When Europeans started to imitate Chinese porcelain in the 15th century, they were not entirely successful. They combined clay and glass, or various ingredients used to make glass, and created a thin translucent ware that looked like true porcelain. What they had managed to create, however, was what is called soft-paste porcelain.
Soft-paste porcelain has a glaze that is thicker and more transparent than that of true porcelain, and the product is also thicker and more brittle. It also scratches more easily.
Meissen china, Europe’s answer to the fine porcelains from the East, combined the research of alchemist J.P. Böttger and artist Johann G. Horoldt with the work of modeler Johann Kändler.
It soon became evident that Augustus II wanted more than pretty colors—he wanted porcelain with a plastic, or modeled quality.
