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Ⅱ. OTHER CERAMIC PRODUCTS
GENERAL
This sub-Chapter covers ceramic articles other than those of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths and refractory goods of sub-Chapter I.
For the purpose of the Nomenclature, these articles are classified according to kind (bricks, tiles, sanitary ware, etc.), and classification is not affected by the nature of the ceramics used in their manufacture or by the presence of glazing, except in the case of : (ⅰ) Ceramic tiles, flags and mosaic cubes and the like, classified in heading 69.07 when unglazed and in heading 69.08 when glazed. (ⅱ) Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, classified in heading 69.11 when of porcelain or china and in heading 69.12 if of other kinds of ceramics. (Ⅰ) PORCELAIN OR CHINA
Porcelain or china means hard porcelain, soft porcelain, biscuit porcelain (including parian) and bone china. All these ceramics are almost completely vitrified, hard, and are essentially impermeable (even if they are not glazed). They are white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness), and resonant.
Hard porcelain is made from a body composed of kaolin (or kaolinic clays), quartz, feldspar (or feldspathoids), and sometimes calcium carbonate. It is covered with a colourless transparent glaze fired at the same time as the body and thus fused together.
Soft porcelain contains less alumina but more silica and fluxes (e.g., feldspar). Bone china, which contains less alumina, contains calcium phosphate (e.g., in the form of bone ash); a translucent body is thus obtained at a lower firing temperature than with hard porcelain. The glaze is normally applied by further firing at a lower temperature, thus permitting a greater range of underglaze decoration.
Biscuit porcelain is unglazed porcelain, of which parian-ware (sometimes called Carrara porcelain) is a special, fine-grained, yellowish type containing more feldspar, and often resembling Paros marble in appearance, hence its name. (Ⅱ) OTHER CERAMIC PRODUCTS
Ceramic products other than of porcelain or china include : (A) Ceramics with a porous body which, unlike porcelain, are opaque, permeable to liquids, easily scratched with iron and whose fracture sticks to the tongue. Such ceramics include : (1) Pottery made from common ferrugineous and calcareous clay (brick earth). It has a dull earthy texture and its colour is generally brown, red or yellow. (2) A wide range of white or coloured ceramics (earthenware, majolica, delft-ware, etc.). The body is porous and must be glazed to make the articles impermeable (e.g., with transparent or opaque glazes such as white or coloured metallic oxides). Earthenware, etc., is made from finely sieved clays mixed with water. It has a fine-grained body obtained by firing to a higher temperature than in the case of pottery made from common clay; it differs from porcelain or china because it is not completely vitrified. (B) Stoneware which, though dense and hard enough to resist scratching by a steel point, differs from porcelain because it is opaque and normally only partially vitrified. Stoneware may be a vitreous (impermeable) or semi-vitreous ware. It is usually grey or brownish because of impurities contained in the clay used for its manufacture, and is normally glazed. (C) Certain so-called "semi-porcelains" or "imitation porcelains", sometimes prepared, decorated and glazed to give the commercial appearance of porcelain. Without being really opaque like earthenware, or truly translucent like porcelain, these products may be slightly translucent in the thinner parts such as the bottoms of cups. These materials can, however, be distinguished from real porcelain because their fracture is rough-grained, dull and non-vitrified. They are therefore porous beneath the glaze and the fracture clings to the tongue. Further, they are easily scratched with a steel knife, though it should be noted that certain soft chinas may also be scratched by steel. Products of these imitation "porcelains" are not considered as porcelain or china.
The sub-Chapter also includes certain goods made by shaping and firing powdered steatite, etc., generally mixed with clay (e.g., kaolins), feldspar, etc., but it should be noted that many articles of these materials are designed for electrical purposes and are therefore classified in Chapter 85. This sub-Chapter also covers articles made by firing steatite shaped by sawing.
Certain ceramic articles made of refractory materials (e.g., sintered alumina) may also fall in sub-Chapter II if not of a type designed for use as refractory goods (see Explanatory Note to heading 69.09).
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