This is a very charming "true trio" made by Thomas Rose at Coalport around the year 1805, which was the Georgian era. The trio is made of early white bone china with a beautiful pattern of gilt, red and purple vines.
In the 18th and early 19th Century cups and saucers were sold as trios consisting of a teacup, a coffee cup and a saucer - as you would never drink tea and coffee at the same time, why invest in an extra saucer? These trios are called "true" trios.
Coalport was one of the pioneers of English china production alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport, Minton, Ridgway and others and they created very high quality tea and dinnerware. There were two brothers: John and Thomas Rose, each setting up their own pottery at opposite sides of the canal in the 1790s (one can only imagine what this meant about their relationship!). Ultimately it was the elder brother John Rose who became famous with his Coalport pottery. while Thomas ended up selling his and working for other potters. Thomas Rose, although sharing many designs with his brother, had his own distinct style and this is a beautiful example of some of the decorative and quite modern-looking designs his factory made.
I have several items of the same pattern available, please see the picture and the other items can be found in separate listings.
CONDITION REPORT The trio is in good antique condition without any cracks or crazing. There is a tiny chip to the rim of the coffee cup, which is hardly visible (see last picture). The trio has wear throughout, please study the pictures carefully. There is a tiny firing fault in the rim of the saucer, please see second-last picture.
The items are unmarked, which is common for items of that period.
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 8cm (3.15"); coffee can 7.1cm (2.75"); saucer 3.8cm (5.9").
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.
