The beautiful and delicate porcelains of China and Japan were taken to Europe after the opening of trade with Asia. They created such an intense fashion for fine porcelain with the ruling classes that it was called a "china mania." Kings vied with each other in attempts to discover the secret of true porcelain jealously guarded by the Asians. The nobility were no longer satisfied with vessels of opaque earthenware, and even gold and silver …showed first 75 words of 1323 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1323 total…biscuit, or unglazed porcelain, for figure modeling. Productions in Parian ware, however, have little artistic merit. Modern European pottery and porcelain is no longer a handcraft, except for some very expensive one-of-a-kind pieces. Nevertheless it has maintained a high standard of quality. The fine porcelains of the Copenhagen factories and the Belleek factory in Northern Ireland are especially noteworthy. Belleek ware is eggshell thin, with a highly translucent body and a soft, ivory-colored lustrous glaze.