Porcelain (3 syl.), from porcelana, “a little pig.” So called by the Portuguese traders, from its
resemblance to cowrie-shells, the shape of which is not unlike a pig's back. The Chines
earthenware being white and glossy, like the inside of the shells, suggested the application
of the name. (See Marryatt's History of Pottery and Porcelain.)

And guess what the "bottom" of the cowrie shell looks like.