the town of Czindèczène (Fulân) in the province of Jiangxi really existed. The Chinese report that during its heyday in the 18 century the Czindèczène had several hundreds of kilns (rather than three thousand as priviraet d'Antrekol'). And tellingly, according to Chinese chronicles in 16-18 centuries farforovoe production in China is mainly owned by the Treasury. For fiscal purposes would be sufficient to establish the State monopoly of foreign trade porcelain. Initially the big nature of porcelain manufactories also indirectly confirmed that the porcelain in China had a brief history, and his production being imposed from the State.

Reconstruction of the true history of East China

Sum subtotals. Having taken into account all available credible information, history of East porcelain can be reconstructed as follows. Originally the Chinese porcelain"invent and produce in Italy in 16 century (the reasons why the Italians took up the case, consider the 6 section of the article). Porcelain production then moved to Japan and China. And apparently, Japanese porcelain appeared before the Chinese - in the second half of the 16, beginning 17 century. The existence of porcelain production in China earlier 18 century reliably is not known.

I recall some of the circumstances of the Dutch trade Chinese porcelain:

In 1605, the Dutch set this trade myself, and founded in 1602, the Dutch East India companies - to our inquiry starts import of porcelain."

"In the second quarter of the 17th century the importation from China zastoporivaetsâ until about 1640, no stops. However, the Dutch managed to obtain mod - nopoliej on the import of porcelain from Japan."

In the first half of the 17 century, the Portuguese were not allowed the Dutch to mainland China, and in 1661, and expelled the Dutch from Taiwan. The Dutch were unable to take control of trade with China. But just at the beginning of the 17 century they successfully sneak into Japan, but with the 1640, the Japanese authorities cease to trade relations with foreigners and Dutch commerce with Japan is heavily restricted. From here, you can see that in the 17 century Dutch imported Japanese porcelain to Europe disguised as a Chinese. To grant one another for porcelain East wasn't too difficult, since 17 century Japanese on its products do not have a stamp. The difference between Japanese and Chinese porcelain Europeans saw only in 18 century. This is not to mention the fact that even in the Dutch mass-produced the so-called Chinese porcelain.

Completed by the end of 17 century conquest of China Manchurians have reflected on the establishment of an arts and crafts on European models. Mass production of porcelain in China is one of the 18 century, the Chinese have diligently reproduce invented by Europeans to Chinese style. Although it is possible that the Jesuits organized the production of porcelain and China experienced earlier. With the dissolution of the order in 1773, and gradually their fading down the Jesuit mission art porcelain in China by the end of 18 century disintegrates.

"The most brilliant period of in the development of the porcelain of Qing is a 18 century".

Specialists distinguish podrazatel'nye, stereotypical porcelain artistically in the Manchurian Qing era, begin production as in the 18 century, and masterpieces of ancient Chinese masters. Undoubtedly, those ancient Chinese masterpieces of the work of the European masters, since 18 century the Chinese first started to master the production of porcelain, was ignored for the music.

"In 18 in China started a revival of ancient types of ceramics it was unveiled, the richness of the historical panorama of far Eastern art.

Rough ceramic ware with symbolic Chinese ornaments made for export to Europe, where they have enjoyed great success, have often been made in Canton and not Czin'dèczène".

"Once Europe has uncovered the secret of porcelain production, importing pottery from the far East. This created such political turmoil in China, the Imperial Court severely reduced their patronage porcelain manufakturam; with the exception of the famous Beijing medal'onnoj bowls and several vials of the mid 19 in nuhatel'nyh., from the early 19 c., no notable works have been created.

Following the saksoncami in the second half of the 18 century in Europe have become massively produce the hard porcelain and faânsy of very high quality. And, alas, the Jesuits fathers were no longer in a position to help their Chinese counterparts again"restore"their ancient and, as usual, skleroticnyh Chinese, forgotten art. The Chinese failed to answer a quantum leap of ceramic production in Europe, exporting their farforov champagne Earls fell into decay. However, legend of ancient Chinese porcelain is preserved.

In Japan around the same story, with the exception of the legends of the ancient local porcelain.

"At 17 in the Izumi S were discovered deposits of clay and kaolin. Since the Japanese could not reproduce Chinese porcelain, the volume and characteristics of the ceramic products have increased significantly. Manufactory in Arita, near port of Imari, began to make local Japanese porcelain at a time when Japanese ports opened up for European trade. Active sellers and customers of Japanese porcelain were the Dutch. They admired the free style painting of blue-red-gold Imari porcelain, which later influenced the English porcelain figures of the Royal factory in Derby.

"Japanese keramisty 20 b. produced ceramics entirely for export and, ironically, often decorated with fakes that have been assimilated by Europeans from an earlier Japanese ceramics with painted brush»

Modern Japanese diligently imitate what supposedly European imitations of old Japanese style, in fact, who invented the Europeans. This is the art-historical dialectics.

Additional Technical Details, the Porcelain Stone

Details of the technologies for the production of porcelain, these technical details do not have fundamental importance for our topic. so if anyone of you tire tedious scientific knowledge, you can safely move on to the next section.

Chinese porcelain to be presented the history of its use syllable are elevated and poetic.

"The history of porcelain has more than 3 thousand years.

The secret of porcelain production in China was to use pure clay, China clay, China clay. High temperature calcinations changes the physical composition of the clay, and that becomes transparent and waterproof.

"Ancient porcelain of Czindèczènâ were of high quality. Rumor says that they were dazzling, as snow, thin as a sheet of paper, strong as metal. Extraordinary art reached Wizard creative painting on porcelain.

The city arose from the development of kaolin clay on Mount Gaolin. Number of ovens has increased each year and at the right time when Czindèczènâ has reached several hundred."

"The Europeans tried to re-establish a long time Chinese porcelain They thought that if they find the white clay deposits, you will be able to produce porcelain. The first sample of kaolin was brought to Europe in the year 1520. But only kaolin is not enough to create porcelain, probably, this requires the Chinese soul. (...) And the mystery of Chinese porcelain remained undisclosed.

