Porcelain (Ancient Chinese) (from the Portuguese porcellana, little pigs; a name given to cowrie-shells by the early traders, and applied to porcelain, which they thought was made of them, or because it resembled the interior of a shell). A fine species of transparent earthenware, the chief component part of which is silex. (Fairholt.) The most ancient examples of porcelain in China are circular dishes with upright sides, very thick, strong, and heavy, and which invariably have the marks of one, two, or three on the bottom thus: I. II. III. The colours of these rare specimens vary. The kinds most highly prized have a brownish-yellow ground, over which is thrown a light shot sky-blue, with here and there a dash of blood-red. The Chinese say there are but a few of these specimens in the country, and that they are more than a thousand years old. (Fortune.) The first imitations of Chinese porcelain in Europe date from the 16th century, under the Medici family, and include specimens supposed to have been designed by the immediate pupils of Raffaelle. (See Raffaelle-ware.) Among the next earliest produced is that of Fulham, by Dr. Dwight, in 1671, and of St. Cloud in France about 1695.
Fig. 554. Pent-house Porch.
Porch, Arch. A structure placed in front of the door of a church or other building, and very variable in form. In the ancient basilicas the vestibule is more commonly called Narthex (q.v.). Fig. [554] shows a wooden porch also called a pent-house porch, and Fig. [555] a plan of what is called a cupola porch, from the fact that, its ground being circular, it is surmounted by a dome.
Fig. 555. Ground-plan of a Cupola Porch.
Fig. 556. Porcupine. Device of Louis XII.
Porcupine (Fr. porc epic). Hereditary device of the Valois family. The “Order of the Porcupine” was instituted in 1397 by Louis, Duke of Orleans, and abolished by Louis XII., who retained the badge (Fig. [556]), and had his cannon marked with a porcupine. In numismatics his golden “écus au porc epic” are rare and highly valued.
Porcupine-wood. The ornamental wood of a palm, the markings of which in the horizontal section resemble porcupine quills.