What is "jasperware"

n. (context ceramics English) A form of pottery that has a stoneware body which is either white or colored, which is noted for its matte finish. It is a popular blue-and-white ware, but it comes in many other colors.

Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. Usually described as stoneware, some authorities have described it as a type of porcelain. It is noted for its matte finish and is produced in a number of different colours, of which the best known is a pale blue that has become known as Wedgwood Blue. While named after the mineral jasper, modern analyses indicate that barium sulphate is a key ingredient. Wedgwood had introduced a different type of stoneware called black basalt a decade earlier.