Mysterious Chinese soul certainly explains a lot. Although no secrets from Europeans, in the person of the Jesuits in China. If the Japanese and Chinese owned any secret of porcelain, the secret was known in Europe no later than 16-17 century.

And samples of kaolin to Europe from China is not brought, of course. According to the Chinese sources in the drevnekitajskom production of kaolin porcelain is not applied.

"The secret of Chinese porcelain is the secret of the raw material from which it is produced. Jiangxi was treasure"porcelain stone"is a rock composed of quartz and MICA. Porcelain mass made of briketorovannogo powder"porcelain stone"(PE-Tun-TSE), kaolin (he gives the whiteness of the product). The resulting mass of stored for decades that it has plasticity. And for the special matte gloss glaze comprised of several layers of different transparency.

The Chinese before the opening of the Saxons of kaoline didn't know that making porcelain mixture in China used the so-called porcelain stonesome natural deposits of porcelain stone in pretty close the porcelain mixture, do not require the addition of kaolin. But still in Chinese porcelain stone clay was noticeably smaller than the European hard porcelain, therefore, Chinese (and Japanese) porcelain is baked with slightly lower temperatures, it is less reliable and should be borne in mind that the Chinese are widely referred to as porcelain all obzigaemuu at high (over 1000 ° C) temperature ceramics, European classification refers to the soft farforam, polufarforam and majolike.

"Seldom seen favorable composition"porcelain stone"(NaN-Kan), large amounts of which are close to the original place of porcelain production (Dzin'dèczen'), makes it easier to compose and preparation of porcelain mass when you add kaolin mineral in the Nan-Kang is a sericitovyj sandstone composition: 75.06% Silicon oxide, 0.05% titanium oxide, 16.01 per cent aluminium oxide, iron oxide, 0.41 per cent of 0.28 per cent calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, 0.60% 1.97 percent sodium oxide3.3% potassium oxide, and other impurities, 2.2 per cent. Mass vylezivalas' closed in for 100 years, which gave an opportunity to get out of the neplasticnogo raw material of high molding properties, would produce (already in the period of the Song dynasty), the famous"eggshell porcelain", i.e. products with very thin walls. Chinese artisans School of Professor Zhou-Zhenya foundthat grinding"porcelain stone"in the modern ball mill does not report the plasticity of porcelain mass and cohesion that are achieved with tolcenii this stone in the stupah and its vylezivanii, as it did in ancient times.

Pay attention to the adoption of Chinese professors that ancient Chinese porcelain stone in here stupah and vylezivali received a ton for 100 years. Why vylëzivanie? In the process of vylëzivaniâ porcelain test is done, the decomposition of organic matter and gases. At the end of the 19 century Brockhaus and Ephron describes the process as follows:

The cast for the final test to uniformity before the formation of the stirring finish manual mât'em, for which a working razrezyvaet the dough into pieces, raskatyvaet in val'ki and raskolacivaet wooden Hammer after mât'â clay dough for high grade products are vylezivaniu and gnoeniu, for which his roll into mounds of saroobraznye or val'ki, and place them in a wet place where it is maintained for a long time, from a few weeks to several yearsduring gnoeniâ dough changes it's color and chemical changes, emitting gaseswhere to test Organics, sernokislye salt, etc. In recent times, believed that the enhanced machining as improves the quality of the test, and gnoenie, as well as experimentation Seger cones, acidification porcelain test acids has the same effect as long vylezivanie with gnoeniem. That of aging with gnoeniem clay dough improves and gets more stable, proven by the fact that fresh dough is up to 40% of marriage articles, while long-gnoivseesâ dough gives only about 5%. The Chinese attach great importance to the latest processing and gnoât the dough for porcelain for several decades, say - even up to a hundred or more.

With all respect for the hard work of ancient Chinese in stupah cannot grind porcelain mixture to the desired consistency.

"Harvesting clay dough requires extra care all parts ; test should be fine enough in summer vegetable powder and mixed between themselves as homogeneous mass. these Conditions can be achieved by bringing the test liquid.Clay and kaolin soak tiles with highly placed razmesivatelâh and then merge into settling tanks, which give them otsedat' to the density to primesannye protivoplasticnye in melkorazdroblennom position can be maintained for a long time, not falling to the bottom. Otstoâvsuusâ at the top of the water pump, and then clay mix uniformity for dilution by agitators. Flint, sand, feldspar and pegmatite soak tiles enough water and with it are pomolu. For grinding mill zernovye are like mukomol'nym.

Porcelain mass must be razmalyvat' to a microscopic, with similar status of pulverised oil. By the way, according to one legend, Bettger made of kaolin powder for wigs. And once he had thought to add this powder to the porcelain mass.

Modern technology is as follows (N.i. Yeremin"non-metallic mineral products» chapter 17. Ceramic raw materials (clay, kaolin, ceramic, granite, porcelain pegmatity stones and other rocks) Publishing House of the Moscow University, 2004. ):

"Preparation of plastic moulding mass is crushing and mixing the raw materials to a homogeneous State, its moisture and prominke. Molding is often plastic by using special presses. To remove the air used vacuum massomâlki vacuum press. This improves formability and forming properties of mass, and the ceramic products have lower porosity, higher strength, kislotoupornost' the best dielectric characteristics, etc."

"For porcelain and faience in the original raw mix type plastic belozguŝie clay and kaolin, quartz, feldspar and fire clay in various ratios (table. 31). moulding plastic mass obtained is usually fine in plaster forms.

