Bone china - wikipedia Bone china Staffordshire bone china covered chocolate cup, with enamels and gilding, c. 1815 -- 20, Victoria and Albert Museum Bone china is a type of soft - paste porcelain that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. It has been defined as ware with a translucent body containing a minimum of 30 % of phosphate derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phosphate. Bone china is the strongest of the porcelain or china ceramics, having very high mechanical strength and chip resistance, and is known for its high levels of whiteness and translucency. Its high strength allows it to be produced in thinner cross-sections than other types of porcelain. Like stoneware it is vitrified, but is translucent due to differing mineral properties. The first commercially widespread bone china was developed by the English potter Josiah Spode in the early 1790s. From its initial development and up to the latter part of the 20th century, bone china was almost exclusively an English product, with production being effectively localised in Stoke - on - Trent. Most major English firms made or still make it, including Fortnum & Mason, Mintons, Coalport, Spode, Royal Crown Derby, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood and Worcester. In the UK, references to `` china '' or `` porcelain '' can refer to bone china, and `` English porcelain '' has been used as a term for it, both in the UK and around the world. Contents 1 History 2 Production 3 Production locations 4 Cultural issues 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History The first development of what would become known as bone china was made by Thomas Frye at his Bow porcelain factory near Bow in East London in 1748. His factory was located very close to the cattle markets and slaughterhouses of Essex, and hence easy access to animal bones. Frye used up to 45 % bone ash in his formulation to create what he called `` fine porcelain ''. Although in quality it rivalled porcelain imported from Europe and China the factory was not a commercial success. Plate from Ronald Reagan 's state service for the White House, by Lenox Later, Josiah Spode in Stoke - on - Trent further developed the concept between 1789 and 1793, introducing his `` Stoke China '' in 1796, the year before his sudden death ; his son Josiah II quickly rechristened the ware `` Bone china ''. Among his developments was to abandon Frye 's procedure of calcining the bone together with some of the other body raw materials, instead calcining just the bone. Bone china quickly proved to be highly popular, leading to its production by other English pottery manufacturers. Both Spode 's formulation and his business were successful : his formulation of 6 parts bone ash, 4 parts china stone and 3.5 parts china clay, remains the basis for all bone china, and it was only in 2009 that his company, Spode, went into receivership before eventually being purchased by Portmeirion. Production The production of bone china is similar to porcelain, except that more care is needed because of its lower plasticity and a narrower vitrification range. The traditional formulation for bone china is about 25 % kaolin, 25 % Cornish stone and 50 % bone ash. The bone ash that is used in bone china is made from cattle bones that have a lower iron content. These bones are crushed before being degelatinised and then calcined at up to 1250 ° C to produce bone ash. The ash is milled to a fine particle size. The kaolin component of the body is needed to give the unfired body plasticity which allows articles to be shaped. This mixture is then fired at around 1200 ° C. The raw materials for bone china are comparatively expensive, and the production is labour - intensive, which is why bone china maintains a luxury status and high pricing. Bone china consists of two crystalline phases, anorthite ( CaAl Si O ) and β - tricalcium phosphate / whitlockite ( Ca ( PO ) ) embedded in a substantial amount of glass. Production locations For almost 200 years from its development bone china was almost exclusively produced in the UK. During the middle part of the 20th century manufacturers in other countries began production, with the first successful ones outside the UK being in Japan : Noritake, Nikko and Narumi. In more recent years production in China has expanded considerably, and the country is now the biggest producer of bone china in the world. Other countries producing considerable amounts of bone china are Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Sri Lanka and Thailand. From the start of the first factory, Bengal Potteries, in 1964, bone china output from Indian factories had risen to 10,000 tonnes per year by 2009. Rajasthan has become a hub for bone china in India, with production in the state totaling 16 - 17 tonnes per day. Lenox is the only major manufacturer of bone china in the United States, and has supplied presidential services to the White House. Cultural issues Due to the use of animal bones in the production of certain bone china, some vegetarians and vegans avoid using or purchasing it. See also Hard - paste porcelain References Jump up ^ By The British Pottery Manufacturers ' Federation, and quoted in Dictionary Of Ceramics. Arthur Dodd & David Murfin. 3rd edition. The Institute Of Minerals. 