European porcelain with soft paste dates back to the 16th century, when Europeans were very impressed with Chinese porcelain, which had already been imported in the past two centuries. But porcelain could not be provided to everyone, so the potters tried to detect its composition in order to be able to reproduce it or, at least, produce a less expensive simulation for the middle class. It is known that ingredients such as clay, frit, soapstone and limestone were used during the early experiments.
The term soft porcelain does not mean that it is softer than solid paste-like porcelain; adjectives refer to the fire with which the products are made. Soft paste is burned at a softer heat or lower temperature than solid paste-like porcelain, about 1200 ° C (on the other hand, solid paste is burned at about 1450 ° C). Since soft paste was produced in this way, it saved the potters ’fuel, and this allowed the use of more colors for porcelain.
The first type of soft paste pasta in Europe was called Medici porcelain. This was done under the direction of Francesco di Medici at the Casino di Marco in Florence, Italy, between 1575 and 1587. Ground porcelain was made from Vicenza clay, powdered feldspar, calcium phosphate, sand and wollastonite with quartz. The glass appearance of porcelain made them think that glass could be an ingredient. Although currently there are only six pieces that are currently registered, about 300 were manufactured before — most of them were defective because they were fired when the temperature was exceeded.
In France, porcelain with soft paste was called “pate”. In 1673 in Rouen, France, Louis Potter, another soft paste was created at the Saint-Cloud factory called Porcelaine Francaise, which was designed to imitate Chinese porcelain with hard paste. This type of soft past has been described as white and translucent, like Chinese porcelain. Poter also produced blue varieties, which are now considered very rare.
In 1742 an English potter named Thomas Briand produced the first samples of English soft pasty porcelain based on the formula used in the Saint-Cloud factory. Fifteen years later, six pottery were created in England, which were devoted to the production of porcelain soft paste products. In subsequent years, many other varieties were produced: Chelsea porcelain was produced in 1743; Onion porcelain was made in 1745; St. James porcelain was made in 1748; Bristol porcelain was made in 1748; Longton Hall Porcelain was released in 1750; Porcelain Derby was released in 1757, and Lowestoft in 1757.
The development of porcelain soft paste gradually led to its improvement. There have been many more innovations. Through it, solid paste was discovered and improved. Sometimes bone mince was also discovered and improved.
