Porcelain and Earthenware. 259 



IV. Varieties of ware. 



A short description of some of the different kinds of ware will con- 

 clude this imperfect account of a manufacture, so abundant in par- 

 ticulars of scientific interest, that a volume would be insufficient for 

 the details. 



The most ancient specimens which have come down to our own 

 times are the Babylonian, the remains of which are the bricks, and 

 some vessels of earthenware, found in the ruins of Babylon. The 

 bricks are thirteen inches square by three thick, with curious inscrip- 

 tions stamped upon their surface, in a character wholly unknown at 

 the present day. The vessels are a " fine red earthenware," but of 

 their form or design we have no information. 



The ancient Egyptian is an earthen substance similar to enamel, 

 of a deep blue. 



The Persian porcelain is so perfect that the body of the ware is 

 like a fine translucent enamel within and without ; its grain is so 

 compact and so well resists the fire, that for culinary uses it is equal 

 to vessels of metal. The best Persian is made at Schiraz, though 

 at Yezd in Caramania, and at Ispahan, it is a subject of great inter- 

 est and competition. 



The real porcelain of China is an artificial gem, and furnishes 

 the most perfect examples of this beautiful art. There is a mystery 

 about this fabric however, that has not yet been fathomed by Europe- 

 ans. Both Reaumur and Wedgewood ascertained by chemical analy- 

 sis, that there is an inherent difference between the Chinese, and 

 European porcelains: for while many of the latter, particularly the 

 English became perfectly vitrified, and the best Dresden began to 

 bend — the real King-te-ching did not even soften, but remained unal- 

 tered at the highest possible degree of heat. Whether this infusi- 

 bility which is the basis of its superiority, is caused by different pro- 

 portions of the constituent parts, or by some peculiarity in the ori- 

 ginal condition of the native earths — or some difference in con- 

 ducting the processes, is not known. It appears that when the com- 

 bination is such, as that the verifiable constituent can be fused only 

 by the greatest possible heat, and when the heat of the furnace 

 reaches that point, the choicest porcelain is the result. The body 

 of the Chinese ware is a compact and shining substance, the in- 

 fusible ingredient being enveloped by the vitrified part, producing 

 a smooth impenetrable, lustrous semi-transparent texture of great 



Vol. XXVI— No. 2. 34 



