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Genuine Porcelain Knobs
Porcelain Knobs
Porcelain is a ceramic substance, a fine hard china baked at a very high temperature, most notably associated with many styles and types of table/tea wares. The word porcelain comes to us from the Italian word "porcella" defined in Latin as "little pig". The comparison lies in the curved shape of the shiny white Venus shell and the curve of a pigs back. Porcelain is able to be worked as a clay and fired to the similarity of glass.
Porcelain is divided into two types, hard paste and soft paste. As early as 960 AD, in the lands we now know as the nations of China and Korea, a hard paste, or what is termed "true porcelain" was being manufactured. The process for making hard paste porcelain includes, but is not limited to, a composition of several ingredients: Kaolin, derived from Kaolinite, is a white clay, Silica, a white or colorless crystalline compound, used to manufacture a wide variety of materials, and Feldspar, finely ground feldspathic rock. The combination of these three are then fired to temperatures between 1200-1500 degrees Celsius. Soft paste porcelain combines clays with a variety of ingredients, also including but not limited to, small amounts of sand, gypsum soda, soapstone, and salt. These ingredients are then fired for a shorter time and at lower temperatures.
The earliest site of porcelain production can be traced back to an archaeological dig in China, where a porcelain kiln was found dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty 25-220 AD. In China the secret of porcelain remained until the mid 16th century. It was at this time that the Portuguese introduced porcelain into Europe. The Europeans continued to import the Chinese porcelain until the mid 17th century when Southern China broke out in civil wars which shut down trade until the end of the 17th century. The Europeans quest for the secret for manufacturing porcelain ended in 1708. Most of the 18th century porcelain made in England was soft paste, with some hard paste appearing in the latter 1760's.
Porcelain production in America was rare, and at best experimental until the start of Americas' own industrial revolution (1840-1900).Previous to the Civil War a few American hardware companies were manufacturing fired porcelain door knobs. Mostly in black or white and for the most part worthless. It was not until the advent of the factories and machinery involved in mass production that quality porcelain door knobs were available.
The technology and timing came together perfectly for the peak of the Victorian Era of American architecture (circa 1860's through the early 1900's). Porcelain door knobs were at the peak of their usage. Many of the styles and designs were beautiful works of art. There is a resurgence in replicating this era when door hardware, hinges, mortise locks, and door knobs were more than functional, they were a statement for a new form of architectural expression, and a country's strides at becoming an industrialized nation.
At Designer Doors, we offer a variety of styles in porcelain door knobs from Emtek hardware, which has been reproducing many of these old styles.
Also see our Emtek porcelain cabinet knobs at http://www.cabinet-knobs.net/cab-porc.htm and our Emtek porcelain wardrobe knobs at http://www.door-hardware.net/wardrobe.html
