What is Bone China?

Bone china is composed of feldspathic material, kaolin, and bone ash. It is a type of porcelain, and usually has a translucent body that contains at least 30% phosphate that is taken from animal bone and/or calculated calcium phosphate. Bone china was originally developed by Josiah Spode, an English potter. It is known for being extremely white, and for being more translucent than other types of china. It also has a high chip resistance and mechanical strength.

Bone china first began development in 1748, though it was not until around 1793 that it really took off as a success. The very first bone china products were made using up to 45% bone ash, and it was originally called “fine porcelain”. This type of porcelain definitely rivaled the quality of porcelain that was being imported from China and Europe, but the factory that made it, which was located near Bow in East London, was not a commercial success with the formula.

It was Josiah Spode in Stoke who finalized the formula to make it the commercial success that it has become today. He abandoned the previous procedure of calcining bones and raw animal body materials, and just used the bone instead. His formula included 6 parts bone ash, 3.5 parts china clay, and 4 parts china stone. This was the formula that made bone china a success, and it is much like the formula that is used to this day. In fact, the company continued business until 2009 before going into receivership and, eventually, it was purchased by a company called Portmeirion.

Bone china is a very strong, attractive type of china that is very popular for use nowadays. A lot of people use their bone china dinnerware sets for special occasions, and some people even collect bone china pieces as a hobby.

Additional detail on bone china can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_china.