190 



CHINA-WARE. 



live clays, carefully washed, and afterwards mixed 

 with those from Devon and Dorset, and some ground 

 flint, availed himself of Reaumur's glazes (see the old 

 editions of the Handmaid to the Arts], and completely 

 changed the modus operandi of the manufacture 

 His ware was baked once, and, after being care- 

 fully sorted, only all the perfect ware was then im- 

 mersed carefully in the fluid mixture of the compo- 

 nents, and when again baked received, from the tint, 

 the appellation of cream-colour. Tliis method is 

 now general. Mrs Warburton, of Hotlane, Burs- 

 Ji'in, improved the quality of the glaze, and Josiah 

 Wedgewood improved the quality also of the ware, 

 and thus formed what was the basis of his fortune 

 the very noted queen's ware. 



Mr J. Wedgewood first introduced into the com- 

 ponents of one kind of earthenware, jasper, the sul- 

 phate of barytes, or cauk-stone, and this ware re- 

 mains unrivalled in its fabric, particularly for che- 

 mical utensils. This is his only addition to the 

 materials of the manufacture. His employment of 

 the most intelligent workmen was consequent on his 

 commencing the imitation, in his jasper, of the me- 

 dallions, cameos, &c. of the best artists. 



There is much probability that inspection of the 

 specimens in the museum of the Royal Society, of the 

 pe-tunt-se and ku-o-lin of the Chinese potters, which 

 Dr Sherard had supplied, suggested to Mr Cook- 

 worthy of Plymouth, the examination of the granen 

 of Cornwall. He first announced to English potters, 

 that the felspar (melting spar, wlu'ch, in the white 

 granite of Cornwall, is combined with quartz and 

 mica,) supplies the most essential component of the 

 oriental china ; then obtained a patent for its use in 

 the manufacture, which right he transferred to Mr 

 Champion of Bristol,who, failing hi his attempts to ma- 

 nufacture china in that city, disposed of his interest in 

 the patent, to some persons in Staffordshire, ever since 

 known under the appellation of the New Hull Company. 

 We know not the name of the person who first in- 

 troduced into the clay for china, a certain quantity of 

 the earth of bones to aid the semi-transparency, and 

 named bone china ; and also, of him who first em- 

 ployed ground granen, (under the name of composi- 

 tion, supplied by the New Hull Company,) in that of 

 the best earthenware, from its whiteness called 

 chalky body. The ornamenting of ware by blue 

 painting was next added to previous improvements. 

 Mr Cookworthy had previously attempted a shining 

 blue glaze ; and, afterwards, he instructed Roger 

 Kinnaston to prepare blue, from either zaffres or cobalt 

 ore ; and the business is now of greatimportance and 

 value. This was accompanied by the process of using 

 gold, wlu'ch will bear the burnisher, first brought to 

 perfection by Mr Hancock, of Etruria (yet alive, 

 1834); and who, subsequently, invented the lustre; 

 which was unproved to imitate silver, by John Gard- 

 ner, Stoke ; and gold, by William Hennys, Burslem. 

 And black printing was successfully practised by 

 Sadler and Grier, Liverpool ; W. Smith, and T. Rad- 

 ford, Hanley. John Turner, Lane End, produced 

 stone china ; and John Lucock (still alive) introduced 

 blue printing, under glaze. 



At Lane-End, in 1795, Mr Cheatham produced the 

 pearl ware, named from being in white ware what 

 the jasper is in coloured. In 1800, Mr Turner, of 

 the same town, produced the patent stoneware; 

 afterwards imitated by Mason's patent ironstone china. 

