bone china

bone china

noun

Definition of BONE CHINA

: translucent white china made with bone ash or calcium phosphate and characterized by whiteness

First Known Use of BONE CHINA

1879

Rhymes with BONE CHINA

Aegina, angina, Lucina, nandina, Regina, stone china, vagina

bone china

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Wedgwood bone china plate, Staffordshire, 1815–20; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.—Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photograph, EB Inc.

Hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash. It was developed by Josiah Spode (1754–1827) in England c. 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.