Drying pottery comes in special kilns. She has great technological value: too fast or uneven drying in pottery as a result of shrinkage cracks can occur. Completely dried product has great strength, increasing the calcinations.

table 31 -Composition (%) the original charge for fine ceramics and some of its properties.
Components of the charge (minerals, rocks, artificial the connection). Faience Porcelain
Kaolin 30-35 30-40
Belozgusie plastic clay 30-35 24-9
Feldspar 0-5 20-35
Quartz 30-35 20-30
Firing temperature, ° 12-14 about 0.5
Porosity,% 12-14 about 0.5
Look to the dense, fine-foam, white tight, media, transmission in thin skole, without time

"In the subsequent firing of ceramic mass is removed the remnants of hydroscopic water and clay minerals are decomposed; is the formation of new crystalline silicates and melt, then the unit vitreous zatverdevaniem and hardening (sintering). With increasing temperature roasting enhances the sintering powder, dropping its porosity, increasing durability, chemical resistance and dielectric properties. In addition to changing temperature also depends on the bonding of the ceramic mass, in particular of the number it Na2O, K2O, etc."

On the ground, not only in China, there are deposits of porcelain stone.

"Of particular interest were hydrothermally modified sericitized and less acidic, kaolinized average composition of igneous (including pyroclastic) breed-Granites, riolity, dacites and their tuffs, the so-called ceramic stones. In some cases, they are required for the original porcelain or faience mass or in need of minor podsihtovke field spatami, refractory clay, etc."

"The basic requirements of industry for the quality of the porcelain stone as keramiceskomu raw (as well as for kaolins, kaolin and other plastic belozguŝih clays): to tungsten and homogeneity of structure, chemical composition, belozguŝij are a crock and low content of hromoforov (Fe2O3, FeO, TiO2, etc.), the content of alkali and potassium module for different kinds of ceramics, these figures are not the same. So, for the production of electroporcelain porcelain stones must contain iron oxides is not more than 0.4%, alkali-not less than 1.5% with respect to the2on/Na2O 4 >, quartz-not more than 60%.

So with the same 100-year vylezivanie tolcennogo porcelain stone, supposedly used by Chinese masters, what's the point? The problem is that using ancient technology like it described in 18 century, almost impossible to get a famous Chinese porcelain (invented by the Germans in the following century). Used Chinese hand mortars make the required uniform fine texture of porcelain mass. That's figured out that ancient Chinese porcelain of the crushed stone buried in the ground for a hundred years, after which he allegedly acquired miraculous properties. Go check your 100-year experiment. Skillful Chinese, Oh Hitra.

Who became interested in the manufacture of porcelain craft projects, I can recommend the site"craft", informative section of thePottery. Porcelain". There are modern technologies. To quote the key points.

The raw material for the production of porcelain"

"Stony materials including porcelain boy, washed, crushed and ill pomolu to begunah then sifted. Thin grinding mill ball generate with porcelain or uralitovymi balls. For intensification of grinding mill type surface-active additive-sul'fitno-alcoholic Bard (from 0.5 to 1%), which, filling, has both the microcracks disjoining. Grinding up to lead 1-2% of the remainder on sieve with holes at 1 cm 100002.

Ductile and otoŝauŝie materials, Reed bed and porcelain fight carefully mix in mixer propellernogo type. Homogeneous mass flow through a sieve and the electromagnet and the dewatering in special filter-presses or vacuum-filters.

Plastic mass obtained 23-25% humidity are two weeks at vylezivanie in a room with high humidity. When vylezivanii are oxidation and microbial processes for hydrolysis of feldspar and formation of silicic acid, which contributes to fabric weight, further destruction of the natural structure of materials and plastic properties. After a lot of aging process on massomâlkah and vacuum presses to remove air inclusions, as well as the plasticity and other mechanical properties necessary to form products.

Drying of porcelain"

"After forming products in preparation for burning-the final and most demanding stage production-dried to a residual moisture of 2-4%. The product is sufficient for durability, excludes education internal stresses, resulting in cracks, deformations, etc.

Drying is performed in two stages: a preliminary stage (podvâlivanie)-in plaster forms and final-no forms. Flat products dried only in plaster forms. Chassis hollow products after preliminary drying to humidity of 14-16% is taken out of the forms connect with pristavnymi details cocktails slip with dekstrinom, then the product has dried.

Used conveyor drying, convection (heat-supply with the product), radiation (with electric or gas heating) and combined dryers which drying time is significantly reduced.

In the process of drying cracks can occur (if uneven moisture mass), deformation and other defects.

The product is dried before firing zaciŝaut sandpaper, remove the stitches from the molds, extraneous, and pollution. After stripping product obduvaut compressed air to remove dust.

Porcelain baking

The ceramics are usually double burning-utel'nomu (to glaze coating) and politomu (after glaze coating). Apply as a single speed and beskapsel'nyj firing. Porcelain, decorated with overglaze decorations, place the third burning-mufel'nomu.

Utel'nyj burning depending on the composition and appointment of porcelain to hold at a temperature of 900-1000onc and irrigated-1350-1400 ofs. utel'nom In baking removes mechanically and chemically coupled moisture, a crock is the necessary strength sufficient to absorb glaze porosity. Reactions of mass flow source components in solid phase.

"The firing is a crock with the desired physical and chemical properties. In politom there are kilns glaze melt, uniform distribution across the surface of the product and fusion with cerepkom. Strict adherence to a certain temperature, the speed of recovery, time and gas environment is a sine qua non for roasting. misuse of these requirements are defectadversely affecting the appearance and properties of finished products.

First period it flows at a temperature of up to 900-940 onthe temperature rising speed; 100-140 onthe hour of the mass balance of hydroscopic moisture is removed, is the decomposition of carbonates, clay, Burnout of organic impurities in this period supported oxidizing atmospheres. reaction takes place in the solid phase, during this period begins to bonding, accompanied by shrinkage porous surface to the, which has high oxidation and adsorption ability, carbon is deposited, exuding the combustion of fuel. Carbon attached cerepku gray.

The second period, firing takes place in highly oxidative environment at 940-1040 toc. It is preparatory to the responsible stage - burning in the recovery environment. During this period, is the temperature, residual water allowance allocation fails and completely burn out sazistyj carbon. If carbon is not vygorit to melt the icing in the third period, the product will have a grey or burovatuu colouring or coated with smallest krateroobraznymi point-nakolami. As a result of melting of feldspar is a liquid phase, which strengthens the solid particles and causes increased mechanical strength to. The process of crystallization of alumina and mullite formed begins.

