What is the difference between fine bone china and porcelain ?
Bone china contains at least 50% calcified bone content (usually from cows’ knees, believe it or not). This makes the china very strong. Bone china is the strongest of all the various types of china or porcelain. To show this, a china store in Toronto sometimes features an outdoor display of a racing car mounted on four china teacups (one cup under each wheel, with no added means of support). This is no gimmick — I’ve seen it. It shows the remarkable strength of the china and how it can support a great amount of weight. In addition to strength, the bone content makes the china transluscent. If you hold a plate to the light and wave your hand behind it, you can actually see the image of your hand through the plate. Bone china is more expensive that regular porcelain, and the gold is usually added by hand. Attached are links to photos that show the racing cars on the bone china cups. Pretty amazing!
