Spode china is a popular type of English porcelain. It was first made in a factory founded in 1770 by Josiah Spode (1733-1797) near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Spode has been credited with inventing bone china. To create bone china, potters add bone ash to the hard paste of stone and clay traditionally used to make porcelain. Bone china has a translucent, ivory-white appearance and does not chip easily. By 1796, Spode had developed English china, a porcelain suitable for dinnerware, which is thought to be the first bone china. His son, Josiah (1754-1827), was successfully marketing bone china by about 1799.
The Spode factory produced tableware, boxes, inkstands, and vases in bone china. Spode decorated some pieces with Asian designs, mostly in an elaborate, brightly colored red, blue, and gold style called Imari. Spode also used a wide variety of English designs.
In 1813, the Spode factory adopted the stone china pottery formula for reproducing the more costly designs exported from China. In 1846, the Spode firm invented Parian, a pale cream, unglazed porcelain that resembles marble. Parian was used for making statuettes and busts. In 1976, the Spode firm merged with the Worcester Royal Porcelain Company, another maker of fine bone china. The company became known as Royal Worcester Spode. In 1988, Royal Worcester Spode was bought by Derby International.
See also Porcelain.
