The elephant in the room
While I am on my annual two-week holiday in the very remotest parts of the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos, I will re-publish the two most popular blogs of the last year... I hope you enjoy them again!
So let's talk about the elephant in the room... quite literally. I came across this wonderful tea service not long ago and was lucky enough to get it onto my shelf, and am thrilled to offer it for sale.
This wonderful pattern is, indeed, called the Elephant Pattern and it was made by New Hall in about 1810. It is made of the typical "hybrid hard paste" porcelain that New Hall produced; an amended version of the hard paste porcelain recipe that New Hall had bought from the failed Bristol factory. The clever Staffordshire men knew that they could save fuel and therefore money by changing the production process a bit, and the result was this beautiful very fine greyish porcelain.
This porcelain is perfect for Oriental patterns as it colours really well with the underglaze blue paint that forms the basis of most Oriental decorations. And you can really see that here. The pattern consists of a wonderful scene: a temple on a hill, with a courtyard at the foot of the hill protected by a gate and some buildings. In the courtyard stands a large tree with lots of pomegranates. And outside the gate stands the elephant, shielding itself from the sun under a large tree with lavish gilt foliage.
It is very rare to find a full tea service that is in perfect condition, but this is such a find. It serves six people with both tea and coffee cups, but I have a few more cups and saucers available if you are interested.
Where to find things
You can find all my tea services here, and all my available stock is here. If you always want to see the latest additions, follow me on Instagram... I post pictures and a story every single day.
Wish List ❤️
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Happy weekend, and have some tea (or coffee)! 🐘🐘🐘
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE I AM ON HOLIDAY YOU CAN MAKE PURCHASES OR SEND ENQUIRIES AS NORMAL, AND SHIPPING WILL RESUME AFTER 18 SEPTEMBER!
Available tea and coffee services:
