This is a beautiful trio consisting of a teacup, a coffee cup and a saucer, made by a Staffordshire factory some time around 1825. It has a cobalt blue ground with cream and gilt patterns and beautifully painted English garden flowers.
In the early 19th Century there were at some point about 300 potteries in Staffordshire, which at the time was a major centre of porcelain industry in the world. This item is probably from one of the many excellent but completely forgotten factories who made use of capable decorators who would often move from factory to factory in search of work.
This set would have been part of a large tea service. In the early 19th Century cups and saucers were sold as "trios"; as you would never drink tea and coffee at the same time, why invest in an extra saucer? This style was very popular in the 1820s; as the only lighting available in those days was candle light, you can imagine how the flickering light would have been reflected beautifully by the gilt patterns. The flowers have been painted by a very accomplished painter.
The set is unmarked. A plate with a very similar cup can be found in Michael Berthoud's "A Compendium of British Cups" in plate 794, page 133.
CONDITION REPORT The set is in very good antique condition without any damage, crazing or repairs, just some light wear as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS (diameters) teacup 9.2cm (3.6"); coffee cup 7.6cm (3"); saucer 14.2cm (5.6").
SHIPPING I ship worldwide from the UK. I am happy to combine shipping charges on multiple items - please contact me to discuss. In principle I do not make a profit on shipping although for simplicity's sake I charge flat shipping fees. If the fee charged greatly exceeds the actual cost I will gladly refund you the difference - at the same time if it is slightly lower I will gladly make up the difference. Please note that due to the pandemic shipping costs have generally gone up steeply, and although I use only the most reliable couriers, there can sometimes be some delays.
Staffordshire true trio, cobalt blue with flowers, ca 1825
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We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!
