Note 315 — Chapter XI

The European definition of porcelain may be stated thus: "Porcelain comprises all varieties of pottery which are made translucent by adding to the clay substances some natural or artificial fluxing material." In China the usual constituents are kaolin, which forms the clay substance, and petuntse (china stone), which is the natural fluxing material. I should add that it is doubtful whether we are strictly justified in using the word kaolin as a general name for porcelain earth (o t´u); but the term has been consecrated by usage, and has practically passed into our language in this sense. A slight translucency is observable near the rim on a white T´ang cup in the Eumorfopoulos Collection. The body of this piece is a soft white material, and the translucency is caused by a mingling of the glaze with the body where it is very thin, and it may be compared with the translucency of the Persian "gombroon" ware. But neither of these wares can be ranked as porcelain proper.