red stoneware

Red stoneware is a type of pottery fired at high temperatures (around 1,200° C or 2,200° F) until it becomes vitrified, meaning it is glass-like and impermeable to liquids. While often opaque, some stoneware can be thin enough to be somewhat translucent. Glazes are not necessary for stoneware due to its nonporous nature, but when used, they are primarily decorative.12

Stoneware originated in China around 1400 BCE. Red stoneware, in particular, was produced in Yixing, China, and later imitated in Germany, the Netherlands, and England in the 17th century. European potters like E.W. von Tschirnhaus and J.F. Böttger in Germany developed red stoneware around 1707, while in England, John Dwight and the Elers brothers also worked with this material. Josiah Wedgwood continued to produce red stoneware, which he called rosso antico, in the 18th century.12