Fifteen hundred years ago, the Chinese perfected the process of firing carefully selected white clay to make porcelain. Porcelain can be so thin it is translucent, that is, you can see light through it.
Below is an example of a contemporary porcelain piece.


Geoffrey Swindell, British, Untitled, porcelain, 5” by 2 5/8”,
gift of Anne and Sam Davis, Arizona State University Art Museum

When a mineral glaze is applied to the surface and subjected to high temperatures, it melts and fuses with the clay resulting in a finished piece that looks something like opaque glass, as on this teapot.


Elaine Coleman, American, large celadon teapot, porcelain,
12 1/2” by 7 5/8”, gift of Mrs. Emanual Gerard, Arizona State University Art Museum

For a thousand years no one else in the world besides the Chinese knew how to make porcelain. The Chinese made the very best porcelain for the Emperor. Click and scroll down to see a porcelain peach vase made for the Emperor Quinlog Marco Polo brought porcelain back to Europe after his 13th Century travels to China. Chinese ships, called junks, sailed south in the South China sea and sold their wares off the coasts of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Arab and European ships sometimes bought wares from these ships and hauled them off to their home ports in the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Chinese ships carried two kinds of wares: high quality porcelains which were often commissioned and packed away deep in the holds to be sent off to their intended customers; and lower-quality “junk” ware, which was sold off the ship as trade items along their journey. Click to view pieces specifically made for European trade.

The bowl below is an example of “junk” ware.


Anonymous Sewankhalok, Thailand, 14th century, bowl, wheel thrown stoneware, 3” – 1/4”,
gift of George and Nancy Moorehead, Arizona State University Art Museum

It was probably traded 600 years ago in Southeast Asia and managed to survive until it found its way to its current home at Arizona State University’s Ceramic Research Center — thousands of miles from China or Southeast Asia.



The Ceramic Research Center values the bowl as much for its rarity and historical interest as for its artistic excellence. Different people value ceramics for different reasons.

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