marci Boskie's Mama =^..^= on fri 10 feb 06
>Lee Love wrote:
>Porcelain was created in America before it was in Europe. This is from
>Louise Corts article in The Log Book, here article on the history of
>woodfiring in America:
>"The use of high-temperature clays from the interior mountains began
>with the first European potter to set up shop in the new colony of
>Georgia, around 1738. He experimented with porcelain, using the local
>Georgia kaolin that is still a mainstay of American studio potters.
>Although his use of kaolin predated that in Europe, it did not develop
>into a commercially successful product."
Hi Lee...
This doesnt make sense to me but maybe Im missing something
here...If the first European potters set up shop in Georgia in 1738 but
hard paste porcelain porcelain was discovered in Meissen, Germany in 1708
, how can it be said that porcelain was created in America before it
was in Europe? If kaolin is a major part of the porcelain making
process, how is it that Louise Corts says that American use of kaolin
predates that of Europe?
Johann Boettger and Ehrenfreid Tschirnhaus discovered white hard paste
porcelain while being kept under lock and key by August the Strong in
Meissen Germany after Boettger ,who was a pharmacist , bragged that he
could make gold. August was importing a lot of Chinese porcelain which
was so expensive it was called "white gold" ...and eventually
Boettger admitted he couldnt make gold and he and Tschirnhaus set about
working on the arcanum for porcelain. They succeeded in the year 1708 ...
and the Meissen Manufactory was born..
Also notable was Johann Hoeroldt, who , also working with them at Meissen
developed roughly 10,000 brilliant, vitrifiable pigments derived from
metallic oxides that we still use today ...
Albrechtsburg Castle , where Boettger and Tschinhaus were
literally kept as prisoners to protect against industrial spies still
stands in Meissen and Meissen is one of the few factories that is still
hand painting their wares...and its fascinating to see some of the failed
experiments .. the slumped and misshapen porcelain pieces , etc.
There is a great book about the quest of Boettger called " the
Arcanum" by Janet Gleeson. I cant lay my hands on my copy of it right now
( its in a box somewhere ) so I cant check it to see whether the
early Meissen hard paste porcelain was done without kaolin... but since
that would appear to be a major part of the formula, I dont see how that
could be possible...
Marci Blattenberger Boskie's Mama =^..^=
http://www.marciblattenberger.com
marci@ppio.com
Porcelain Painters International Online http://www.ppio.com
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.5/256 - Release Date: 2/10/2006
Rick Hamelin on fri 10 feb 06
Kaolin clay referenced was called Unaker and was found in what was called the Cherokee Nation. Kaolin was mentioned as being brought to Bow in 1744 by Andrew Duche of Savannah Georgia but he was selling a Virginia Kaolin. This same clay had a patent taken in 1744 by Bow China which made a softpaste porcelain. English hardpaste porcelain was first patented in 1768. Unaker was later used by Wedgwood for this jasperwares.
Italian experiments began in 1560's and were successful by 1575 with a claybody of kaolin, lime, white sand, ground glass and rock crystal: a soft paste porcelain called Medici. French experiments succeeded by the 1670's with a soft paste called Rouen Porcelain. Tshimhaus learned of porcelain and studied at St Cloud near Paris. When Bottger was apprenticed to Tshimhaus, they first succeeded in making hard, red stoneware called Bottger stoneware. A new factory was started in 1707 and Tshimhaus died in 1708. Bottger boasted of making a porcelain with calcined alabaster called Colditz, in 17o9 but stoneware production was only really noted. This stoneware production was mostly shown at the Leipzig Easter Fair of 1710 with a disappointing very small selectionof porcelain shown. Successful production of porcelain didn't really exist until 1710-15; made with a claybody of 4 parts Schnorr's Clay, 2 parts argilleceous clay from Colditz, 1.5 parts fine white sand and 1.5 parts of alabaster.
Glaze was 100 parts silica, 10 parts Colditz clay and 20 parts unrefined borax.
