This is a very striking and rare large cup and saucer by Chamberlains Worcester in about 1805. The cup is much larger than usual, and cups of this size are called "breakfast cups", presumably because they were meant for coffee or tea with a large amount of milk. Breakfast cups from this period are extremely rare.
The Chamberlain factory was founded in the 1780s by Robert Chamberlain, who was responsible for the decoration department in the famous Worcester pottery during the Dr Wall period. He set up his own factory with his son Humphrey, initially buying up stock from Turner's Caughley factory for decoration, but then around 1794 starting to produce their own porcelain. By the year 1800 they had built up a strong reputation, producing wonderful tea and dinner ware for the British and European nobility and becoming a mighty competitor of both the Worcester/Flight & Barr and Grainger factories. In the 1840s the factory merged back with Worcester, which later also bought Grainger and was formed into the later Royal Worcester.
The cup has an exceptionally beautiful and unusual colourful Imari pattern of large flowers, and a gilt ground. The bright colours including purple, pink and salmon orange, are unusual for this style.
The set is unmarked, but the shape and quality of the porcelain clearly show that this must have been made by the Chamberlains factory in Worcester.
CONDITION REPORT The set is in good usable condition, however there is wear throughout, and the saucer has a chip on the rim and a star crack in the centre, all of which are 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 could have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, which sometimes 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): cup 10.5cm (4.15"); saucer 16cm (6.5").
Chamberlains Worcester breakfast cup, colourful Imari flowers, ca 1805
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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!