Third period maintained at a temperature of 1040-1250 onwith the recovery environment that is required to transfer the oxide of iron in zakisnuu forms of iron silicates. nitrous forms that give cerepku golubovatuu. at this stage, the first formed silimanitopodobnyj anhydride and mullite and silica in the form of kristobalita continues to accompany the intense bonding because crystalline particles join melt by means of viscous at temperatures above 1200. ofthe melt viscosity decreasesand on the border between solid and liquid phases are being brought closer together by surface forces the particles of quartz, kaolinite and degradation products of mullita crystals. Iron oxide silicate legkoplavkogo education contributes to the development of the liquid phase. At this point begins melt glaze. Rate of climb-temperature 30-35 onthe hour.

The fourth stage, the final building to, starts at about1250 with and ends at 1380-1410 onwith it, in a neutral environment. final bonding to Occur, spills and fusing with cerepkom coating. Increasing the interaction of polespatovgo glass and amorphous silica of kaolinitovogo balance, thus filling the gaps between the crystals of mullita. mullita crystals are assembled Simultaneously in polespatovom glass and reduces the size of the residual Flow diffusion processes of Quartz.to justify an even distribution of crystalline growths in cerepke.

The period ends with an excerpt of products with a maximum temperature for 1.5 -3 h. The longer the exposure time, the more will die mullita. Needle crystals mullita, osmosis, increase the mechanical strength and thermal resistance to the accelerating mullitizacii by dissolution of quartz glass and soak it kremnezemnosti. From mullita how would grow into crystals in glass, nerastvorivsihsâ grains of Quartz.

When the temperature decreases porosity to roasting as emptiness filled glassiness mass and other structural elements. However, when the temperature of the gases are feldspathic glass, swelling a crock and decline in the quality of products.

Fifth, diffusion, roasting corresponds to extract products at a maximum temperature of roasting.

After firing begins process of cooling. Up to 600-530 onthe cooling have speeds of 200-250 onthe hour. Then the process is slowing down dramatically, with modifications, which are Ionic changes large amounts, thus creating internal voltage. In addition to these stresses are stresses due glassiness weights of plastic of the elastic.

The length of the tunnel furnaces for firing politogo from 18-22-32-34c. At some enterprises of ceramic products, including porcelain, single beskapsel'nomu burning. The production cycle is reduced to 3-5 h, significantly reduced fuel consumption, increases productivity, reduces the cost of finished products. The main task of a single firing-nepromakaemosti to the glazurovanii products, dried to moisture content of 1%. To this end, a lot are dried up to 4-7% troskovskoj clay or special plasticizers to improve water resistance, including some types of plastic.

The calcinations of the products form the following defects: distortion of size and shape, Andrey scherbina, blowing bubbles, pimples, zasorka, yellowish, etc. After firing products check for defects. Products that comply to their business requirements, decorate.

As we can see, the technological process of getting even with modern features porcelain pretty complex and subtle. The quality of kiln porcelain harmful affects many high-end factors such as dust. Output of defective products is virtually inevitable. Even in the nowadays common norm marriage calcinations porcelain high quality at about one quarter. And before that, in 17-19 centuries was stochastic process for porcelain, output quality products was small. And forgery under the old porcelain commonly gives them high quality (ideal surface, no impurities, dazzling whiteness to etc).

Glass Mark Porcelain

And anyway, isn't it too radical our conclusions. The whole of Europe for centuries believed in Chinese porcelain, not overly presumptuous to deny the historical reality. Well, there is one lethal indirect clue, though indirect, in my opinion, clearly demonstrated that no - neither soft nor hard - porcelain in China before Europeans did not and could not be otherwise. Indeed, prior to the arrival of Europeans to China local ceramics has been at the primitive level.

The fact is that the invention of porcelain cannot come without going through a phase of glass. BSR authoritatively affirms:

"The emergence of artificial glass typically associated with the development of the"pottery. calcinations for beadwork from clay to get a mixture of baking soda and sand, making the surface of the product has a vitreous glaze film. production of glass began in 4-th Millennium BC (the ancient Egypt, Western Asia).

In terms of the evolution of technology of soft porcelain occurs on stage between glass and hard porcelain. Or glass can be thought of as a side branch of the pottery that appears at about the same time with majolica. The thing is that the glass is produced from raw materials rasplavy composition close to the potters (this was particularly true of the glazes). And glass melts at slightly lower temperatures than those under which bake pottery (majolica).

Go into the details of the manufacture of glass will not, this too is important to know that the glass will appear during development of ceramics (history of European glass shall try to visit toward below). experiments with firing of different ceramic mixtures and glazes will naturally result in a Simple glass glass appears somewhat historically first majolica or soft farforov, because it melts at relatively low temperatures (approximately 500-600 ° (C) ) and its composition is easier, more intuitive process.

The first primitive glass, beads, etc. Incidentally, historically all glass production begins with beads. As you know, the infamous European colonizers on the colored glass beads vymenivali from the naïve African savages all valuable goods. However, the colonization of Europe also was accompanied by the sale of the natives of wonderful beads. Manufacturing more complex products of glass arises along with the development of majolica, when serious pottery kiln, where cooking and pottery glaze.

GLASS."Mixture, or charge, which is to be produced glass, contains some main material: silica (sand) almost always; soda (sodium oxide) and lime (calcium oxide); often, potash, lead, boron oxide, sulphur and other compounds. The charge also contains glass shards remaining from the previous types and, depending on the circumstances, oxidants, obescvecivateli and dyes or silencers. Once these materials carefully mixed with each other in the required ratios, melted under high temperature and melt ohlazden fast enough to prevent the formation of crystalline substance, is the target material - glass

Inorganic glass."As the main part of the window contains a 70-75% silicon dioxide (SiO2) derived from quartz sand, subject to appropriate granulation and free from any impurities. The Venetians used to clean the sand from the River On or even bring it from Istria, while Bohemian glassmakers were pure quartz sand.

