Buy Online Pottery For Sale Online Without Going Anywhere

 

The word ceramic was derived from the greek word 'Keramos' meaning 'earthen vessel'. The word has now been applied to a wide range of products from terracotta to the finest china ceramics. Dinnerware and ceramic pottery are just two of the categories often used by stores to describe the end use of this range of ceramics. For the discerning shopper selection of dinnerware is primarily based around fashion. In today's fast moving world, where casual dining has become the norm, our dinnerware often reflects our taste in food or the environment in which we use it. For example Mexican food might well be served in brightly colored dishes decorated with peppers, spices and other vegetables reflecting the type of food we might eat..

 

 

 

How to take care of it?

However the technical features of the dinnerware are much harder to identify. First what type of ceramic is it we are buying? Is it terracotta, earthenware, stoneware, porcelain or pottery imports? Often it just says china on the box but this means nothing as it is just another broad term implying it is a ceramic! But we already know that! So just how do we identify the different types of pottery? One way is to look at the color of the body under the shiny glaze. The best place to do this is under the foot of the item as this is often unglazed. In order of pure whiteness the following is a generalized guide to the color.

·        Terracotta bright red to red brown body color

·        Stoneware pale brown to buff color

·        Earthenware ivory to off white

·        Porcelain off white to blue white

·        Bone China creamy pure white

Pottery manufacturing and bone china can be more easily differentiated from the rest by their translucency. This means that they let light transmit through the piece. If you hold a delicate piece of bone china or porcelain up to the light, and wave your hand between the plate and the light, you can see a shadow of your hand through the piece.

Types of pots and dinnerware:

So now we know what type of ceramic vase we are buying-what does it mean? Firstly it is a guide to the strength of the piece and means resistance to chipping,cracking and breakage. Secondly it is a guide to the cost. High quality bone china and porcelain manufacturers use highly refined materials and processes to 'design in' the whiteness,translucency and strength outdoor pottery required by consumers. Consequently the cost is higher. However because of the inherent strength you might expect this type of pottery to last longer in use! As in life things are never quite so simple. The manufacturers of other types of dinnerware compensate for their lack of inherent strength by making handmade ceramics. All types of ware can be highly decorated with color so this is not the differentiator. So the shopper has a choice of chunkier less white designs or whiter more delicate designs!