Porcelain

Porcelain, a kind of white earthenware. It is hard, fine, and translucent. Porcelain is made from a mixture of kaolin (a pure white clay) and petuntse (a hard mineral). After the mixture is shaped, it is fired at an extremely high temperature that causes the petuntse to melt into glass that is fused to the kaolin which retains the shape. Porcelain is used to create such items as tableware, vases, and figurines. It is most often decorated with painted designs. Because it was first developed by the Chinese (7th century), it is sometimes referred to as china. Europe, Japan, and the United States produce most of the world's porcelain.