Hard-paste porcelain

[2][3] From the Middle Ages onwards, it was very widely exported and admired by other cultures and fetched huge prices on foreign markets.

Eventually Korean porcelain developed in the 14th century and Japanese porcelain in the 17th, but other cultures were unable to learn or reproduce the secret of its formula in terms of materials and firing temperature until it was worked out in Europe in the early 18th century and suitable mineral deposits of kaolin, feldspar, and quartz were discovered.

Chinese porcelain began to be exported to Europe by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch from the middle of the 16th century, creating vast demand for the material.

In 1712, the French Jesuit François Xavier d'Entrecolles described the Chinese process of manufacturing porcelain in his letters to Europe.

[10][11] Depending on the raw materials and firing methods used, hard-paste porcelain can also resemble stoneware or earthenware.