Isn’t it nice to know that Britain has produced something which is unrivalled by any other country? I am referring to English bone china, which is the finest in the world.

The Chinese first began to manufacture near white translucent ware in 700 AD, which became very much in demand in Venice during the 12th century. It was known as Porcellana, named after a Mediterranean sea animal, and was later translated into Porcelain in France. Later it was to grace the royal courts of Europe.

There was plenty of competition to perfect the production of porcelain, although the chinese attempted to safeguard their secrets, and eventually European porcelain was produced by John Bottger in Germany during the year of 1710.

England carried on experimenting with substances, having already achieved a long standing reputation of pottery making, and in 1800, a formula, using animal bone ground into fine powder was discovered. This was considered even more superior than the original chinese porcelain, and it was suitably named, Bone China.

Don’t be fooled by the word ” fine”, which is used to describe it. This can be misleading, because although this china has a very delicate appearance, it is , in fact, very strong and durable. The three main ingredients of bone china are,

50% bone.

25% china stone.

25% china clay.

In the manufacturing process, the calcined bone is mixed with stone, and ground very finely. This is mixed with china clay. Water is then added, and the impurities taken out. This state is known as clay. It is then fired over a kiln or oven at over 1250c for a period of time exceeding 2 days.

The end result is known as biscuit ware, and the next process is to dip it into liquid glaze, and then to fire it at 1100c for 30 hours. All this contributes to its lustrous shining quality, and its strength and quality is because of this glazing.

The china is now ready for the final stage of firing, and the process of decoration. Metals are used to add colour and richness, and the ” gold” used can be even purer than the gold of  the most expensive jewellery. These very important finishing touches take several hours in the decorating kiln because it is absolutely necessary to be certain that the rich colours and precious metal finishes are long lasting, and securely fused into the glaze.

The next time you see a table laid with a set of bone china, pick up a piece of it, and examine the quality of it. It does cost more than an every day set, because of its elegance and beauty. Sadly, most people opt for plain pottery that goes in the microwave these days,  which has not helped for the survival of our potteries in Stoke -on-Trent. However, companies like Aynsley, Wedgwood, and Royal Doulton still manufacture this beautiful china, and it is also exported all over the world. No country can match our expertise at producing it. We are still renowned for it, and we have every right to be proud of it!