According to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities, “Stoneware differs from porcelain because it is more opaque, and normally only partially vitrified.”Chinese porcelain first appeared in China during the era of Han Dynasty art (206 BCE-220 CE), or perhaps later in the era of Tang Dynasty art (618-906), using kaolin (white china clay) and ground petuntse (a feldspathic rock). They are typically fired at temperatures between 1200 to 1450 degrees Celsius, a little higher than stoneware. Types of Pottery. The types of Pottery. The colours earthenware clay takes on when fired usually depend on the type of firing and the amount of mineral impurities contained in it. It is also one of the most common types of clay found today. This is the longest-established type of pottery, dating back to the Stone Age. Earthenware The earliest form of human produced ceramics that was created in fire pits as early as 29,000 BC. The result is an extremely hard, shiny material often white and translucent in appearance.The earliest forms of porcelain originated in China around 1600BC and this association popularised the term 'fine china’, or bone china when the porcelain has had ground animal bone added to the clay, in order to create an even more durable material.The main points of comparison between Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain, will be the temperature at which the clay is fired and the resulting strength, water resistance and durability of the finished products.The quality of the products will be dependant of the quality and purity of the clay that is used to create them, but as a general rule, Stoneware and Porcelain will be the two more durable forms of ceramic, which are commonly used as tableware at home. There are three basic categories of pottery: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. These are earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below 1200 °C. Earthenware clays are highly plastic, which makes them very easy to work into different shapes. The earliest stoneware was produced during the era of Shang Dynasty art in China (c.1400 BCE); it first appeared in Europe in Germany (the Rhineland) in the 15th century. In its natural state stoneware clay is grey but the firing process turns it light-brown or buff coloured, and different hues may then be applied in the form of glazes.Generally speaking, stonewares are fired at temperatures between 1100-1300 degrees Celsius. Stoneware clays are used in the manufacture of commercial ware, but are also preferred by artists (eg. Sixteenth century Florentine ceramicists tried to reproduce its unique translucence by adding glass to clay (creating a form known as ”soft” porcelain) but the formula of the true or hard type of Chinese porcelain was not discovered until the 1700s in Meissen and Dresden, Germany, when ceramicist Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus and alchemist Johann Friedrich Bottger began using ground feldspathic rock instead of glass.Later English ceramicists like Josiah Spode varied the German formula by adding powdered bone ash (a calcium phosphate) to make bone china – the standard English type of porcelain which is less prone to chipping and has an ivory-white appearance.Europe still favours the German type of porcelain while Bone china is more popular in Britain and the USA.The colour of unfired porcelain clay can be anything from white to cream, while bone china clay is white.
The iron-content of the clay used for earthenware gives a colour which ranges from buff to dark red, or even cream, grey or black, according to the amount present and the atmosphere (notably the oxygen content) in the kiln during firing. The finished product will be waterproof and unlike earthenware, does not need to be glazed.Porcelain comes from a refined clay which is fired at very high temperatures of approximately 1,200–1,450°C. In particular, it includes maiolica (faience or delft) a tin-glazed style of earthenware.