Abstract
Details of the types of porcelain body encountered, the confusion in nomenclature and descriptions historically and their metal oxide compositions. True and artificial porcelain. The difference in manufacturing procedures that must also be considered alongside the basic chemical composition. The distinction between the highly phosphatic soft paste porcelain and bone china. Categorisation of hard paste, soft paste, glassy, magnesian, bone china, phosphatic and hybrid porcelain bodies and their semi-quantitative analytical content of silica, alumina, lime, magnesia, lead oxide, soda, potash and phosphorus pentoxide. Establishment of analytical protocols for the unequivocal identification of porcelain types form their elemental oxide analytical data and also from their molecular spectral mineralogical data. The correlation of analytical data with documentary recipes relating to compositional percentages of raw materials with examples cited from early European and Chinese porcelains. The definitive analytical role of trace element detection and its relationship with the source identification of raw materials and factory chronology. Examples are given of the use of zirconium, rubidium and strontium as trace elements for the authentication of some early pieces and the detection of trace elements in decorative enamels. The analytical concepts of accuracy, precision, errors and detection limits for the use of data presented in compositional analyses. The use of elemental oxide ratios, for example, potash, soda and lime, for the identification of porcelain factory origins and the pitfalls encountered therein.
“The detection of types is one of the most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert”.
Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1901.
“Chemistry affords two general methods of determining the constituent principles of bodies, analysis and synthesis. The analytical method ought to be considered the prime principle in chemical science and one should never be satisfied without this species of proof”.
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, Elements of Chemistry, 1790.
“The Investigation of difficult things by Analysis ought ever to precede the method of composition. Analysis consists in making experiments and observation and in drawing Conclusions from them by Induction and admitting no Objections against those Conclusions but such are taken from experiments or other certain Truths”.
Sir Isaac Newton, Opticks, 1704.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
A.H. Aza, A.G. Torre, M.A.G. Aranda, F. Jose Valle and S. Aza, “The Rietveld Quantitative Analysis of Buen Retiro porcelains”, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 87, pp. 449−454, 2004.
A Bezur and F. Casadio, “Artistic expression and technical mastery: A scientific evaluation of the materials”, in Fired by Passion: Vienna Baroque Porcelain of Claudius Innocentius du Paquier, eds. M. Chilton, C. Jobst and K. Hartschmann, Arnoldsche Art Publishing, Stuttgart, pp. 1165−1211, 2009.
M. Bouchard and D.C. Smith, “Database of 74 Raman spectra of standard minerals of relevance to metal corrosion, stained glass and prehistoric rock art”, Chapter 25, in Raman Spectroscopy in Archaeology and Art History. eds. H.G.M. Edwards and J.M. Chalmers, Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing, Cambridge, pp. 429−464, 2005.
F. Casadio and A. Bezur, “The analysis of porcelain using handheld and portable Xray fluorescence spectrometers”, in Handheld XRF in Art and Archaeology, (Studies in Archaeological Science, Series 3), eds. A Shugar and J. Mass, Leuven University Press, Leuven, Belgium, pp. 249−312, 2012.
G. Coke, In Search of James Giles, 1718−1780, Micawber Publications, Wingham, Kent, UK, 1983.
P. Colomban, G. Sagon and X, Faurel, “Differentiation of antique ceramics from the Raman spectroscopy of their coloured glazes and paintings”, Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 32, pp. 351−360, 2001.
P. Colomban, H.G.M. Edwards and C. Fountain, “Raman spectroscopic and SEM/EDAXS analyses of Nantgarw soft-paste porcelain”, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 40, pp. 4664 – 4675, 2020.
P. Craddock, Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and Forgeries, Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, Oxford, 2009.
H.G.M. Edwards, Swansea and Nantgarw Porcelains: A Scientific Reappraisal, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2017.
H.G.M. Edwards, Nantgarw and Swansea Porcelains: An Analytical Perspective, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2018.
H.G.M. Edwards, 18th and 19th Century Porcelain Analysis: A Forensic Provenancing Assessment, Springer Nature, Dordrecht. The Netherlands, 2020.
I.C. Freestone, The Science of Early British Porcelain, in 6th Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society, British Ceramics Proceedings 60, pp. 19−27, 2000.
R.W. Fuchs II and J.L. Mass, “Deciphering the Declaration of Independence on Chinese export porcelain”, American Ceramic Circle Journal, Volume XV, pp. 169−187, 2009.
P.A. Halfpenny and J.L. Mass, “Two converging perspectives on one Meissen tureen”, American Ceramic Circle Journal, Volume XV, pp. 71-78, 2009.
W.D. John, William Billingsley, Ceramic Book Company, Newport, Monmouthshire, 1968.
W.D. Kingery and D. Smith, “The development of European soft paste porcelain”, in Ancient Technology to Modern Science, ed. W, D, Kingery and E. Lense, American Ceramic Society, Columbus, Ohio, USA, pp. 273−292, 1984.
W.D. Kingery and P.A. Vandiver, Ceramic Masterpieces, The Free Press, New York, 1986.
N.Q. Liem, G. Sagon, V.X. Quong, H. Van Tam and P. Colomban, “Raman study of the microstructure, composition and processing of ancient Vietnamese (proto) porcelains and celadons (13-16th centuries)”, Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 31, pp. 933−942, 2000.
M. Maggetti, “Paul-Louis Cyffle’s (1724-1806) search for porcelian”, European Journal of Mineralogy, 23, pp. 993−1006, 2011.
J.C. Miller and J.N. Miller, Statistics for Analytical Chemistry. 3rd Edition, Ellis Horwood, New York, 1993.
W. Schulle and B. Ulrich, “Ergebnisse gefugeanalytischer untersuchungen an Bottgerporzellan”, Silikatechnik, 33, pp. 44−47, 1982.
M. Sendova, V. Zhelyaskov, M. Scalera and C. Gulliford, “Micro-Raman spectroscopic Characterisation of Della Robbia glazes”, Archaeometry, 49, pp. 655−664, 2007.
A. Stiegelschmitt and G. Tomandl, “Untersuchung der materialzusammensetsung aller porzellan im hublick auf ihtre kunsthistorische zuordnung”, Sprechsaal, 118, pp. 974−978, 1985.
M.S. Tite, I.C. Freestone and M. Bimson, “A technological study of Chinese porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty”, Archaeometry, 26, pp. 139−154, 1984.
M.S. Tite and M. Bimson, “A technological study of English porcelains”, Archaeometry, 33, pp. 3−27, 1991.
L. Wilson and A.M. Pollard, “The Provenance Hypothesis”, in Handbook of Archaeological Science, eds. D.R. Brothwell and A.M. Pollard, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, Sussex, pp. 507−517, 2001.
A. Zuchiatt, C. Pascual, M.D. Ynsa, L. Castelli, P. recio, E. Criadu, F.J. Valle and A. Clement-Font, “Computational analysis of 18th Century glazed polychrome lacquered porcelain by non-destructive micro alpha PIXE”, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 28, pp. 757−762, 2008.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Edwards, H.G.M. (2022). Types of Porcelain and Their Elemental Oxide Compositions. In: Porcelain Analysis and Its Role in the Forensic Attribution of Ceramic Specimens. Cultural Heritage Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80952-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80952-2_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-80951-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-80952-2
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)