This is a beautiful and very rare tea bowl and saucer made by Joseph Stubbs in about 1825. The bowl is quite large and made of pearlware, and has a beautiful transfer printed blue and white pattern of a swan with acanthus details in the rims.
The Joseph Stubbs factory was registered between 1822 and 1835 but we know that Joseph Stubbs started in 1790. He specialised in blue printed earthenware such as this tea bowl, and the deep blue colour is characteristic. Stubbs served a huge market in America. As pearlware was made for daily use and is easy to break, not that much is left of it; this set, which has no damage, is therefore very rare.
The saucer is marked with an imprinted star.
CONDITION REPORT The set is in excellent condition without any damage. Like most pearlware of this period it is crazed, and there are a few imperfections in the glaze - these are from production.
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): tea bowl 9.5cm (3.75"), saucer 15.5cm (6.1").
Joseph Stubbs tea bowl, pearlware blue and white with swans, ca 1825
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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!
