| Abstract: | UPON his return home from a trade mission to China in 851, an Arabian merchant described to a captivated audience a wondrous article he had seen during his travels. It was an exquisite vase, one so transparent you could see the water it con- tained inside. But the vase, the merchant enthused, a piece of porcelain, "was made from opaque clay." Impressed by the craft, Middle-Eastern merchants soon began to import large quantities of the high-end Chinese handicraft. A flourishing trade in porcelain, silk and t... |
