Igne refutata: Thermal Analysis in the Laboratory Practices of John Dwight and Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus

Abstract

The creation of European porcelain was long speculated to have originated from the flow of information from Chinese and Japanese sources; however, no substantive evidence of direct knowledge transfer has been discovered. This paper endeavors to shift the focus from an externally driven developmental process and relocate the principal method of innovation within the experimental framework established by early modern chymistry. Evidence for the use of thermal experimentation will be considered as a foundational element toward a chymical solution to the problem of porcelain production. Excavated material from the workshop of the seventeenth century English arcanist John Dwight and the published experiments of the seventeenth century Silesian natural philosopher Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus will provide the basis for this examination. This material, along with the thermal elements unique to the successful Meissen porcelains will be used to frame the initial comparisons of the technological differences between the European and Far Eastern productions, and serve to pose further questions regarding the impact of experimental techniques and limitations on European porcelain arcanistry.