It is true that the Europeans successfully made porcelain before American potteries. Experiments with white clays in Massts and Philadelphia early on produced a lowfire Queensware or creamware. Bonnin and Morris met some success with creamware in 1769 and Tucker and Hemphill are acknowledged with being the first true hard paste porcelain in the 1820's. To approach the subject another way, I fail to note any stoneware production (controlling high temps) of any size before the Rev War and that being in NJ and the southern states. I would tend to believe that the Georgia Potter in 1738 was a queensware maker (low fire) as history shows that stoneware production (high fire) was found in the middle 18th century. I don't believe the technical knowledge or capital investment existed in America, for either soft or hard paste, until the mid 18th century and for true hard paste porcelain until the begining of the 19th century as noted above, unsuccessful until the 1820's.
Rick Hamelin
. "Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "marci Boskie's Mama =^..^="
> >Lee Love wrote:
> >Porcelain was created in America before it was in Europe. This is from
> >Louise Corts article in The Log Book, here article on the history of
> >woodfiring in America:
> >"The use of high-temperature clays from the interior mountains began
> >with the first European potter to set up shop in the new colony of
> >Georgia, around 1738. He experimented with porcelain, using the local
> >Georgia kaolin that is still a mainstay of American studio potters.
> >Although his use of kaolin predated that in Europe, it did not develop
> >into a commercially successful product."
>
>
> Hi Lee...
> This doesnt make sense to me but maybe Im missing something
> here...If the first European potters set up shop in Georgia in 1738 but
> hard paste porcelain porcelain was discovered in Meissen, Germany in 1708
> , how can it be said that porcelain was created in America before it
> was in Europe? If kaolin is a major part of the porcelain making
> process, how is it that Louise Corts says that American use of kaolin
> predates that of Europe?
> Johann Boettger and Ehrenfreid Tschirnhaus discovered white hard paste
> porcelain while being kept under lock and key by August the Strong in
> Meissen Germany after Boettger ,who was a pharmacist , bragged that he
> could make gold. August was importing a lot of Chinese porcelain which
> was so expensive it was called "white gold" ...and eventually
> Boettger admitted he couldnt make gold and he and Tschirnhaus set about
> working on the arcanum for porcelain. They succeeded in the year 1708 ...
> and the Meissen Manufactory was born..
> Also notable was Johann Hoeroldt, who , also working with them at Meissen
> developed roughly 10,000 brilliant, vitrifiable pigments derived from
> metallic oxides that we still use today ...
> Albrechtsburg Castle , where Boettger and Tschinhaus were
> literally kept as prisoners to protect against industrial spies still
> stands in Meissen and Meissen is one of the few factories that is still
> hand painting their wares...and its fascinating to see some of the failed
> experiments .. the slumped and misshapen porcelain pieces , etc.
> There is a great book about the quest of Boettger called " the
> Arcanum" by Janet Gleeson. I cant lay my hands on my copy of it right now
> ( its in a box somewhere ) so I cant check it to see whether the
> early Meissen hard paste porcelain was done without kaolin... but since
> that would appear to be a major part of the formula, I dont see how that
> could be possible...
>
>
> Marci Blattenberger Boskie's Mama =^..^=
> http://www.marciblattenberger.com
> marci@ppio.com
> Porcelain Painters International Online http://www.ppio.com
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.5/256 - Release Date: 2/10/2006
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Rick Hamelin on sat 11 feb 06
As a side note, I have a hunch that perhaps this porcelain enterprise could have been for a White Saltglaze pottery, which was made in England as early as the 1680's and manufactured and exported in the 1720's which predates the period in question. Most curiously is the Enoch Woods style shipped here to the USA in the 1720's being a white slipped buff or gray fired pottery with a salt glazing.These were called stone and dipt wares. I must correct myself concerning a point which I earlier stated. The use of this white clay ( yes, same clay) for low fire creamware didn't begin until 1743 by Enoch Wood of England, beingthe gentleman whom we are indebted for transitioning us from the galena dusting to making and application of the liquid glaze. The Georgia pottery would not be a creamware enterprise.
While I questioned earlier about the possible illegallity of a Williamsburg Virg pottery, it must be noted that Yorktown had a redware potter at early as 1711 and many throughout the 1720-40's.
Rick
--
"Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
| |
|