The second component is calcium oxide (CaO), makes the glass chemically resistant and increases its shine. On the glass it comes in the form of lime. Ancient Egyptians received it from rubble sea shells, and in the Middle Ages it prigotovlâlas' from ash trees or algae, limestone as a raw material for preparation of glass was still not known. First make inferior to glass mass was like chalk, limestone became the Bohemian glassmakers in the 17th century.

The next part of the glass are oxides of alkaline metals, such as sodium oxide (Na2O) or potassium oxide (K2O) needed for melting and glass making. Their share is about 16-17%. The glass they are coming in the form of sodium (Na2CO3) or potash (K2CO3), which decompose easily at oxide. Soda ash leaching received the first seaweed and in areas remote from the sea have used potassium containing potash, receiving its leaching the ash beech and coniferous trees.

Sodovoe glass you can easily melt it soft and easy to handle, and in addition, clean and bright.

Potasnoe glass by contrast, more tugoplavkoe, solid and not as plastic and capable of forming, but has instead a strong glitter that before his Due. received directly from the ashes, in which much iron, glass was greenish color, and in the 16th century it had begun to apply manganese peroxide bleaching a wood as a raw material for the manufacture of that gave the glass, he was called back forest glass. per kilogram of potash with a ton of wood.

Tempered glass (or Crystal) replacing calcium oxide, lead oxide. it is quite soft and plavkoe, but very heavy, has a strong high brilliance and sparkle, breaking them down light rays in all colors of the Rainbow and causing light".

Inaugurated to an easy assessment study subject can recommend a fascinating book"secrets of glass"(m. Sveshnikov, Izd."Detgiz", Leningrad, 1955 г.).

So what do the Chinese glass? The Chinese themselves confidently reported that the glass they know from time immemorial. But all third-party sources is nahal'noe Chinese bragging amicably refute.

"Glass appeared in China in the late 17th century It has been studied for much less than the porcelain"

"Widely represented at the exhibition of Chinese glass, lesser-known to us than porcelain. Artistic glass appeared in China rather late, at the end of the XVII. Fashion to it unknowingly entered the Jesuits-Catholic missionaries, who gave a beautiful Chinese Emperors in gift articles of European glass, especially Venice. This began the production of Chinese glass vessels, which gradually reached the heights of perfection. At the exhibition one can see wonderful form of Ruby, Sapphire, opakovogo, opaque yellow glass and multilayer vessel decorated with carving..."

"steklodelie rooted in China only with the base glass workshop in Beijing in the 17. These workshops were supervised by Jesuit missionaries on the grounds of the Imperial Palace during the reign of Emperor Qianlong emperor (1735-1795) clear glass shade created by the famous Imperial greenish steklodelom Hu during the afternoon 18 b. did a high quality glass and colouring for blowing big containers, such as vases, pots and bowls, as well as to simulate fruits and flowers in 19 b. made charming small perfume bottles for spirits of brightly painted glasswhich was made in the whole piece, vydalblivali and decorated with different granil'nymi techniques".

"steklodelie rooted in China only with the base glass workshop in Beijing in 17 in these workshops were supervised by Jesuit missionaries on the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

"With the opening of the port of Nagasaki in 1750 for external relations in different areas of Japan have proliferated European glassworking, however, were only the most simple products.

There is a clear typo, probably had in mind the year 1550. In the middle of 16 century Portuguese established their trading post in Nagasaki. Then, Nagasaki was the only Japanese port open to trade with foreigners (Dutch) from the year 1859 in 1639.

All textbooks and monographs mansion have reported that up to Europeans in China glass not made, simple glass in antiquity and the middle ages, the Chinese imported from the Middle East. And this generally accepted fact irrefutably proves that Europeans no porcelain in China produce couldn't because it is technically impossible to produce porcelain evolutionarily, bypassing the production of glass. No Chinese glass products before the advent of Europeans in the country shows that the production of ceramics in China also was an embryonic stage, nerazvitom.

A brief look at the history of the European glass shall try to visit toward her not only from a purely scientific curiosity, history of glass allows you to find the answer, why do the Italians invented Chinese porcelain.

History Antique glass» down for low accuracy throughout ancient history. Definitely know that historically, the main centre of European glass Venice, which took over the technology of its production from the Byzantines.

"In an era of Renaissance glassware from Venice enjoyed a celebrity status.

History of glassmaking in Venice m. Kachalov divides into four periods.

The first is from X to XII century. -an embryonic stage production, the simplest things.

Second-the 13th or 14th century. -the period of intensive development of glassmaking, which it took one of the leading places in the economy of the Republic of Venice.

Third XV-XVII centuries-stage height, which Venice world domination in the industry.

4th-18th century-a period of decline.

"Venice again had a huge collection of samples of Byzantine art glass hosted later in St David's Cathedral. Mark. In addition, many moved to Venice to Greece by contemporary masters. An important factor was the tendency of the Venetians to take up art.

The Venetians strictly guarded the privacy of their glass. The main production was located on the island of Murano glassmakers, got a big benefits from the city. Disclosure of business secrets and industrial espionage had been punished.

"Since the 15th century, the same type of Venetian glass production centers appear in Nuremberg, Cologne, Kassel (Germany), Nevers (France), increased competition. In the mid-15th century issued harsh law:

"If any worker or a wizard will migrate their art of Venice in other places to damage, it will be sent an order to return.

If he obeys, be imprisoned, most close to him, to force him into submission.

If he obeys, he will be forgiven and he will be a workshop in Venice.

If, despite the imprisonment of his relatives, he persists in wanting to stay in exile, after the agent is sent to kill him.

After his death, his relatives will be released from prison.

The Act remained in force until the 18th century.

"All arrangements have been made for three centuries, the island of Murano served as economic pillar of the State.

Initially, the main type of production were beads of varying degrees of complexity, as well as the simplest kitchenware. beads, then no country which does not deal with them, once it had been steklodelie.

