I kept seeking out white porcelain in museums all over the world, especially early white Meissen cups like this one. I felt that I couldn\u2019t write my new book \u2013 a sort of autobiography about how white has remained a constant in my life \u2013 without having this cup in my hand, so I bought one in Bonhams<\/a>. It\u2019s now on a shelf with all the other porcelain I have collected on my travels.<\/p>\n The development of porcelain in the west is one of the great stories of discovery. No one knew how to make it, so all porcelain came from Japan or China<\/a>. But at the start of the 18th century in Dresden, a great ruler called Augustus the Strong was an obsessive collector<\/a> and kept an alchemist and a philosopher locked in a castle for\u00a010 years until they found a formula for making porcelain.<\/p>\n I started making pots when I was very young. My first was a white bowl when I was five. I suppose it\u2019s quite odd to know so early what you want to do in life, although often you meet people who have always had music in their life. It just happened to be pots for me.<\/p>\n Tactility is hugely important to me. I like to know how something feels. The Meissen teacup is extraordinary because it weighs nothing. Next to it on the shelf is an early piece of English porcelain by William Cookworthy that weighs a ton.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t collect in the sense of accumulating a collection but I do get things I feel I need. All the objects on my shelf I\u2019ve bought because I\u2019ve felt I needed to have a Meissen piece or a Chinese item. The thing about having objects near you is that they keep you in focus.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2016\/07\/2-d1444f0.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C411"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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