This is a very rare and stunning little orphaned coffeecup made by Derby in about 1790. The cup has a white ground, simple gilt rims and a stunning named mountain landscape painted by Zachariah Boreman.
The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when Andrew Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals in his back yard. In 1756 Staffordshire enameller William Duysbury and banker John Heath started a new porcelain factory with Planché and this was to grow out to the largest factory of its time, buying up the bankrupted Chelsea and Bow factories, as well as the stock of several other workshops including that of James Giles. The combination of various traditions, porcelain making skills and sophisticated clients enabled Duesbury to create one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries, which after many ups and downs is still operative today.
Zachariah Boreman was one of the most celebrated painters at Derby. Born in London in 1738, he arrived at Derby around 1774 after working at Chelsea, and remained until 1794, when he left in frustration with Michael Kean, the owner. Even though Boreman became one of the prime landscape painters at Derby, Kean would not pay him more and this caused Boreman to go back to London and work for the Simms decorating studio until his death in 1810. Boreman was known as a highly respected and likable person, and he became famous for his fine landscapes. His style was most probably influenced by Paul Sandby, the chief drawing instructor at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. His little landscapes are restrained, with often muted brown and green shades; in Boreman's landscapes, less is more although his drawing and stippled brush style is extraordinarily detailed.
The painting is named: "Near Cromford Derby", as written in blue on the underside.
The cup is marked with the hand painted blue crowned double baton Derby mark that was used between 1782 and 1800, as well as an impressed Z and the named landscape.
PROVENANCE: private collection by descent from Dr John Freeman, one of the founders of the Derby Porcelain Society and a specialist in Derby porcelain.
CONDITION REPORT The cup is in excellent antique condition except some light wear as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1700s, 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 6.3cm (2.5") diameter and 7cm (2.75") high.
Derby orphaned coffeecup, white with landscape by Zachariah Boreman, ca 1790
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE DAYS THERE CAN SOMETIMES BE SHIPPING DELAYS DUE TO THE TIME OF YEAR, BREXIT OR OTHER CUSTOMS ISSUES, POLITICAL INSTABILITY OR INCLEMENT WEATHER. WE WILL GET YOUR ITEM SAFELY TO YOU BUT IT MIGHT TAKE MORE TIME THAN USUAL!
Your item will be shipped after receipt of funds, unless agreed otherwise in writing.
We will ship your items within a maximum of 2 working days after payment (usually quicker). We cannot be held responsible for delivery times once the item has been shipped as this is at the shipper's discretion and, in case of international delivery, can be subject to customs delays, weather, holidays and/or political instability.
If your delivery failed to appear or was damaged in transit, please let us know as soon as possible and, in case of damage, provide us with pictures of the damaged item and/or packaging. Cut off dates for this are 14 days after shipping, or 2 days after a damaged delivery. We will need to comply with shippers' regulations in order to follow up the issue, but it is vital that you let us know what is wrong as soon as possible. We will do anything we can to follow up faulty deliveries but cannot be held responsible if we have not been notified within the required time period.
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!
Cancellations can only be accepted before the item has been shipped. Once an item has been shipped, the transaction cannot be cancelled anymore.
Returns need to be requested within 2 days of receipt of the item and completed within 14 days from the date they have been agreed in writing.
If you want to return an item because you changed your mind, you will be responsible for the return shipping. For international deliveries, this will need to be a fully tracked shipping mode. The item is expected to be received back in the same state it was sent - any damage due to insufficient packaging will be your responsibility. We will only pay for return shipping if we have mutually agreed that the item did not satisfy your expectations. A refund will be made immediately after receipt of the item.
You are subject to the EU Consumers Rights Act, which protects your rights buying over the internet.
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!
