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What Are The Four Types Of Pottery
Types Of Pottery
Have you ever seen handmade vessels or pots and wondered how they are made? The level of precision, the smooth texture, and the seamless finish – it all seems to be too good to be made by hand, doesn’t it? Pottery is one of the ancient inventions of man. Earlier, only vessels were made of pottery. Today, the scope of pottery is a lot more than just vessels made from clay. Let’s have a look at the 4 types of pottery.
What Is Pottery?
Pottery is a method of making clay-based items that are molded into interesting and desired shapes by hand. Heating these items in extreme heat helps make them hard and increases the object’s strength. Such bodies can be used as it is or even decorated after firing to make them look unique and artistic.
What Are the Types Of Pottery?
The pottery uses clay. Pottery can be classified into four main categories based on the types of clay and the temperature required to fire them to form the final objects. The four types are:
Porcelain
Stoneware
Earthenware
Bone China
What Is Porcelain?
There is a bit of an ambiguity surrounding this one. According to the Chinese, porcelain is different from stoneware as it can make a ringing sound when you tap it. On the other hand, Westerners say the difference is the translucent feature porcelain exhibits when you hold it up to the light.
Porcelain can be further divided into two types-
Hard-paste, also known as true porcelain that uses mica and is fired at a very high temperature to make them hard.
Soft-paste is a low type of porcelain made by using low heat and does not require any specific mineral.
What Is Stoneware?
Though made from clay, as the name suggests, these objects are hard as a stone after they are heated. These items are not only waterproof but are also opaque. It is initially grey in color and turns brown during the heating process. You can color in different shades once the object is completed.
This method of pottery is used to make commercial ware and fine art pottery. With time, ceramicists started making a salt-glazed type of stoneware, black stoneware, as well as white stoneware.
What Is Earthenware?
These are the oldest forms of pottery since the stone age. Of the four types, earthenware uses the lowest amount of heat and is the softest form. These can be scratched easily; they are delicate, porous, and absorb water.
Earthenware includes terracotta, the sixteenth-century pottery from China, Japan, and European pottery from the seventeenth century. The Chinese’s fine art earthenware is waterproof and comes in different colors, owing to the oxygen and iron content in the clay.
What Is Bone China?
Today, bone china has replaced porcelain and is known as the hardest form of porcelain. Powdered bone ash is mixed in the clay to make the final product harder and resistant to chip damage. Bone china is clear or white in color.
Types Of Pottery. Conclusion.
Ceramics have become part of our daily lives. We tend to see a lot of ceramic items around us, and it is not limited to the dining table or the kitchen. You can find a number of fine art pieces made of different ceramics, and these are highly valued, too.