These two dishes are examples of Xing ware (left) and Ding ware (right). Xing and Ding wares were of the earliest true porcelains made in China, and the world. The term porcelain is applied to ceramics made from a mixture of a clay called kaolin and a white stone called petuntse, which was fired at high temperatures. Porcelains differ from other ceramics in their impermeability, their whiteness and fine texture.

Xing wares like the dish on the left were very popular both domestically and abroad, and were exported as far away as North Africa during the years between 800-1000AD. Chinese porcelains later achieved great popularity in Western Europe, although it was not until the early eighteenth century that European makers accurately duplicated true porcelain.