Explore · Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship

Bone china is among the most demanding ceramics to make well. Its reputation — and its price — come from the skill and control it needs at every stage.

Follow a piece from slip to selection, then see why it is so hard, and how it is decorated.

A rectangular Worcester vase of about 1872 painted with scenes of porcelain making, including a kiln and painters at work
Rectangular vase with porcelain-making scenes (“the oven for burning clay” and “the painting of the wares”), Worcester factory, c. 1872. Bone china with enamel and gilding. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017 (2018.62.96). Public domain.

Go deeper, one step at a time

Each article starts simply. Technical detail is kept in “Look closer” panels, and every page links onward.

  1. IntroductionHow bone china is madeThe making of bone china step by step: body preparation, jiggering and casting, fettling, firing, glazing, decoration and selection.
  2. DeeperWhy bone china is so demandingThe five technical challenges of bone china production and how they explain its reputation and its price.
  3. ReferenceDecoration and surfaceDecoration methods, firing temperatures and their effect on durability; precious metals; surface refinement and the glaze.
  4. DeeperBone china and sustainabilityDurability, the origin of bone ash, energy-intensive firing, alternative calcium phosphates and recycling: what can and cannot be claimed.
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