The higher quality porcelains made in China are fired longer or more often than lower grades. The best Chinese porcelain is valued for its durability, thinness, and bright, colorful artwork.

Why is Chinese porcelain important?

Porcelain is the creative fruit of the working people of ancient China. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, porcelain has been exported worldwide. It promotes economic and cultural exchange between China and the outside world, and profoundly influences the traditional culture and lifestyle of people from other countries.

What is porcelain China and why was it so valuable?

Porcelain was white gold, valued for both its durability and its delicacy, and also prized for its exotic origins. Marco Polo first brought it to Europe, from China, in the fourteenth century: a small gray-green jar amid his bounty of silk brocades, spices, and vials of musky scents. Polo called it porcellana.