Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Although body formulations vary tremendously between countries, and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15% feldspar. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Kaolinite is a Clay mineral with the chemical composition Al 2 Si 2 O 5( OH)4 Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in Feldspar is the name of a group of rock-forming Minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth 's crust. Earthenware is one of the oldest materials used in pottery. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware While red earthenware made from red clays is very familiar and recognizable, white and buff colored earthenware clays are also commercially available and commonly used.

Earthenware is commonly bisque, or biscuit, fired to temperatures in the range of 1000 and 1150 degrees Celsius (1800 and 2100 degrees Fahrenheit, and glost fired from 950 to 1050°C (1750 to 1925°F). The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736 a German Physicist who proposed it in 1724 However examples of the the reverse, low biscuit firing and high glost, can also be found: this can be popular with some studio potters where bisque temperatures may be 900 to 1050°C (1650 to 1920°F ) with glost temperatures in the range of 1040 to 1150°C (1900 to 2100°F). The exact temperature will be influenced by the raw materials used and the desired characteristics of the finished ware. The higher firing temperatures are likely to cause earthenware to bloat. After firing the body is porous and opaque with colours ranging from white to red depending on the raw materials used.

Earthenware may sometimes be as thin as bone china and other porcelains, though it is not translucent and is more easily chipped. Bone china is a type of Porcelain body first developed in Britain in which calcined Cattle bone ( Bone ash) is a major constituent Porcelain is a Ceramic material made by heating raw materials generally including Clay in the form of Kaolin, in a Kiln to temperatures Earthenware is also less strong, less tough, and more porous than stoneware - but its low cost and easier working compensate for these deficiencies. Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material and is measured as a fraction between 0–1 or as a Percentage between 0–100% Stoneware a Vitreous or semivitreous ceramic ware of fine texture made primarily from nonrefactory fire clay Due to its higher porosity, earthenware must usually be glazed in order to be watertight. Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material and is measured as a fraction between 0–1 or as a Percentage between 0–100% Glaze is a layer or coating of a Vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color decorate strengthen or waterproof it

Types of earthenware

Painted, incised, and glazed earthenware. Dated 10th century, Iran. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

• Creamware
• Delftware
• Faience
• Tin-glazed pottery
• Victorian majolica
• Raku
• Terra cotta

See also

• Pottery
• Porcelain

References

• An Introduction To The Technology Of Pottery. Creamware is a cream-coloured Earthenware created about 1750 by the potters of Staffordshire, England, which proved ideal for domestic ware Delftware, or Delft Pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed Pottery For the architectural material see Glazed architectural terra-cotta. Tin-glazed pottery is pottery covered in Glaze containing Tin oxide which is white shiny and opaque Victorian Majolica is earthenware pottery made in 19th century Britain and the USA with molded surfaces and colorful clear lead glazes " Though you wipe your hands and brush off the dust and dirt from the vessels what is the use of all this fuss if the heart is still impure? " Japanese tea master Terra cotta ( Italian: "baked earth" is a Ceramic. Its uses include vessels water & waste water pipes and surface embellishment in Building construction Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Porcelain is a Ceramic material made by heating raw materials generally including Clay in the form of Kaolin, in a Kiln to temperatures 2nd edition. P. Rado. Pergamon Press. 1988
• Whitewares: Production, Testing And Quality Control. W. Ryan & C. Radford. Pergamon Press. 1987
• Hamer, Frank and Janet. The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques. A & C Black Publishers, Limited, London, England, Third Edition 1991. ISBN 0-8122-3112-0.

External links

• Digital Version of "A Representation of the manufacturing of earthenware" -- 1827 text on the manufacture of earthenware
• Short film on pottery making around the world