This is a very charming Ridgway teacup and saucer made around 1825, which is known as the Regency period. The fluted shape of the cup is typical for its time and the handle is called an "Old English" handle.
Ridgway was one of the pioneers of English china production alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport, Minton, Coalport and others and they created very high quality tea and dinnerware. Ridgway had a tradition of a very wide-ranging offer of china products, anything from the most sublime dinnerware to humble toilet pots. It is notoriously difficult to identify their wares and this is one reason their beautiful tea and dinner wares are often underestimated. This tea set is unmarked, as most Ridgway items, but the reason we know it was made by Ridgway is the pattern number, as well as the way it was potted; Ridgway made items as elegant as Spode, but usually it was potted a bit thicker.
The cup and saucer were decorated in beautiful colours: deep cobalt blue with salmon pink and a richly gilded pattern of stylised acanthus and wild roses. The outside of the cup has a wonderful pattern of gilt sprigs, quite abstract and playful in nature. Cobalt blue and gilt were very popular colours at the time and Ridgway in particular made many designs that featured this combination including the salmon pink. As rooms were lit by candles at the time, you can imagine the flickering light being reflected in the lavish gilt - one important reason to use so much gilt on table ware.
CONDITION REPORT This cup and saucer are in very good antique condition with no damage or crazing, however the gilt is worn in places, which is visible in the pictures. There are some very small firing cracks in the foliage around the top of the cup handle.
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): cup 9.3cm (3.6"), saucer 14.5cm (5.75").
Ridgway teacup, peach, cobalt blue and gilt, Regency 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!
