Coalport John Rose Teacup, Cobalt Blue and Orange Flowers, Regency Ca 1810

This is a beautiful orphaned teacup made by Spode in about 1810. It bears a lavish Japanese-inspired Imari pattern. 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. The pattern on this can is called "Dollar" pattern, a very famous pattern that was used by English potters in the 18th and early 19th Century. It is obvious why it is called “dollar” - but its origin is less obvious! It is thought that this pattern was derived from a very old Chinese pattern depicting a tree with elaborate foliage that hides a Chinese character representing longevity or happiness. Traditionally, this went with a an image called “Taotie”, which was used on very ancient bronze vases...

This is a stunning and extremely rare dessert service made by John Rose at Coalport probably around the year 1800, shortly after Rose bought up the Caughley factory. It consists of a large centre piece comport, one sauce tureen with cover, two oval dishes, two square dishes, two shell dishes, and eight plates. The service is beautifully decorated in the Neoclassical style. Coalport was one of the leading potters in 19th and 20th Century Staffordshire. They worked alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport and Minton, and came out with many innovative designs. When we say "Coalport" we usually think of the one Coalport factory that became famous, but in its beginning years there were two factories, one run by John Rose and the other by his brother Thomas Rose. Thomas Rose went into partnership with Robert Anstice and Robert Horton and they were located directly opposite John Rose, across the canal. John Rose had bought up the local Caughley factory in 1799. The brothers' factories had much in common with each other and they shared many different shapes and patterns. Ultimately, the John Rose factory proved more profitable and John Rose bought Thomas' factory in 1814, making it the one Coalport factory that became so famous. Many of the Coalport items, of either factory, are now collectors' items. This service is made of pearlware, which leads us to believe that it might have been made at the old Caughley premises, which had kilns for pearlware - the later Coalport items are not known to be made of pearlware but the shape of the dishes and the sauce comport are clearly a Coalport shape. All items have a beautiful deep orange ground - they were done in different firings as the colour is not entirely consistent, which makes the service very charming. The rims are set off with a beautiful vine pattern in silver, which makes the service even more rare as this was not done often. The items are unmarked, as is usual for that era, except the odd "B", which is probably the gilder's tally mark. CONDITION REPORT The service is in good usable condition with some minor flaws: there is some crazing and wear throughout, which is to be expected of pearlware of this era. The centre piece comport has a slight crack through the side, which is not very visible. One of the plates has a chip on the front of the rim as well as three lines coming off the rim; one has a chip on the underside of the rim; and one has a line coming off the rim. Neither of these stand out and the plates are entirely stable. Antique British china...

On offer is a very rare teacup and saucer made by Barr Flight & Barr in about 1810. The set has a beautifully soft salmon ground colour, an elegant gilt border motif, and beautiful monochrome sepia landscape...

This is a beautiful saucer dish or deep plate made by Coalport around the year 1815. This plate would have belonged to a large tea service. The plate is decorated with a deep cobalt ...