Bone China

bone china, hybrid hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash. The initial development of bone china is attributed to Josiah Spode the Second, who introduced it around 1800. His basic formula of six parts bone ash, four parts china stone, and three and a half parts china clay remains the standard English body. Although hard porcelain is strong, it chips fairly easily and, unless specially treated, is usually tinged with blue or gray. Somewhat easier to manufacture, bone china is strong, does not chip easily, and has an ivory-white appearance.

Shortly after its introduction, the formula for bone china was being utilized by Spode’s competitors—Minton, Coalport, Davenport, Derby, Worcester, and the Herculaneum factory at Liverpool. Later entrants in the field were New Hall in 1810, Wedgwood in 1812, and Rockingham in 1820. Quality, as much as form and decoration, varied from factory to factory; some tended, after about 1820, toward brilliant colour, lavish gilding, and overcrowded design; others produced tasteful, simply ornamented tableware. Since much early bone china was issued unmarked, speculative attribution has been inevitable. Bone china is most popular for table services in England and the United States.