Porcelain
So unlike pottery, porcelain is all china clay , which the majority come from one mine in Cornwall , has been mined since 1746 , hence why around this time , ironstone china came into play due to its strength and longevity . Ironstone china being a mix of china clay and pottery (see previous blog
Porcelain is pure china clay , which tends to be able to be made normally by casting in a slip ( again see previous blog of china /pottery ) so often these items such as a cup , where fired 3 to 4 times , firstly the blank cup then a base glaze say blue or white , then often and always in the earlier wears hand painted flowers or scenes etc and then the last firing gold gilding using real gold for this purpose, a big turnaround in the mid 19th century was the invention of German gold , a gold looking product that could be applied to more utilitarian items such as tea set and Staffordshire figures and very popular on jug bowls sets etc .
Porcelain as strong and pure product , having no impurities was able to be cast very finely , adding a class and lightness to any item , one test when buying is to show item to a strong light and you will be able to see light through it , another quick test is to tap and getting a high pitch ring when perfect .
The painting on early items is very fine and potteries such as Worcester continued making very finely painted items right into the late 20th century , artists being so proud of their work that they after painting what was really as good as any watercolour signed their work , collecting is great fun and particularly at the moment good value , if you think of time and effort spent on making these items they are to quote "cheap as chips "
If buying for Investment buy quality keep well in a well displayed cabinet and keep perfect , no problems in having restored or damaged bits for fun and reference and decoration but it investing buy perfect and buy quality and be prepared to pay for good examples , in recent years china has been a little out of fashion , we are seeing youngsters , by that i means people under 30 buying again , often for decoration but definitely times are a changing and really now is the time as items are really keenly priced , bear in mind many of these items are between 100 to 200 years old , 1746 been nearly 300 years ago
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