Biscuit porcelain, also called bisque, is porcelain that has been fired but left unglazed, giving it a matt, slightly granular surface resembling white marble. The name comes from the French biscuit, meaning twice cooked, and the term also describes the first unglazed firing that most ceramics undergo before glazing.
As a finished material it was developed for figures and groups in the mid-eighteenth century, most famously at the French royal factory at Vincennes and later Sèvres, where modellers produced elegant biscuit figures after designs by artists such as François Boucher. Because the surface could not be retouched or hidden beneath glaze, the modelling and firing had to be flawless. In England the Derby factory produced fine biscuit figures in the later eighteenth century. The Victorian period saw the closely related Parian ware, introduced in the 1840s by makers including Copeland and Minton, used for busts and statuettes. Biscuit was also widely used for doll heads and decorative figures in the late nineteenth century. Condition is important, as the porous surface readily absorbs dirt and is difficult to clean, so collectors look for crisp detail and a clean, even finish.
