Editing Porcelain (section)

=== Hard paste ===
{{Main|Hard-paste porcelain}}

Hard-paste porcelain was invented in China, and it was also used in [[Japanese porcelain]]. Most of the finest quality porcelain wares are made of this material. The earliest European porcelains were produced at the [[Meissen porcelain|Meissen factory]] in the early 18th century; they were formed from a paste composed of [[kaolin]] and [[alabaster]] and fired at temperatures up to {{convert|1400|°C|°F|0}} in a wood-fired kiln, producing a porcelain of great hardness, translucency, and strength.<ref name=richards /> Later, the composition of the [[Meissen porcelain|Meissen hard paste]] was changed, and the alabaster was replaced by [[feldspar]] and [[quartz]], allowing the pieces to be fired at lower temperatures. Kaolinite, feldspar, and quartz (or other forms of [[silica]]) continue to constitute the basic ingredients for most continental European hard-paste porcelains.