faience

thumb|right|Modern bowl in a traditional pattern, made in Faenza, Italy, which gave its name to the type thumb|Sophisticated Rococo [[Niderviller faience, by a French factory that also made porcelain, 1760–65]]

Faience or faïence (, ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major advance in the history of pottery. The invention seems to have been made in Iran or the Middle East before the ninth century. A kiln capable of producing temperatures exceeding was required to achieve this result, after millennia of refined pottery-making traditions. The term is now used for a wide variety of pottery from several parts of the world, including many types of European painted wares, often produced as cheaper versions of porcelain styles.