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Parian

Parian is unglazed porcelain, developed during the 1830s specifically for producing busts and statuettes (hence its original, 'statuary porcelain'). The name 'Parian' comes from Paros, a Greek island renowned for its fine-textured marble.

It was the similarity between marble and Parian which was responsible for the latter's considerable popularity in the 19th century. Copeland & Garret Ltd are said to be the first to introduce Parian (1842) and displayed the ware at the 1851 Great Exhibition. However, Minton's were the first company to fully master the process, overcoming the problems of distortion which happened during firing. By subjecting the ware to higher temperatures and by polishing between successive firing, a body of great fineness could be attained.

The main constituent of the body was feldspar in combination with China clay. A typical body recipe would be: feldspar 60%, China Clay 30%, plastic clay 10%. Some mixes had nearly 70% feldspar content with no plastic clay at all. The presence of plastic clays sometimes produced unwanted colorations in the body, but leaving them out meant that higher firing temperatures were needed.

A wax or alabaster model was made which was cut into sections suitable for producing moulds. The figures were cast in parts and the seams between pieces were fettled. Items were fired at around 1100 C for 60-70 hours. After cooling, the ware was rubbed down and all seams were removed. The items were packed in sand and refired.

Some Parian pieces are marked 'Cheverton Sc.', They were produced as a reduction for a original by a mechanical device invented by Samuel Cheverton in 1844. Initially Parian was intended as a white unglazed marble like ceramic. However, later in the century the body was sometimes coloured by additions of copper sulphate (green/grey), cobalt chloride (blue), nickel sulphate (grey/yellow) and iron (yellow/ivory).

Significant manufacturers of Parian were Copeland and Garret, Minton, Coalport, Goss, Wedgwood, Worcester, Robinson and Leadbeater, Belleek (still producing). Towards the end of the century interest in Parian begin to decline. By this time the market had been flooded by cheap and poor quality ware produced by countless small firms.