Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Are pieces like these where the term "fine china" comes from?

Yes, exactly! Because the Chinese were the first to make porcelain, the material came to be called "china" in the West. Europeans were amazed by porcelain.; to them it was a mystery substance: pore-less, pure white, translucent when held to the light, and able to hold boiling hot water without cracking! In the late middle ages it was even believed that porcelain would neutralize poison.

Are these replicas?

Just about everything you see in our museum is original pieces! Any replicas will be noted in the label. All of these ceramic pieces are centuries old, made in Europe and Asia.

I'm curious, what would make you think they are replicas?

Because they are in such good condition! I could not believe they are originals.

It's true that ceramics will break if they are dropped, for example, but other than that they are very durable! Because of the high temperatures of the firing process, glazes keep their color and the clay bodies keep their shape.

Our collection includes intact ceramics from as many as 5000 years ago!

Thank you.

Cup and Saucer with arms of Gordon quartering Badenoch and Fraser

Decorative Arts and Design

CULTURE Chinese, for the English market

MEDIUM Porcelain, underglaze, glaze, polychrome overglaze enamels and gold enamel

DATES ca.1770

DIMENSIONS cup: 2 x 3 1/4 in. (5.1 x 8.3 cm) saucer: 1 1/4 x 5 in. (3.2 x 12.7 cm)

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts and Design

ACCESSION NUMBER 55.10.115a-b

CREDIT LINE The Helena Woolworth McCann Trade Procelain Collection, Gift of the Winfield Foundation

EXHIBITIONS

Infinite Blue

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.