De Ferranti Glossary: "Bisque (pottery)"

Glossary: B

Bisque (pottery)
Bisque, also biscuit, is a fired piece of unglazed ceramic ware. Depending on the technique and materials used, it is either the final article, such as dolls' heads, or an intermediary stage before the article has a coating of glaze applied and is then fired again.

A bisque firing is generally to 1000°C. The firing of the greenware that results in the bisque article causes permanent chemical and physical changes to occur. These result in a much harder and more resilient article which is still porous and able to absorb glaze. The firing process is slow as any moisture retained in the wares needs to be dried off slowly to avoid cracking.