Bow Porcelain Research Topics 21...
21) W. R. H. RAMSAY AND E. G. RAMSAY, 2019. Fallacies in Western decorative arts ceramic studies
Abstract of Lecture given to the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts Conference, Kingston, Ontario, September 28th, 2019
The most significant claim in Western ceramic arts has been the pre-eminence afforded Meissen both technologically and artistically. The Meissen Porcelain Manufactory has been awarded the role model as having been the first in the West to have produced a high-fired porcelain body in the manner of the Chinese by around 1708.
With the recent chemical analyses, both body and glaze of the Burghley House jars known to have been in existence prior to 1683, the belief as to the primacy of Meissen needs to be re-assessed. Based on the chemical composition of the Burghley House jars, historical accounts, and the patent application by John Dwight of 1672 it appears that on the balance of probability, Dwight was the author of these jars dating to around 35 years prior to Meissen.
A discussion is provided as to the significance of both body and glaze types found on the Burghley House jars, why John Dwight should be regarded as the father of the high-fired, refractory porcelain body (in fact several porcelain bodies using a variety of clay types), and the first to attempt a Si-Al-Ca glaze in the West.