Already by the middle of the 14 century Venice supplied to Europe refined products : glasses, bottles, cups, bowls, vases, chandeliers from 1450, with the opening of Angelo Barov'era, a real technological revolution, which led to the exceptional development of glass cases for two subsequent centuries. Barov'eru unable to create unprecedented purity and transparency of glass similar to natural rock crystal mining; for this reason, it was labeled"cristallo"(Crystal) is credited with inventing him. white opaque glass"dairy", similar to the Chinese porcelain, and"halcedonovogo"glassartificial wealth of natural shades of chalcedony. In the 16 century Murano glass - the full splendour of its glory. Glass blowers, through 400 years of tradition, improved materials and technology, bringing its products to unimaginable heights of subtlety, delicacy and decorative. Works of masters obessmerceny in painting the greatest artists of the time, Titian and Veronese.

The more precious and vozdelennym for the whole of Europe became Murano glass, the more severe measures taken by the authorities of the Republic to prevent the spread of secrets. Venice special secret police was responsible for the preservation of monopolies. Stekloduvam offer unprecedented benefits for many yards of Europe, but the wizard, accepting the offer, in most cases, paid with their lives for treason is âsnejsej Republic Serenissime. Despite all efforts to prevent emigration, many European countries began to appear the glass workshops. In 1605, in Florence the first textbook"art glass", written by the priest Antonio Neri, knowledgeable in Alchemy and consisting in the service of the Medici. Tutorial has been translated into English, German, French and Spanish and ... led to an even more exclusive diffusion of Murano glass, Venetian techniques and secrets without the English lead glass and Bohemian kalievoe glass never reached the purity of Crystal as it did not reach the level of the ultimate processing and refinement".

"Until the 15th century, people most often used metal mirrors Murano Masters. by the beginning of the 17th century have improved the old holâvnyj method for glass manufacture of sheet glass, and hence toilet mirrors has become quite routine. Zerkal'ŝiki formed a corporation, working on the basis of a special code.

In 1665, at the invitation of the French Minister j. Colbert Venetian craftsmen build the city tour-la-Ville first European plant for production of mirrors of blown glass. Characteristic Venetian mirrors was a border rich rim, too, performed from a mirrored glass and decorated with carving, engraving and gilding, sometimes precious stones. The mirror is sometimes made from rock crystal, rather than of glass."

Venetian masters came to France at the invitation of the French Minister j. Colbert, zaucit kind. In fact, there has been a massive special operation of industrial espionage against Venice. French spies for great rewards and secretly removed from ad hoc basis Murano several masters and their families. It was worth it, because polished Venetian mirrors are driving the demand among the European aristocracy, and were priced outrageously. Subsequently, the Venetian agents sought out fugitives in France and managed to persuade some masters return. Some of opinionated defectors was poisoned. However, the French have mastered the technology of manufacture of Venetian mirrors.

Soon, the French have developed and its original appearance of porcelain.

The First factory of soft porcelain in France founded in 1673, Louis faânsovŝikom in Rouen in 1677, Potera. is production in Saint-Cloud at the manufactory of Pierre sikanno»

"French"artificial"porcelain on the hardness does not differ from the present, but has great legkoplavkost'u and does not stand up to high temperatures in kilns and glaze is easy to damage and can be scratched with a knife. Therefore, French porcelain called"soft".

In the 16 century Europe was founded by settlers from Italy, several major centers of glass production, which over time have made great strides.

Glass production in Germany during the Renaissance developed in two directions: on the one hand, tried to produce glass, Venetian podrazauŝee, on the other hand, followed the existing local traditions in wooded areas, including in Bohemia (the Czech Republic, then part of Germany), boiled the glass does not sodovoe, as in Venice, and potasnoe based on wood ash. major workshops, manufactured products, Venetian type at the end of the 16th century in Kassel and in the early 17th century-in Cologne but German glassmakers were unable to reach the perfection of the Italian mastersAlthough peremanivali went professional and study in Italy.

"Stimulus for the further development of the European and German including glassmaking was a great technical discovery, made at the beginning of XVII century Czech masters who have found a way to get more clean and clear glass potasnomu glass by adding lime. In addition to the vessels, painted enamel paints, appeared and soon universally recognized products of the new type. Vessels of colourless glass, a thick and solid than Venetian, decorating carved ornament-technique used and reached perfection in the sixteenth century the decoration of the Italian and German vessels from rock crystal".

"While the glass workshops of England still worked mainly visiting the wizard, as well as repeated articles in the 16th century, forms and decor Venetian vessels, it was in England in the last quarter of the 17th century was a method of manufacture of Crystal opening this has great significance for the further development of European glassmaking. English glass furnaces of the 17th century are beginning to work on coal, which is to protect the glass mass from soot had melting in crucibles closed to increase mass fusion temperatures.It began to add lead. This innovation allowed for a new variety of glass, English Crystal, heavier, but with purity and transparency. The flowering of English glassmaking, caused by those technical achievement begins in the 18th century. The 17TH century in the development of applied art in England was a preparatory period.

By the end of 17th century European glory, Venetian glass remains in the history.

"the Venetian soda glass exclude the possibility of massive forms and carved decoration, the inherent across already in the 17th century in Bohemia potasno-izvestkovomu glass, more fatty, transparent and brilliant production, therefore, new style of things needed to change the production process that, for a number of reasons to make it difficult for traditional skills, also let the nature of raw resources-in Venetian glass was not potash, polucavsijsâ of wood ash, and soda, dobyvavsaâsâ of ash coastal plants. In the 17th century Venetian painting, makes blood vessels disappear attempts at engraving patterns, but the failure to obtain the relevant requirements of the new style more massive form, apply a grinding and carved decoration, as well as competition from which great success and wide dissemination of German, Bohemian, and later English glass bring the once brilliant production to decline".

Now we turn to the findings and conclusions.

