Porcelain is also referred to as china or fine china in some English-speaking countries, as it was first seen in imports from China. The European name, porcelain in English, comes from the old Italian porcellana (cowrie shell) because of its resemblance to the surface of the shell. It also has many uses in technology and industry. It combines well with both glazes and paint, and can be modelled very well, allowing a huge range of decorative treatments in tablewares, vessels and figurines. Its manufacturing process is more demanding than that for earthenware and stoneware, the two other main types of pottery, and it has usually been regarded as the most prestigious type of pottery for its delicacy, strength, and its white colour. Porcelain slowly evolved in China and was finally achieved (depending on the definition used) at some point about 2,000 to 1,200 years ago, then slowly spread to other East Asian countries, and finally Europe and the rest of the world. The category that an object belongs to depends on the composition of the paste used to make the body of the porcelain object and the firing conditions. Though definitions vary, porcelain can be divided into three main categories: hard-paste, soft-paste and bone china.
The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. Porcelain ( / ˈ p ɔːr s əl ɪ n/) is a ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 ☌ (2,200 and 2,600 ☏). Nymphenburg porcelain group modelled by Franz Anton Bustelli, 1756
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