Porcelain by Edward Dillon is a fascinating look at the delicate art of crafting porcelain. This all-encompassing nonfiction book includes porcelain from a variety of countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. Contents: "Introductory and Scientific Chapter II. The Materials: Mixing, Fashioning, and Firing Chapter III. Glazes Chapter IV. Decoration using Colour Chapter V. The Porcelain of China. Introductory—Classification—The Sung Dynasty—The Mongol or Yuan Dynasty Chapter VI. The Porcelain of China (continued). The Ming Dynasty Chapter VII. The Porcelain of China (continued). The Manchu or Tsing Dynasty Chapter VIII. The Porcelain of China (continued). Marks."

While imported Chinese porcelain had become a valuable commodity in Europe in the seventeenth century, local attempts to produce porcelain long remained unsuccessful. At last the secret of hard-paste porcelain was uncovered, and in 1710 the first European porcelain was manufactured in Saxony. Meissen porcelain, still manufactured today, soon ranked in value with silver and gold. This thorough and lavishly illustrated volume explores the early years of Meissen porcelain and how the princes of Saxony came to use highly prized porcelain pieces as diplomatic gifts for presentation to foreign courts. An eminent team of international contributors examines the trade of Meissen with other nations, from England to Russia. They also investigate the cultural ambience of the Dresden Court, varying tastes of the markets, the wide range of porcelain objects, and their designers and makers. Individual chapters are devoted to gifts to Denmark, other German courts, the Holy Roman Empire, Italy, France, and other nations. For every Meissen collector or enthusiast, this book will be not only a treasured handbook but also a source of visual delight.