White porcelain bowl with blue glaze and engraved design.

White porcelain

White porcelain is made from a pale clay of pulverized pottery stone coated in a transparent glaze. Porcelain from China’s Song dynasty is especially famous. Japanese production began in the early seventeenth century in Arita on the island of Kyushu. White porcelain is frequently used as a base for overglaze enamels (iro-e) and blue-and-white (sometsuke) ware.