Klein, Ursula (Author)
Osiris: A Research Journal Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Volume: 29, no. 1
Issue: 1
Pages: 262-282
Edition Details: Title of volume: “Chemical Knowledge in the Early Modern World”
Language: English
Eighteenth-century chemists defined chemistry as both a “science and an art.” By “chemical art” they meant not merely experimentation but also parts of certain arts and crafts. This raises the question of how to identify the “chemical parts” of the arts and crafts in eighteenth-century Europe. In this essay I tackle this question with respect to porcelain manufacture. My essay begins with a brief discussion of historiographical problems related to this question. It then analyzes practices involved in porcelain manufacture that can be reasonably identified as chemical practices or a chemical art. My analysis yields evidence for the argument that chemical experts and expertise fulfilled distinct technical functions in porcelain manufacture and, by extension, in eighteenth-century “big industry,” along with its system of division of labor.
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