 Mr Winter, of Tunstale, made a boast of producing 

 the only true porcelain of the potteries (certainly a 

 soft ILnd). Mr Josiah Spode produced bone china 

 of considerable excellence from 1800 till 1820, when 

 he commenced an improvement entitled to special 

 notice. Mr Ryan, F.S. A., discovered, in a de- 



Chinese call pe-tiuit-se and ka-o-lin, or rock and 

 clay. After an offer of the spar to Messrs. Rose, of 

 Coalport, (who denounced it as useless, though they 

 have used it since,) Mr Ryan got it tried by Mr 

 Spode, Stoke, and this person's satisfaction with the 

 result was so great, that he purchased a supply which 

 is still used innis manufactory. In the present state 

 of matters there is every possibility of carrying the 

 manufacture to a degree of excellence which will 

 gratify the expectations of the most sanguine friends 

 of science. The resources of the manufacturer have 

 been greatly augmented by scientific research in re- 

 cent times. The analysis of minerals by the chemist 

 shows that the earth teems with treasures calculated 

 for the advancement of the art, and that her bounties 

 will ever amply remunerate the labours of the patient 

 inquirer. Of these, every one who aspires to the 

 character of a scientific potter should avail himself, 

 not knowing what fortunate combination of materials 

 he may yet discover, or what improvement he may 

 make in the art. It was by attention to the relative 

 qualities of different substances that the early manu- 

 facturers succeeded in raising the art to its present 

 state of excellence, and by a continuance of similar 

 attention it may advance still nearer to perfection. 



The following is a description of the materials and 

 processes of the manufacture of china and earthen- 

 ware, in the present unproved state of that art : 



Properties and Material* of different CMna and Earthen 

 Wares. The remark of Vauquelm, that " good pottery dif- 

 fers from inferior, much leas in the number of its compo- 

 nents, than in their being combined in proper proportions," 

 applies with equal force to the soft and the hard china \ 

 wares. Their basis is a mineral which bakes very white, i 

 and which, either alone, or when in combination with other 

 components, from undergoing incipient ritrescence, becomes 

 semi-transparent. The basis of earthenware is clay and 

 flint in determined proportions. The recipes subsequently 

 introduced, will exhibit an accurate view of the different 

 components. As the hardness, infusibility, and unaltera- 

 bility require the presence of flint, so only will firmness 

 and ready baking, as well as adequate plasticity for easy 

 working, be obtained by the presence of clay ; for excess of 

 either is injurious. 



The Japan china is considered superior to all other of 

 oriental manufacture, in its close and compact granular tex- 

 ture, its sonorosity when struck with a hard body, its hard- 

 ness like flint in giving sparks with steel, its infusibility by 

 baking, its smooth and shining appearance, and its capa 

 bility of being used to boil liquids, and bearing higher 

 temperature without any injury. Its components are, per 

 cent., fifty pe-tunt-se, and fifty ka-o-lin. Only in very recent 

 times has the fact been ascertained, that these were the 

 chief components, but not the only ingredients. 



The petunt-se has its appellation from being an impalpa- 

 ble powder formed into square cakes. . Fragments of a kind 

 of rocky mineral, of which the greenish is the best, (now 

 proved to be felspar, with a small portion of protosulpbate 

 of iron,) are forcibly agitated in vessels of water until the 

 particles abraded render the fluid frothy ; the foam is skim- 

 med off, and put into another vessel ; and this process is re- 

 peated with the mass till it ceases to supply froth. The 

 skimmings are left to subside, and when the water is quite 

 transparent, it is drawn off carefully, the powder is slowly 

 dried, and then formed into cakes, in size and thickness 

 much like floor-tiles. Reaumur found it fusible at a moder- 

 ate heat, without addition, and readily verifiable. 



The ka-o-lin, is so called, from being in a state by nature, 

 almost ready for the manufacturer. It is found in beds, 

 and is obviously felspar, reduced by atmospheric action into 

 the state of clay. It it, by abrasion, similar to the pe-tunt-se, 

 formed into foam, allowed to subside, and then cut into 

 squares. In combination with the other, they promote the 

 consolidation of the two. Reaumur was unable to fuse it 

 jy any heat he could employ. 



The pe-tunt-se and ka-o-lin are next mixed with an equal 

 proportion of aluminous earth ; and this is indispensable, 

 is well to render the clay plastic for the working, as to 

 make it ductile and tenacious to bear the manipulations of 

 turning and handling, or moulding. These re mixed well 

 together, and then thrown into a large pit, in which they 

 are, by treading, more intimately commixed ; and from this 

 pit, portions are taken when wanted, and rolled in various 

 ways, to disperse all air bubbles, and render the clay ho. 

 mogeneoua. Only when these processes have been properly 

 conducted, will the clay afford a ware which will bear, 

 without injury by warping, cracking, or fusion, the further 



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sorted lead vaae, felspar in the two states which the j processes of ornamenting and baking. 



