History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c15.s9.7

v1.c15.s9.7

The Chinese porcelain is usually represented by bowls and dishes, all with foot rings. The vessels of China clay were fired into porcelain at about 1300°C. With the help of a less decayed and more fusible form of the felpathic material called by the Chinese pai-tun-tzu. This latter is the same as petuntse in the 18th century French phonetic equivalent. It actually means “little white rocks”, because the material was sent to the potter in the form of small bricks after being pulverised and refined (Honey, p.13). The ware was placed in saggars or otherwise supported by firing setters and was fired in a continuous tunnel kiln which was a Chinese invention.