In the 16 century fabrication of Chinese porcelain and Chinese porcelain myth had Italians direct commercial sense. Italian ceramics was at a high technical and artistic level, but had already been raised by European competitors and required measures to stimulate exports. In order to attract consumer luxury pottery, it would be desirable to come up with an effective marketing pitch. Exit the waters in the invention èkzoticnogo Chinese style and in his the myth of the unique, ancient and mysterious Chinese porcelain.

Based on the available proxy data center originally appeared in Venice in fabrication of kitajŝiny about the middle of 16 century. and then, as we have seen,"Chinese porcelain in the 17-18 centuries produced throughout Europe and to separate the"real"Chinese porcelain from the fake virtually impossible. first, there is no strict objective criteria, referred to as Chinese porcelain 15-17 century based on shared perceptions and subjective traditions. Second, because of the secrecy surrounding the production and widely practised by the disinformation competitors/consumers, it is difficult to reliably determine who and what type of pottery produced in Europe 16-17 centuries.

And note that the Venetians after saksoncam were among the first to have established a solid placing porcelain production.

"In the year 1720 in Venice was opened first in Italy porcelain factory Using German ceramist hunger was invited succeeded in manufacture of solid porcelain, using mass stolen at Mejssenskoj. Porcelain Manufactory were decorated by an ornament in the style or decorated with polychrome Berena painting depicting Chinese. Gungerom Goldsmith Vecci has opened a factory in Venice, producing under hard porcelain,

Why Italians are not released as Chinese glass, porcelain fabrication in 15-16?, centuries of Venetian glass, mirrors have the highest reputation and were out of the competition so that Chinese counterfeiting were not needed and even, perhaps, would have damaged the jablonece sklarny. European rivals seriously cramping Venetian glass industry until the second half of the 17th century, but at the time era Chinese glass, it was already too late.the brand is promoted by the ancient Chinese glass. Secondly, to produce glass no worse than Bohemian Italians could not. On set of the purely commercial and technical reasons not Chinese was destined to revive its ancient art of glassmaking, and had to limit itself to porcelain.

Ziâuŝee the absence of a developed glassmaking in China before Europeans, of course, fatal approach, however, in the history of the alleged original and ancient Chinese porcelain.

Epilogue. History as a Respectable Business

It is hardly necessary to detail rastolkovyvat', what in the world is there to prevent the destruction of the myth of ancient Chinese civilization. The politico-ideological grounds on which a powerful global forces support this shaky structure, is understandable. First of all, the ancient Chinese history is the most important ideological justification and obrucëm, sets necessarily heterogeneous ethnically Chinese State. The Chinese one person solely on the European view. One people"Chinese"can be considered approximately as well as Indians or Africans. And besides Chinese State in the world, there are other players that are interested in fostering the myth of ancient Chinese civilization. By the way, the most vibrant ancient Chinese history started to deepen and plant in the world in the second half of the 20 century, and the main driving force behind the project were (and are) not the Chinese.

It cannot be said that revelation is a fictional ancient Chinese history will destroy everything building in world history. However, the moral damage to official history is significant. Already one of the reasons enough to institutions official history for the rest of the world were likely to uncritically solidarizovat'sâ with Chinese lab. Western historians condescending look at thread historic opening Chinese colleagues, whatever nonsense they are cheeky. Not too ogrublââ, it can be said that the Chinese have issued a license for fabricating the oldest story in the world.

Another important ideological factor, ancient Asian history are as strong argument to refute the concept of Euro-centrism. Fictional ancient civilizations of the East, the first head, intended to justify the idea that potential Asian civilization is culturally European, as well as the civilization superiority of the West is observed relatively brief historical coincidence. such an argument is particularly in demand among left-wing political forces,"scientific"refutation of European racism (which"racism"is commonly interpreted as leftist infinitely wide).

And in addition to a strong political and ideological factors, trading allegedly ancient Chinese as it is also profitable commerce. What could be more profitable and solid than selling knickknacks with eternal values. Trade in antique Chinese porcelain is good business. None of the participants in the process, neither sellers nor buyers are not interested in the destruction of the legends of the ancient mysteries of Chinese porcelain. Examples of typical transactions in this market.

Top-lot estimated a vase Kangxi dynasty (Kangxi). èstimejt the fragile figure creation with a height of one meter could be £30000-40000. Vase painted in white, blue and copper-red painting with images of lush grapevines and raskidistyh branches.

Vase Painted in White Blue and Copper-red Painting with Images of Lush Grapevines

We have before us a neat is not outstanding Chinese product 18 century (and possibly 19-20 century, seems to know). There are things and more:

Top-lot sold valuable Chinese service, dated 1785, which sold for $278 500".

30 March [2006] at New York Sotheby's Chinese porcelain vase mid 14th century went hammer for $4 720 000in last time this vessel appeared at public auction October 24, 1993 (auction held by Christie's auction house Hong Kong) Then a white and blue porcelain vase (lot # 716) bought for $ 200,000.

Thus, for 13 years, almost four times higher vase. Before that, she was exhibited at the June 7, 1988, Sotheby's London (lot no. 212).

White and Blue Porcelain Vase

Experts note that a relatively small (34 cm in diameter) vase is a model of classical style Yuan, which main feature is a blue cobalt painting on white background. Such vessels in the world market of antiques, only three families, two of which are in Chinese museums, and the third is in the private collection of Japanese".

Judging the image and the description provided by the vase is painted in one of the typical techniques of Italian majolica 15-16 centuries. and faânsov 16-17 centuries: red and/or blue ornament on a white background. And generally speaking, historically Italian maiolica technique is very diverse. Below some examples.

Italian majolica vase from the 15 century The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:

Apothecary Jar 1431

Apothecary Jar (Orciuolo), 1431 (?) Florence, constantly.perhaps workshop of Giunta di Tugio (Italian, died ca. 1466), Maiolica

Turn to exhibits 16 century.

