Editing Pottery (section)

===Porcelain===
{{Main|Porcelain}}
[[File:Sèvres - brunissage 54.jpg|thumb|Contemporary porcelain plate by [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres]]]]
[[Porcelain]] is made by heating materials, generally including [[kaolinite|kaolin]], in a [[kiln]] to temperatures between {{convert|1200|and|1400|°C|°F|-2}}. This is higher than used for the other types, and achieving these temperatures was a long struggle, as well as realizing what materials were needed. The toughness, strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from [[Vitrification#Ceramics|vitrification]] and the formation of the mineral [[mullite]] within the body at these high temperatures.

Although porcelain was first made in [[China]], the Chinese traditionally do not recognise it as a distinct category, grouping it with stoneware as "high-fired" ware, opposed to "low-fired" earthenware. This confuses the issue of when it was first made. A degree of translucency and whiteness was achieved by the [[Tang dynasty]] (AD 618–906), and considerable quantities were being exported. The modern level of whiteness was not reached until much later, in the 14th century. Porcelain was also made in [[Korea]] and in [[Japan]] from the end of the 16th century, after suitable kaolin was located in those countries. It was not made effectively outside East Asia until the 18th century.<ref>Cooper (2010), pp. 72–79, 160–79</ref>

{{Anchor|Archaeology }}