Advantages of the Study.—The Lost Origin of the Art.—Ascribed to the Gods.—Legends of China, Japan, Egypt, and Greece.—Keramos.—A Solution suggested.—How Pottery illustrates History.—How it explains the Customs of the Ancients.—Its Bearings upon Religion.—Examples from Egypt, Greece, and China.—The Art represented in Pottery.—Its Permanency.—As a Combination of Form with Drawing and Color.—Greek Art.—Its Merits and Defects.—The Orientals, and their Attention to Color.—Eastern Skill.—The Aim of Palissy.—The Highest Aim of the Ceramic Artist.—Painting on Porcelain.—Rules to be Observed in Decorating.—Where Color alone is a Worthy Object.—How the Art affords the Best Illustration of the Useful combined with the Beautiful.—Its Place in the Household

Confusion in Use of Terms.—Porcelain as an Instance.—Derivation of Ceramic.—Pottery.—Faience.—Majolica.—Mezza-Majolica.—Composition of Porcelain.—Origin of Word.—Where first made.—When introduced into Europe.—Hard and Soft Paste.—Soft Porcelain of Venice, Florence, England, France.—Hard Porcelain invented at Meissen by Böttcher.—Vienna.—Discovery of Kaolin in France.—Biscuit

Tabulated View.—Brongniart’s Division: Its Objections.—Classification adopted.—Leading Features and Advantages.—Distinctions between Different Bodies and Different Glazes{6}

Hard and Soft Pottery and Porcelain.—Composition of Porcelain: Kaolin—Its Derivation and Ingredients—Petuntse—How prepared in China.—The European Process.—Differences between Chinese and European Porcelains.—Chemical Analysis.—English Porcelain and its Peculiarities: Its Average Composition.—How English Clay is prepared.—French Artificial Porcelain.—Parian.—Common Earthen-ware: Table of Ingredients of different kinds.—General Table.—Glazes: Classes.—Brongniart’s Classification.—Difference between Enamel and Glaze.—Silicious Glaze.—History.—Use of Oxides.—Egyptian Processes.—Metallic Lustre.—Stanniferous Enamel: Its History

Divisions of Chapter.—Japanese Method of Preparing Porcelain Clay.—Old Sèvres Soft Porcelain.—Pug-Mill.—Blunger.—Early Italian Methods.—Shaping the Clay.—Moulding among the Egyptians, Greeks, Italians, and at the Present Day.—Moulding Porcelain.—Japanese Method.—European.—Throwing.—The Potter’s Wheel in all Countries.—Baking and Firing.—Egyptian, Greek, Italian, and Japanese Kilns.—Those of Modern Europe and America.—Times of Firing.—Glazing and Painting.—Metallic-Lustre Majolica.—Japanese Methods.—Glazing Stone-ware.—Natural and Artificial Porcelain

The East the Cradle of Art.—The Antiquity of Egypt: Its Claim to Notice in every Branch of Inquiry.—The Fountains of Oriental and Greek Art.—The Nile Clay.—Egypt’s Early Maturity.—Limitation of Material.—Effect of Religion upon Art.—Two Periods in Art History.—Ancient Religion.—Various Symbols.—Unglazed Pottery—Sun-dried: Bricks.—Moulds, Stamps, etc.—Vessels.—Baked Ware: Its Early Date.—Color of Vessels and Bricks.—Coffins.—Cones.—Figures.—Sepulchral Vases.—Amphoræ and other Vessels.—Decoration.—Græco-Egyptian Pottery.—Glazed Ware, miscalled Porcelain: Its Nature, and how Colored.—Wall Tiles.—Inlaying of Mummy Cases.—Personal Ornaments.—Images.—Beads, etc.—Vases.—Bowls.—Glazed Schist.—Stanniferous Enamel

Possible Priority to Egyptian Pottery.—Similarity between Assyrian and Egyptian.—The Course followed by both Arts.—Unbaked Bricks.—Baked Bricks.—Writing Tablets.—Seals.—Vases.—Terra-cottas.—Porcelain.—Glazing and Enamelling.—Tin.—Colored Enamels.—Babylonian Bricks.—Glazes{7}