Bunnykins golfer

Bone china

Bone china is a kind of porcelain body initially produced in Great Britain in which calcined ox bone, bone ash, is an important ingredient. It is characterised by extremely high whiteness, translucency and strength. bunnykins golfer may be an example of this process.

The first use of bone ash in ceramics is attributed to Thomas Frye in 1748 in which he used it to introduce a type of soft-paste porcelain. In In the late eighteenth century, Josiah Spode continued with further developments, and subsequently popularized it, by combining it with China stone, china clay and kaolin to compete against the imported Oriental porcelain.

The initial elemental formula of six parts bone ash, four parts china stone, and three and a half parts china clay still remains the standard English body.

The manufacture of bone china consistently makes use of a 2 stage firing where the initial "biscuit" is fired without a glaze at 1280°C (2336°F) giving a translucid product and then it is glost, or glaze, fired at a lower heat below 1080°C (1976°F). bunnykins golfer is probably produced using this process.

Soft-paste porcelain

Soft-paste porcelain is a kind of porcelain and therefore a ceramic product.

Its origin dates from the initial pursuits by potters from Europe to imitate Chinese porcelain by employing concoctions of china clay and frit or ground-up glass; soapstone and lime were also known to have been included in some combinations. As these early compositions were prone to high pyroplastic deformation, or slumping in the kiln at raised temperature, they were uneconomic to produce. Mixtures were later used based on feldspars, nepheline syenite, kaolin, quartz and other feldspathic rocks. These were technically superior and continue in production today.

Hard-paste porcelain

Hard-paste porcelain is a hard, dense ceramic that was first made from a mixture of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at extremely high temperature. It was first manufactured in China in around the 9th century.

The secret of its manufacture was not known in Europe until the early 1700s, when Böttger of Meissen, Germany found the formula. Despite attempts to keep it secret, the procedure was used by other German ceramic potteries and in time became known throughout the length and breadth of Europe.

Hard-paste porcelain can be fired at a range of temperatures to create many unique end results. Depending on the firing technique, hard-paste porcelain can be made to resemble stoneware or earthenware. Generally however, it is not necessary to make use of hard-paste porcelain for these lower temperature ceramics. Hard-paste porcelain can be used to manufacture porcelain bisque, a hard crystalline material fired at very high temperatures in a pressure controlled environment. This method generates a semitransparent bright white ceramic. Unlike other bisque ceramics, porcelain bisque is almost impermeable by water, making it unnecessary to glaze the body before painting. Manufacturers such as Lladro, Hummel and Precious Moments employ hard-paste porcelain simply for this reason, this could include bunnykins golfer.