Founded in 1744, the first porcelain factory in Russia was created by order of Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, to "serve native trade and native art." The factory produced wares exclusively for the ruling Romanov family and the Russian Imperial court.
Bone china is the strongest of the porcelain or china ceramics, having very high mechanical strength and chip resistance, and is known for its high levels of whiteness and translucency. Its high strength allows it to be produced in thinner cross-sections than other types of porcelain. Bone china is a type of soft-paste porcelain that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. The first commercially widespread bone china was developed by the English potter Josiah Spode in the early 1790s. It has been defined as ware with a translucent body containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phosphate.