Biscuit porcelain

Bisque bust of 1883, representing the young John the Baptist

Capodimonte porcelain figure, c. 1790

Bisque porcelain, biscuit porcelain or bisque is a type of unglazed, white porcelain, with a matte appearance and texture to the touch. It has been widely used in European pottery, mainly for sculptural and decorative objects that are not tableware and so do not need a glaze for protection.

The term "biscuit" refers to any type of fired but unglazed pottery in the course of manufacture, but only in porcelain is it a term for a final product (unglazed earthenware as a final product often being called terracotta). Many types of pottery have a glaze applied at the biscuit stage, and a further firing.

Small figurines and other decorative pieces have often been made in bisque, as well as larger portrait busts and other sculptures; the appearance of bisque is very similar to that of carved and smoothed marble, the traditional prestige material for sculpture in the West. It is hardly used in Chinese porcelain or that of other East Asian countries, but in Europe became very popular for figures in the second half of the 18th century, as Neoclassicism dominated contemporary styles.

A popular use for bisque porcelain was the manufacture of bisque dolls in the 19th century, where the bisque was typically tinted or painted in flesh tones. Parian ware is a 19th-century type of bisque.