Denby Pottery
Denby Stoneware and Denby Ware
Denby Stoneware was a more common term used to describe the early bottles and jars produced by the Denby factory. There is a distinct difference between Earthenware and Stoneware. Earthenware is a low-fired clay and stoneware is a high-fired clay. Earthenware is a white and porous clay that is fired at a low temperature (about 1915 °F). (Earthenware is usually called "ceramics" or "ceramic ware".) It is then decorated, glazed with a clear coat and fired. Stoneware is a stronger clay that is fired to a high temperature (about 2185 °F) and becomes vitreous. It can then be left undecorated or decorated with coloured glazes with an optional clear glaze coating and re-fired.
Stoneware is a clay that when fired to maturity becomes a sturdy, chip resistant material suitable for using in cooking, baking, storing liquids, as serving dishes and to use in the garden. These pieces are meant to be used due to their durability.
How can you tell the difference between stoneware and earthenware? look for the following 3 points
1. Pick up your piece and feel the weight. If it feels pretty dense for its size, that's a good sign that it's stoneware.
2. Look at the bottom. Is it uncoated, undecorated or unglazed on the bottom? Can you see the ware? If you can see it and it is a buff colour or darker with a texture, then it is most likely stoneware.
3. Stoneware has the "look" of hand made pottery; it has a texture to it, where earthenware does not. If you have a piece that has a chip in it, take a look at the chipped part. Is it very white and chalky looking? Can you scrape off more of the piece with your fingernail? If you can, then it is probably earthenware. Earthenware, when fired, has a white, chalky look. Stoneware, when fired, has a darker, textured look.
Denbyware
Where does the term Denbyware come from? is it just an easy way around the confusion of knowing the difference between the various clays. If you are not sure if its Denby Stoneware or Denby Pottery why not just call it Denby ware. Certainly today the term Denbyware is probably a widely used generic term but originally it wasn't Denbyware but 'Danes by Ware' This was the generic name given by Denby Pottery to all its decorative and giftware ranges in the 1920s. This phrase was soon corrupted to Denbyware.
Denby China
Denby China is another confusing term. In the UK we often refer to our
tableware as China when in fact it has none of the qualities which would
make it porcelain and it is infarct more accurately stoneware or pottery.
It has become a generic term for good quality tableware in the same way
as in the USA Denby Pottery may be refereed to as Denby
Crockery. Denby crockery though still can cause confusion as the
literal definition actually refers to earthenware. So what makes China
"China?"
China and Pottery are Ceramics. If we narrow the definition then we find
that China and Pottery, although related under the same Ceramic umbrella,
are in fact quite different. Pottery is
a form of ceramics technology, where wet clays are shaped and then dried
or fired to harden them. The term is generally used only for relatively
easily constructed utensils such as pots, cups, bowls, etc.for example
Denby dishes in the
Denby Dinnerware or Denby Tableware collections.
Porcelain is the more correct term for China
and is a specific kind of pottery, made of kaolin and feldspar, producing
a hard white pottery when fired at high temperatures. It is also called
China, because the first porcelain was imported
to Europe from there by the Dutch in the 17th Century. European porcelain
was invented by Mr. Better in the employ of the Elector of Saxony in 1710
at Meissen on the Elbe River. The Meissen factory is the oldest in Europe
and continues to make lots of porcelain. The key difference between Pottery
and Porcelain, or China, is that porcelain is translucent when held up
to a light. pottery is not.
This is perfectly illustrated by the new elegant Denby China
launched in 2005 which embodies all the qualities that make
porcelain the top drawer of the Tableware market.
To view the Denby
China collection please use the link below
Denby
China
So does it matter if we get it wrong? Simply No, a good retailer should be able to work out your needs whether you ask for Denby Stoneware, Denby Pottery, Denby China, Denby Crockery or just Denby Dishes. Of course it is all made easier as Denby thoughtfully gives all its wares a name and therefore everything is so much easier to identify. Just bear in mind though that if you ask for Denby China you will be directed to the new China Range.