Hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash.
It was developed by Josiah Spode (17541827) in England 0441; 1800. The addition of bone ash to china stone and china clay (i.e., hard china) made bone china easier to manufacture; it is stronger, does not chip easily, and has an ivory-white colour that lends itself to decoration. Other factories (Minton, Derby, Worcester, Wedgwood , Rockingham) adopted the formula in the early 19th century. Bone china remains popular for tableware in Britain and the U.S. See also stoneware .
Wedgwood bone china plate, Staffordshire, 181520; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
By courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photograph, EB Inc.