Americans and foreigners alike will drop a bundle wandering through the streets of Beijing and Shanghai paying high prices for both truly exquisite Chinese collectibles that have a genuinely accrued value and for more recently made items that are worth no more than the quality of the materials that went into them and the artistry with which they have auto insurance specialists used. Americans will especially be tempted by the masterpieces in ivory which our government forbids us to import into the United States (we watch enviously as the Germans, Idaho Lemon Laws and English select items we'd have wanted to buy for ourselves).

Whether we call one of our search items "china", "porcelain ceramics", "bone china", accident at work compensation claim in Europe by such names as Delftware, Royal Doulton or any one of many famous names, china in all its manifestations is coveted all over the world. The simplest reason of all for the high value of great china is that it beats paper plates every time. Whether you're talking about China, Japan, Europe, the United States, South America, or just about any area on earth, porcelain art is always in demand.

Evolving first from a need for some sort of vessel to hold liquids, ceramics - the name given by Europeans to hard china - is synonymous with porcelains, sometimes called the "Queen of the Clays." In other words what is done with clay has a lot to do with the production of ceramics/porcelains. Kaolin, feldspar, and quartz provide raw materials.

China has been with us a long time, originating possibly with cave dwellers who made clay vessels in Turkey around 7000 BC. A century or so later painted pottery began to appear in Persia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia; Egyptian potters began to make pots for liquids by putting them in ovens in 5000 BC. The vertical kiln came along about a thousand years later, making it easier to control the temperature and to produce something resembling a usable pot.

The famous potter's wheel appeared around 3000 BC, about the same time that potters learned about firing and glazing their wares. The Egyptians were fully capable of making a fantastic turquoise-blue glaze by 1900 BC and, in quick succession, glazes in yellow, purple, green, red, and black.

Cyprus was the next center of accident compensation claim in the history of china. The then Cypriots learned how to make hand-formed, highly ornamented pieces that were almost as hard as metal between 1600 BC and 1050 BC. And China itself made fine stoneware with properties similar to today's, albeit gray in color. It is known as proto-porcelain.

Along with the gold and jewels they brought back from their Egyptian invasions, the Romans also took artisans as slaves to produce pottery for them. By 100 AD these artisans were producing green and yellow-glazed ware in what is now France and northern Italy; by 200 AD glazed-ware had reached the Rhineland.

Somewhere in that time frame "archanists" entered upon the scene. An archanist is a person who is said to possess a secret; factories or governments involved in making pottery wanted their own archanists. An archanist was charged with making pottery better than the competition and with leading his factory to primacy in pottery making.

Meanwhile, back in China, around 500 AD, tea was planted around Nanking by a man named Tamo. What matters is not the man's name but the crop he planted - tea created a demand for tea pots - hard, fine glazed china - and during the Tang Dynasty (518 AD) the Chinese began making hard porcelain. Their archanists were so good at keeping secrets that the Chinese remained the masters and sole producers of hard porcelain in the world, which explains why "hard porcelain" and "china" are synonymous.

Although Japanese potters went to China to try to learn the art, it would be another 400 years before Japan produced hard porcelain. Soon others began to produce hard porcelain - Spain, Italy, other countries in Europe - each competing to find different clays and unique ways to glaze objects, to fire them, and to produce beautiful pieces.

Chinese politics were so complex and governments so fragile that the imperial factory for porcelains wasn't put back into working order until 1681 but by 1865 the era of china in China was over. Today, however, the art of china production in China has been restored with the aid of artist/teachers from the U.S. who have trained Chinese painters in their nearly lost native art.

The art of making china in Europe has been disrupted on occasion in one country or another but has never been entirely curtailed for very long. European ruling families throughout the centuries wanted to own the best and their sponsored factories still bear their names (e.g., Royal Doulton, Royal Delft). Decoration associated with a particular factory has also achieved fame in the world of porcelain - e.g., Meissen and Dresden. Delftware, produced by the Dutch, has been with us since the 1400's.

Factories backed by kings, ruling families, or wealthy merchants have become famous and, believe it or not, have been fought over as "spoils of war." The famous Italian brand Capodimonte is one of these.

Over the past 150 years decorative porcelain has become Oklahoma Lemon Laws more accessible to people other than the very wealthy. Pieces from companies like Capodimonte have become collectors items all over the world. Capodimonte floral and fruit centerpieces, floral petals, lamps, figurines and a multiplicity of other porcelain pieces are collected and handed down from generation to generation.

Other factories, once sponsored by noble or private interests, include such luminous names as Limoges, Rosenthal, Heuthenruter, and Pirkenhammer.

At the Global Connoisseur (www.theglobalconnoisseur.com) we take great pride in offering a lovely and wide range of Capodimonte porcelains. Anyone who has seen the delicacy of their floral petals, the almost edible quality of their fruit baskets, not to mention the almost aromatic Capodimonte floral displays will want them as adornments in their own homes or as gifts to specials friends. Capodimonte spaghetti lamps are so-called because of the fine strands that compose their shades.

China (as "china" with a lower-case "c"}has circled the globe and brought great beauty to our homes as porcelain creations of inspired artisans. Whether Capodimonte or any of the other great names in porcelain, we are the richer for their accessibility in enriching our lives. Travelers to China that year and fans of the great quadrennial Olympic games cannot be expected to avoid shopping in the wonderful shops they will happen upon as they walk the streets of the great cities. They will be well advised to do their homework on the Internet before they leave the U.S. to see the kinds of prices available right here at home on items they might desire for their homes. that is strictly a gratuitous advisory on our part: we at www.theglobalconnoisseur.com carry beautiful and genuine porcelain and crystal collectibles but we sell nothing from China. We simply laud the china (with a small "c") that we offer most proudly in various forms.

You will find numerous splendid examples of Capodimonte, Cevik Glass and Crytal, magnificent Romanian stemware and glass, and original paintings, watercolors, jewelry pins, handpainted ceramic boxes, and handpainted vases from our Laura Mostaghel Collection as shown on the pages of theglobalconnoisseur.comtheglobalconnoisseur.com that online site for those seeking the best in high-end collectibles is owned by Robert D. Forst, Ph.D. and his wife Nhora. Robert and Nhora are avid art, opera, and classical music enthusiasts who have lived all over the world always seeking to acquire a cultivated taste in art, crystal, and paintings that is reflected in their e-commerce store. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and expertise as a contributing editor at www.theglobalconnoisseur.comwww.theglobalconnoisseur.com Potential purchases will also find a fund of information information concerning original oil paintings and watercolors, Romanian Crystal, Limited Edition Romanian Vases, one-of-a-kind hand-painted ceramic vases and boxes, and a great deal more. He and co-owner/spouse, Nhora Lucia, research the Internet in a conscientous effort to offer the lowest prices available for the stock offered in their catalog. Our special connection with the world-famous painter, Laura Mostaghel, allows us to offer her entire catalog at the same prices as those found at her Florida studio.