"In a series of intertwined narratives, Porcelain Stories explores porcelain's beginnings in China around A.D. 600, then follows its diverse developments as a new and fashionable commodity within China and throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The book recounts the ingenious achievements of Chinese porcelain and its worldwide impact through trade, where in the West, it spurred a mania for collecting and an urgent quest seeking the formula...