Porcelain in China: Ideal Combination of Raw Materials and Ingenuity

Starting from the enthusiastic description of porcelain that Marco Polo gives in the Devisement dou Monde, this paper explores the invention and development of porcelain in China from a technological point of view, underlining the differences between the northern and southern approach. It continues focusing on Yuan dynasty production and what kind of porcelain Marco Polo may have seen with specific reference to the so-called ‘Marco Polo’s jar’ in the Treasure of the Saint Mark’s Basilica.