Biscuit porcelain, bisque porcelain or bisque is unglazed, white porcelain treated as a final product, 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 is often called terracotta, and in stoneware equivalent unglazed wares are often called "dry-bodied". Many types of pottery, including most porcelain wares, have a glaze applied, either before a single firing, or at the biscuit stage, with a further firing.
Small figurines and other decorative pieces have often been made in biscuit, as well as larger portrait busts and other sculptures; the appearance of biscuit is very similar to that of carved and smoothed marble, the traditional prestige material for sculpture in the West.