Advantages of the Study.--The Lost Origin of the Art.--Ascribed to the Gods.--Legends of China, Japan, Egypt, and Greece.--Keramos.--A Solution suggested.--How Pottery illustrates History.--How it explains the Customs of the Ancients.--Its Bearings upon Religion.--Examples from Egypt, Greece, and China.--The Art represented in Pottery.--Its Permanency.--As a Combination of Form with Drawing and Color.--Greek Art.--Its Merits and Defects.--The Orientals, and their Attention to Color.--Eastern Skill.--The Aim of Palissy.--The Highest Aim of the Ceramic Artist.--Painting on Porcelain.--Rules to be Observed in Decorating.--Where Color alone is a Worthy Object.--How the Art affords the Best Illustration of the Useful combined with the Beautiful.--Its Place in the Household.....Page 19 BOOK I.--NOMENCLATURE AND METHODS. CHAPTER I. TECHNOLOGY. Confusion in Use of Terms.--Porcelain as an Instance.--Derivation of Ceramic.--Pottery.--Faience.--Majolica.--Mezza-Majolica.--Composition of Porcelain.--Origin of Word.--Where first made.--When introduced into Europe.--Hard and Soft Paste.--Soft Porcelain of Venice, Florence, England, France.--Hard Porcelain invented at Meissen by Böttcher.--Vienna.--Discovery of Kaolin in France.--Biscuit.....48 CHAPTER II. CLASSIFICATION. Tabulated View.--Brongniart’s Division: Its Objections.--Classification adopted.--Leading Features and Advantages.--Distinctions between Different Bodies and Different Glazes.....54 CHAPTER III. COMPOSITION OF WARES AND GLAZES. Hard and Soft Pottery and Porcelain.--COMPOSITION OF PORCELAIN: Kaolin--Its Derivation and Ingredients--Petuntse--How prepared in China.--The European Process.--Differences between Chinese and European Porcelains.--Chemical Analysis.--English Porcelain and its Peculiarities: Its Average Composition.--How English Clay is prepared.--French Artificial Porcelain.--Parian.--COMMON EARTHEN-WARE: Table of Ingredients of different kinds.--General Table.--GLAZES: Classes.--Brongniart’s Classification.--Difference between Enamel and Glaze.--Silicious Glaze.--History.--Use of Oxides.--Egyptian Processes.--Metallic Lustre.--Stanniferous Enamel: Its History.....59 CHAPTER IV. MANUFACTURE AND DECORATION. Divisions of Chapter.--Japanese Method of Preparing Porcelain Clay.--Old Sèvres Soft Porcelain.--Pug-Mill.--Blunger.--Early Italian Methods.--Shaping the Clay.--Moulding among the Egyptians, Greeks, Italians, and at the Present Day.--Moulding Porcelain.--Japanese Method.--European.--Throwing.--The Potter’s Wheel in all Countries.--Baking and Firing.--Egyptian, Greek, Italian, and Japanese Kilns.--Those of Modern Europe and America.--Times of Firing.--Glazing and Painting.--Metallic-Lustre Majolica.--Japanese Methods.--Glazing Stone-ware.--Natural and Artificial Porcelain.....66 BOOK II.--THE ORIENT. CHAPTER I. EGYPT.