Porcelain styles, and there are several modern industrial manufacturers. These exported Chinese porcelains were held in such great esteem in Europe that in English "china" became a commonly–used synonym for the Italian term "porcelain". The first mention of porcelain in Europe is in "Il Milione" by Marco Polo in XII sec. Apart from copying Chinese porcelain in "faience" (tin glazed earthenware), the soft-paste Medici porcelain in 16th-century Florence was the first real European attempt to reproduce it, with little success. Early in the 16th century, Portuguese traders returned home with samples of kaolin, which they discovered in China to be essential
Chelsea porcelain factory at least in the early period. The annual actions were partly intended for the chinamen, with some lots made up of a range of wares to provide a stock. The East India Company had been selling its cargos of East Asian porcelain at auction for some decades. Chelsea wares reached British America, but there were probably few exports to the Continent. Early English porcelain was soon being collected, especially in the late 19th century, when prices rose steadily. Over the 20th century there has been a great reversal in collectors' interests, with wares from later in the century far cheaper