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. Developed by English potter Josiah Spode, his formulation of 6 parts bone ash, 4 parts china stone and 3.5 parts china clay remains the base for all bone china.  Now, I used to think that “bone china” was just a name, but I never realised it came from real animal bones and most of it is made from cattle bones. Maybe I’ll go back to drinking tea from that soft-clay, hand-made mug.

Find out more about this topic on my porcelain page.

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