Porcelain

Porcelain has been in use for over 4000 years in China. It is made from special white clay and fired at a temperature of 1280 degrees C. There are a couple different ways in which these items are decorated. The most common today is molded, decorated and glazed. Others are molding, enameled,than re-fired. The third type is underglaze in blue and red. The Chinese have always been extremely proficient at porcelain work and have produced numerous pieces that look like coral, glass, stone and many other materials.

Paper Craft

Papercut is an art form originally created in China. Around the first century AD, the Chinese invented the most flexible, versatile and adaptable of materials --paper. The first papercut can be traced back to the period known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-581 AD). In the T'ang Dynasty (618-906 AD), papercuts are the subject of a poem by the poet Ts'ui Tao-yung and from other sources of this period. They are described as being used to decorate plants and worn by ladies in their hair in the form of butterflies and flowers.