Chemist's Ceramic Pan 16th Century Tuscany Majolica

Albarello (chemist's ceramic Pan), the beginning of 16th century Tuscany Majolica

Majolica Polychrome Painting

Italy, 1530-1540 Deruta. 1900s. Majolica, polychrome painting. height: 23 cm

Around the world in the media and popular science literature is propaganda Chinese antiquities. The general public did not bring the history and achievements of the Italian ceramics, the public began to know about unique Chinese porcelain.

"In the 1980 's was done opening the Castelli amazing works of art already in the 16th century as a result of the excavations in the city revealed that there were produced splendid"family"pharmaceutical vases, jugs and albarelli (cylindrical receptacles) Orsini-Colonna in the largest museums of the world.

Castelli is a small Italian city in the Teramo mountains of Abruzzi, where for more than three centuries maiolica was manufactured, which could compete with the products of famous manufacturers of Italy. Castelli ceramics 16th-17th centuries from the Hermitage collection:

Vase with Holy Martyr

Vase with Holy Martyr 1530-1560.

Vase with the Coat of Arms of Farnese Navicular

Vase with the coat of arms of Farnese navicular. Last quarter of 16th century

We sample the famous Medici porcelain:

Ewer, 16th century

Ewer, 16th century (ca. 1575 - 87) Manufactured in the Medici workshops, Florence, Italy"Soft paste porcelain

Above we saw things, they are not the Museum's trade turnover is Chinese. antique music."In Stuttgart on May 8 and 9 [2009] will be the major trades in Asian art »:

Vase Meiping China

Vase Meiping. China. XV. porcelain, painting. Score from € 50 000. Nagel. Asian ArtStuttgart, May 8, 2009

The photo shows that the vase is covered with cobwebs cracking glaze, so-called Tseka Such cracks are characteristic of faience, since over time absorbs the water stands in a slightly larger quantities than the hard paste porcelain, faience cherepok swell and is cracking glaze. But the Chinese do not distinguish between faience, majolica and other their entire"porcelain".

Yuhuchunping China Vase Porcelain

Yuhuchunping. China Vase. XVIII. porcelain, painting. Score from € 35, 000. Nagel. Asian ArtStuttgart, May 8, 2009

Things Chinese porcelain previously 18 century very little, and even questionable. Razbogatevsie Chinese buy their ancient cultural heritage of besenee money.

23 October [2005] auction house Sotheby's held auctions on which the attention of the audience was presented with only one lot was a unique porcelain. vase, executed during the reign of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). owing to its small size vase looks very elegantly famous Hong Kong collector William Chuck paid for a huge sum of $14 800 000.

This is not the only kind of vase, a total four. One is kept in the Museum of the Chinese city of Tianjin, the other sold in a private European collection at the end of the last century, the third is considered lost, and the fourth was exhibited this weekend at Hong Kong auction. Set of vases was manufactured for the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, Qianlong emperor, who ruled from 1711 to 1799.

Vase with two Pheasants Sitting on Blossoming Branches

The vase shows two pheasants sitting on blossoming branches. Artist who worked on very small surfaces, so carefully prescribed birds and plants, that it is difficult to see how he managed to do so without the use of modern technologies.

Fabulous antique story that I personally umilila.

The Vase, which was donated to the former owners of uborŝice on the day of her retirement, turned out to be a treasured work of art of the Qing dynasty, it was sold to 10 July at auction in London for £92, 000 (about $169 500).

The cost of the vase could reach one million pounds, but the cleaning lady precious porcelain SOAP so carefully that erased it all gold enamel.

According to the British newspaper Telegraph, one of London's mansions in 1940 he gave a vase, uborŝice its uhodivsej retirement. Hereditary porcelain was a grandson of the cleaning woman, who for many years have kept it in the back corner of their house for TV. In November 2005, he saw in a newspaper photograph of similar vasessold at auction for £240 800and decided to show their wares to the evaluators from the auction house Bonhams.

Of course, first of all, this story is interesting in some unexpected places you can sometimes find this jewel. As for the price, which was sold to a Chinese vase, then its not notable - Chinese art has always valued dearly, and £92, 000 no limit here».

Yes, any treasure not only Firefox in English culancike. Such an interesting case, I think it could be of interest èkulâ Poirot. Why, he asked himself to start with, the owners give old poor woman, potërtuu no one desired vase. If they do not consider it valuable, it is humiliating gift even for cleaning. And with the late cleaning lady here? It should be, without finding an ancient Chinese vases did not look so beautiful and touching. However, the story in the spirit of Agatha Christie lacks the corpse. Well, let's say a violent death dies suddenly razbogatevsij grandson of cleaners. In the course of the investigation is a lot of amazing discoveries, and at the end to clarify that saucy dead refused to share the proceeds with the former in the experts and the present owners of vases, impoverished descendants of the Lords.

Handicrafts, which are made in China earlier 16 century, sold for tens of millions of dollars.

Chinese businessman paid huge amount the $20 000 000 for a porcelain vase of the Song dynasty (960 - 1279) during the antique fair in Beijing.

The Incident once again confirms that the antique Chinese boom"without advertising nonsense peddlers old art. In July 2005, in London at the auction Christie's was put on record: a piece of Asian art - Chinese vase Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) anonymous collector spent $27 600 000».

In conclusion, alert readers that the market antiques market is all kinds of forgeries.

"In Russia the whole underground industry specializes in production of forged Antiquities at the forgery could stumble and famous auction, and in a small antique bench when buying inexpensive porcelain service and if it concerned only the collectors, the now-everyone who is thinking about how to save your money by the crisis among inexpensive (relatively) antiques more than 80 per cent of fakes. All practically Spoof: the ancient porcelain, furniture, clocks, sculpture and even ancient coins, right down to the antique".

"In the words of one of the Moscow antiquarians, unique Saxon porcelain of Meissen and the famous Hungarian Herend porcelain hand painted with exquisite is also made in sweatshop near Moscow.

If in Russia are able to produce decent quality antiques, you can imagine what they do in Europe, and make very long production of antiques, and fabricating stories, one of the oldest businesses.