Articles · Clay
Bone china and parian: the clay that lets the light through
Two difficult clays, expensive and capricious, that become translucent after the kiln.
For centuries porcelain was a secret of China. Europe wanted it and didn't know how to make it, until an Englishman discovered that mixing bone ash with clay produced a fine white porcelain. That is how bone china was born.
After firing it is translucent: if you hold it up to a window, the light passes through. It is elegant, delicate and very hard to work; the piece warps or breaks easily, and it is a capricious clay.
Parian is its German cousin: a semi-transparent white body, similar to bone china. It is white and lets the light through. It is expensive and also capricious, but when it turns out well, the pieces are incredible.
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