1994. ^ Jump up to : Ozgundogdu, Feyza Cakir. `` Bone China from Turkey '' Ceramics Technical ; May2005, Issue 20, p29 - 32. Jump up ^ ' Trading Places. ' R. Ware. Asian Ceramics. November, 2009, p. 35, 37 - 39 Jump up ^ What is China ? As with stoneware, the body becomes vitrified ; which means the body fuses, becomes nonabsorbent, and very strong. Unlike stoneware, china becomes very white and translucent. ^ Jump up to : ' Trading Places. ' R. Ware. Asian Ceramics. November, 2009, p. 35, 37 - 39. Jump up ^ Osborne, Harold ( ed ), The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts, p. 130, 1975, OUP, ISBN 0198661134 ; Faulkner, Charles H., `` The Ramseys at Swan Pond : The Archaeology and History of an East Tennessee Farm, p. 96, 2008, Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2008, ISBN 1572336099, 9781572336094 ; Lawrence, Susan, `` Archaeologies of the British : Explorations of Identity in the United Kingdom and Its Colonies 1600 - 1945 '', p. 196, 2013, Routledge, ISBN 1136801928, 781136801921 Jump up ^ `` Science Of Early English Porcelain. '' I.C. Freestone. Sixth Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society. Vol. 1 Brighton, 20 -- 24 June 1999, p. 11 - 17 Jump up ^ Spode Museum Trust : The First Spode Period 1776 - 1833 Jump up ^ Karwatka, Dennis. `` Josiah Spode and His World - Famous Pottery. '' Tech Directions ; Apr 2009, Vol. 68 Issue 9, p12 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Stoke kilns fired up for Spode again ''. Staffordshire Sentinel. Nortchliffe. 2009 - 04 - 24. Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 25. Jump up ^ Birks, Steve. `` Bone China '' The Potteries. 17 Feb. 2003 < http://www.thepotteries.org/types/bonechina.htm > Jump up ^ ' Production Of Bone Ash For The Manufacture Of Bone China. ' Industrial Ceramics. No. 843, 1989, p. 767 - 770 ^ Jump up to : Whitewares : Production, Testing And Quality Control. W. Ryan & C. Radford. Pergamon Press / Institute Of Ceramics, 1987 Jump up ^ ' Pottery Science -- materials, process and products. ' Allen Dinsdale. Ellis Horwood. 1986. ^ Jump up to : ' Cup And Sources - Asian Tableware Leads The Way '. Rohan Gunasekera. Asian Ceramics July / August 2013. ^ Jump up to : Skeletons In The Cupboard. Asian Ceramics. February 2013. Jump up ^ Bangladesh Tableware. Asian Ceramics February 2012. Jump up ^ Indian Bone China - Serving Up Opportunities. Asian Ceramics. March 2009. Jump up ^ Bulls In The China Shop. Asian Ceramics. Asian Ceram. February 2003. Jump up ^ `` Vegetarian Society - Fact Sheet - Veggie Aware A-Z ''. The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom Limited. Retrieved March 21, 2015. External links Media related to Bone china at Wikimedia Commons Porcelain China General : Chinese porcelain Chinese export porcelain Chinese influences on Islamic pottery Types : Proto - celadon ( 16th century BCE ) Celadon ( 1st century ) Yue ( 2nd century ) Ding ( 10th century ) Qingbai ( 12th century ) Jingdezhen ( 11th century on ) Blue and white ( 14th century on ) Blanc de Chine ( 14th century on ) Kraak ( 16th century ) Swatow ( 16th century ) Tianqi ( 17th century ) Kangxi ( 17th century ) Famille jaune, noire, rose, verte ( 17th century ) Canton ( 18th century ) Korea General : Korean porcelain Types : Goryeo ( 10th century ) Joseon ( 14th century ) Japan General : Japanese porcelain Types : Arita Imari Nabeshima Kakiemon Kutani Europe General : French porcelain Chinese porcelain in European painting Armorial ware Types : Fonthill Vase ( 1338 ) Tichelaar ( 1572 ) Medici ( 1575 ) Rouen ( 1673 ) Nevers Saint - Cloud ( 1693 ) Meissen ( 1710 ) Vienna ( 1716 ) Rörstrand ( 1726 ) Chantilly ( 1730 ) Doccia ( 1735 ) Vincennes ( 1740 ) Chelsea ( 1743 ) Capodimonte ( 1743 ) Lomonosov ( 1744 ) Mennecy ( 1745 ) Bow ( 1747 ) Fürstenberg ( 1747 ) Nymphenburg ( 1747 ) Plymouth ( 1748 ) Villeroy & Boch ( 1748 ) Worcester ( 1751 ) Frankenthal ( 1755 ) Sèvres ( 1756 ) Derby ( 1757 ) Ludwigsburg ( 1758 ) Weesp Porselein ( 1759 ) Wedgwood ( 1759 ) Berlin ( 1763 ) Wallendorf ( 1764 ) Revol ( 1768 ) Etiolles ( 1770 ) Limoges ( 1771 ) Loosdrechts Porselein ( 1774 ) Copenhagen ( 1775 ) Clignancourt ( 1775 ) Mintons ( 1793 ) Doulton ( 1815 ) Lichte ( 1822 ) Herend ( 1826 ) Bing & Grøndahl ( 1853 ) Zsolnay ( 1853 ) Wagner & Apel ( 1877 ) Rosenthal ( 1879 ) Porsgrund ( 1885 ) Technologies Soft - paste porcelain Hard - paste porcelain Bone china Overglaze decoration China painting Factory mark People Chinamen Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus Johann Friedrich Böttger François Xavier d'Entrecolles Dmitry Vinogradov Collections British Museum ( London ) : Asia Department / Percival David Foundation The David Collection ( Copenhagen ) Dresden Porcelain Collection ( Dresden ) Gardiner Museum ( Toronto ) Kuskovo State Museum of Ceramics ( Moscow ) Sèvres -- Cité de la céramique ( Paris ) Musée des Arts Décoratifs ( Paris ) Palace Museum ( Beijing ) Topkapı Palace ( Istanbul ) Victoria and Albert Museum ( London ) Museum of Royal Worcester ( Worcester ) Walters Art Museum ( Baltimore ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bone_china&oldid=815286621 '' Categories : Ceramic materials Porcelain Pottery Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia অসমীয়া Cymraeg Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский සිංහල Svenska 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 13 December 2017, at 23 : 11. 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Question: where does the bone ash for bone china come from
Answer: cattle bones