China? Porcelain? Ceramic?

[easling2009]

Can anyone explain the difference between China, Porcelain, and Ceramics.

Many collectible items have stamped on them Fine China, Porcelain or Ceramics. How would someone identify the item if not stamped. Thank you for any tips.

[astral276]

There is none. All are ceramics.

China is just another name for porcelain as that form of ceramic was first produced in China.

Porcelain is fired in the kiln at a higher temperature than general ceramics which, along with its constituent elements, gives it a higher strength and translucency.

'Fine China' usually refers to high quality and delicate works.

[OvertheRainbow4U]

Bump.

Porcelain is a variety of ceramic that's made of the lighter clay. Consequently, you can call porcelain = ceramic, but not the other way around.

[Pink_Panther]

Bone china is made of 50% bone ash, & 25% each of china clay and china stone. It is combined with water to make a slurry, which is then fashioned into cups, saucers, plates and so on. The pieces must be fired in a kiln at high degrees of heat (1100c to 1250c) for the china to become hard and strong. It is the bone (usually animal bone, cleaned of all meat and glue) that gives the china its transparent whiteness.
The ingredients of bone china are china clay, china stone, silica, alumina, alkalies, lime and bone ash. It is fired at high of 2,300 to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. In the best grades of English bone china, 50% or more of the body consists of refined bone ash prepared from specially selected animal bones which are reduced to a fine powder by heat. The bone is mixed with the finest china clays and highest quality Cornish stone. Specially skilled workers are needed in the manufacture of bone china and the best and most highly skilled in the world are found in the pottery district of England.

Although porcelain is frequently used as a synonym for china, the two are not identical. They resemble one another in that both are vitreous wares of extremely low porosity, and both can be glazed or unglazed. However, china, also known as soft-paste or tender porcelain, is softer: it can be cut with a file, while porcelain cannot. This difference is due to the higher temperatures at which true porcelain is fired, 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit (1,454 degrees Celsius) compared to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,204 degrees Celsius) for china. Due to its greater hardness, porcelain has some medical and industrial applications which china, limited to domestic and artistic use, does not. Moreover, whereas porcelain is always translucent, china is opaque.

[OvertheRainbow4U]

Wow
Thanks, PP, this was extremely informative.
Tell me now, is this a pattern that porcelain takes on stains from storage more readily than the other ceramics? Or is this just my experience?