Porcelain, Bone China, Limoges and Faience: A Dinnerware Guide

Porcelain, bone china, Limoges, faience – the words get used interchangeably on dinnerware labels, but they describe different materials, made in different ways, that look, feel and wear differently at the table. This guide explains what each one is, how it is made, what color white to expect, how durable it is and how to care for it, with examples from the makers we carry.

A quick word on "paste." In ceramics, the paste (French pâte) is simply the clay body – the mixture a piece is made from, before glaze and decoration. So "hard-paste" and "soft-paste" are two kinds of porcelain body, not separate products. Limoges and Herend are both hard-paste porcelain; the name tells you where it was made, not a different material.

At a Glance: Dinnerware Materials Compared

Hard-Paste Porcelain: True Porcelain

Hard-paste porcelain is what most people mean by "fine porcelain." It is made from kaolin – a pure white clay – with feldspar and quartz, and fired at about 1400 °C (roughly 2550 °F). At that heat the body vitrifies: it fuses into a dense, glass-like material that is non-porous, rings when tapped and lets light through when held to a window. The Chinese were making it by the 7th or 8th century; in Europe the secret was rediscovered at Meissen in 1708.

• White: bright and slightly cool, which makes painted color look clean and saturated.
• Durability: dense and non-porous. It handles hot liquids better than soft-paste and resists chipping well for its thinness.
• How it is made: the paste is mixed, formed (thrown, pressed or slip-cast), dried, given a first lower "biscuit" firing, dipped in glaze, then fired again at full temperature. Decoration and gold are added afterward, each with its own lower firing.

What Herend Is

Herend is hard-paste porcelain, made since 1826 in the village of Herend, near Veszprém in Hungary, and hand-painted and gilded there. It is not bone china. The white body is fired first, then painters apply the decoration by brush, one piece at a time – which is why no two Herend pieces are quite identical. Our Herend porcelain guide tells the full story, or shop Herend dinnerware, Rothschild Bird and Golden Edge.

What Limoges Porcelain Is

Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain made around Limoges, in central France. Kaolin was found at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, just south of the city, in 1768, and porcelain production began there in 1771. Haviland was founded in 1842 to make porcelain for the American market, and Bernardaud in 1863. Today "Limoges porcelain" is a protected geographical indication: a piece must be made and decorated entirely within the Haute-Vienne department to carry the name.

The classic Limoges recipe is about half kaolin, with quartz and feldspar. After a first firing at around 980 °C the piece is glazed and fired at about 1400 °C, where it shrinks by roughly 14% and becomes white, translucent and waterproof. Shop Bernardaud and Haviland, or start with white patterns such as Bernardaud Origine, Ecume and Haviland Infini White.

Bone China

Bone china is an English invention. Josiah Spode perfected it in Stoke-on-Trent between 1789 and 1793, and by about 1815 every major English factory made it. The body is traditionally about half bone ash, with kaolin and china stone, and is fired at about 1200 °C – lower than hard-paste porcelain.

• White: very white and the most translucent of all – hold a plate to the light and you can see your fingers through it.
• Durability: despite its delicate look it is among the strongest dinnerware materials, which is why it can be made so thin and light.
• How it is made: the bone ash is calcined (heated) first, mixed into the clay body, formed and fired, then glazed and fired again.

Browse fine bone china and William Yeoward bone china.

Soft-Paste Porcelain

Soft-paste porcelain (pâte tendre in French) was Europe's first attempt to imitate Chinese porcelain before the kaolin secret was known. Potters mixed clay with ground glass and other fluxes and fired it at a lower temperature – about 1100 to 1250 °C. The first successful pieces were made in Florence for the Medici between 1575 and 1587; later came Saint-Cloud, Vincennes and Sèvres in France and Chelsea, Bow and Derby in England.

• White: a warm, ivory tone rather than a bright white – and it takes painted color beautifully.
• Durability: softer than hard-paste, so it scratches more easily, and it could crack when boiling water hit a cold cup. Today you will mostly meet it in antiques and museum pieces rather than on the dinner table.

Faience: Tin-Glazed Earthenware

Faience takes its name from Faenza, in Italy. It is earthenware – a porous red or buff clay – covered in a thick white glaze made opaque with tin oxide, which gives a perfect painting surface. France has made it since the 1500s. Gien, on the Loire, has made faience since 1821.

At Gien the clay body is made from sand, clay and kaolin to the house recipe. Each piece is shaped, given a first "biscuit" firing at 1145 °C, finished by hand, glazed and fired again at 1045 °C, then decorated – by hand-painting or printed transfers – and fired a third time at 1045 °C.

• White: a soft, opaque white glaze over the colored clay; the glaze, not the body, gives the white.
• Durability: heavier and thicker than porcelain, with a softer body – if the glaze chips, the clay shows. Faience dislikes sudden temperature changes.
• Character: warm, generous and painterly – ideal for country and everyday tables.

Shop Gien tableware, including Millefleurs, Pont aux Choux White and the Filet colors.

Stoneware, in Brief

Stoneware is fired hotter than earthenware, so it is dense and sturdy, but it is usually heavier and opaque. It is a popular casual material; for a formal or heirloom table, porcelain or bone china are the usual choices.

Caring for Each Type

• Gold and platinum rims – any material: never in the microwave. Hand washing keeps precious metal bright longest.
• Hard-paste porcelain: plain white pieces such as Bernardaud Origine are dishwasher- and microwave-safe. For hand-painted Herend, Herend recommends hand washing in mild detergent; if you use the dishwasher, don't overload the rack, choose a lower temperature and avoid lemon-scented detergents and abrasive powders.
• Bone china: follow each maker's label – many modern bone china patterns are dishwasher-safe.
• Faience: Gien allows the dishwasher on a low-temperature program, but strongly discourages the microwave because of the risk of thermal shock. Don't soak faience, and don't wash a cold plate straight from the refrigerator in hot water.
• Storing: place felt or padded dividers between stacked plates to protect the glaze.

Setting the table? See how to set a table, or our crystal guide for glassware.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Limoges porcelain or bone china?

Limoges is hard-paste porcelain. The name means it was made and decorated in the Limoges area of France.

Is Herend porcelain or bone china?

Herend is hard-paste porcelain, hand-painted in Herend, Hungary, since 1826.

Which is stronger, bone china or porcelain?

Both are strong. Bone china is among the strongest dinnerware materials for its thinness; hard-paste porcelain is denser and harder. Both resist chipping better than faience.

What is faience?

Faience is earthenware coated with an opaque white tin glaze, named after Faenza in Italy. It is heavier and more casual than porcelain; Gien has made it in France since 1821.

Can porcelain go in the dishwasher?

Plain white porcelain usually can – Bernardaud Origine is dishwasher-safe. Hand-painted pieces and anything with gold or platinum last longest washed by hand, and metal rims must never go in the microwave.