Ceramics have been around man since ancient times. Our ancestors manufactured it for practical and decorative purposes, as well as cult ones. The oldest found evidence of craftsmanship in ceramics goes back to prehistoric times.

Ceramics is the common name for all its varieties that – depending on the type of raw materials used, and the properties of the sherd – include: pottery, earthenware, faïence, stoneware, bisque, and porcelain. Due to their intended use, we distinguish different types of ceramics: tableware, sculptural, architectural (coverings, glazed bricks), cultic, ornaments, and small everyday objects. However, porcelain will always be the most perfect and the noblest form.

Before the secrets of the porcelain production were discovered in Europe after many centuries, China had had the monopoly and had carefully guarded the secret of its production. Those unusual properties of porcelain, its delicacy, and, at the same time, high durability and smoothness of the surface made it the object of desire of Europeans. That is why they tried to discover the arcana of the production for many years. First ceramic experiments were conducted by Italians, who thanks to the trade contacts were the first to come into contact with Chinese porcelain. The oldest information on these attempts comes from 1470, from the area of Venice. During the Renaissance, in a workshop in Florence, the Italians managed to obtain the first European protoporcelain, called “Medici porcelain”, which probably was being manufactured regularly almost until the end of the 16th century, or longer. In the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, the same attempts were made in France, then England, but the inventors only managed to obtain stoneware. Ultimately, a success was achieved at the beginning of the 18th century in Saxony, thanks to the attempts carried out by the Saxon scholar, Walter von Tischimhaus, and Johann Fridrich Böttger. However, the success would not had been possible if not for the financing of the entire undertaking by the Saxon elector and the king of Poland, August II the Strong. Thanks to the discoveries of the aforementioned Saxons, the first porcelain manufactory in Europe began its production in 1710, in Miśnia. Throughout the entire 18th century, the production of porcelain remained a closely guarded secret.

What distinguishes porcelain from other types of ceramics are its homogeneous and compact structure, water and gas impermeability, white color of the sherd, and also luminescence of the thin layer. Faïence, on the other side, pottery and other ceramic materials are characterized by porosity, opacity, and also the color of the shred – from white, to creamy, to sometimes red or pink. The difference in the properties of porcelain and faïence results from their chemical composition.

The compound used in the production of faïence, apart from kaolin, is composed of quartz and clay, whereas the basic component of porcelain is kaolin with an addition of feldspar as a liquefacient.
Depending of the proportions of the used components, we distinguish so-called hard porcelain, hardly fusible, invented In Europe in 1709, and Chinese porcelain that is more fusible, with more feldspar.

The artistic qualities of ceramics depend on forming, glazing, and decorating with plastic and painting decorations. It can be performed by means of extrusion, engraving, cutting, pasting, or painting. In the case of porcelain, we divide painting decorations into: underglazed, used on raw, unburnt glaze, mostly monochromatic, for example cobalt; or aboveglazed that are rich in color. Nowadays, ceramic overprints are also used. That way, ceramics slowly became an indispensable element of our lives. Can you imagine a good coffee without a proper cup, or an elegant dinner without a proper porcelain service? Or a washbasin made of plastic, or a bathroom without tiles? Naturally, everything can be replaced with a substitute, but ceramics will always remain the noblest, the most elegant material that, at the same time, offers a wide range of design options.