This is a beautiful "true trio" consisting of a teacup, a coffee cup and a saucer, made by Spode in about 1815. It is decorated with pattern 2234 with a striking lavender or periwinkle blue border and finely painted flower sprays.
In the late 18th and early 19th Century a "true trio" is how cups and saucers were sold; as you would never drink tea and coffee at the same time, why invest in an extra saucer?
Spode was the great pioneer among the Georgian potters in England. Around the year 1800 he perfected the bone china recipe that has been used by British potters ever since, and he was also the leading potter behind the technique of transferware, making it possible for English potters to replace the Chinese export china, which had come to an end around that time, with their own designs. This was fundamental to a thriving industry that would last for about 150 years and provide half the world with their tableware. Spode porcelain is regarded as one of the highest quality porcelains around; for a soft-paste porcelain it is surprisingly hard and fine, and has a wonderful bright white colour.
This set is made in the famous "London" shape, which was brought out by Spode in 1812 and was quickly copied by all other makers. It then remained the most popular shape for about 10 years. The set is potted in fine white porcelain - by the year 1810 Spode had perfected his recipe for bone china and it became beautifully smooth, white, thin and translucent.
All three items are marked with the red hand painted SPODE mark and the pattern number 2234.
CONDITION REPORT The set is in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing. There is some minimal wear as 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 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): teacup 8.9cm (3.5"), coffee cup 7.4cm (2.8"), saucer 14.2cm (5.6")
Spode true trio, lavender blue with flower sprays patt.2234, ca 1815
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