This is a beautiful coffee cup and saucer made by Riley in about 1815, decorated in a striking gilt chevron pattern with a rather psychedelic zigzag effect.
The John & Richard Riley factory operated between 1802 and 1828 at the Hills Works in Burslem. They were mainly known for their beautifully transfer printed earthenware pottery, however they also made a small quantity of porcelain items.
The cups is shaped in the "London" style, first brought out by Spode in 1813 and then quickly adopted by all other factories. The set is finely potted in rather soft porcelain that almost feels like pottery. The decoration consists of a slightly psychedelic pattern of gilt zigzag with a nice border of red ovals, applied with great precision.
Both items are unmarked, which is common for this period.
CONDITION REPORT The set is in excellent antique condition without any damage or repairs, and virtually no wear. It does have some very fine micro-crazing that is hardly visible with the naked eye.
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): coffeecup 6.8cm (2.8"), saucer 14.2cm (5.6").
Riley coffee cup, gilt chevron zigzag pattern, ca 1815
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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!
