A Message from Ruth at Antiques And Teacups

Welcome to the blog of Antiques And Teacups! Let's share a cup of tea and talk about the things we love...like teacups, antiques, collectibles, visiting England, antiquing and learning about victoriana and quirky gadgets. Fun!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Tudor Thatched Cottage Mug, Richard III Reburied after 530 Years

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea...a very unusual one! I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend or first weekend of Passover....




my life is a bit hectic at the moment....as you know, I have antique and collectible websites which augments our social security.  We opened online in 2002 on an antique mall site, but we added our own website 6 years ago that, and was doing really well...until Google began changing things. Anyway, the next big change is due April 21st, and my current website host knows the changes that need to be done to keep us on Google, and refuses to do it unless we pay $6499.00...and there is no way! So I am madly moving listings to our Etsy shop...I have done 200 of 1200 in the past few days, so have a way to go. ANYWAY...so this is a post I can do fairly quickly...which I apologize for!



I like a theme for my posts, and I was fascinated by the reburial of King Richard III on May 26, 2015...more about that below.......so I wanted some sort of a related teacup among my collections and found...nothing! But...I do have a mug with a Tudor era thatched cottage....so my teacup is a tea mug!




This is a contemporary mug in a pattern called variously English Cottage, Capper's Cottage...which is the name of the firm of decal designers that made the design in the 1950s...and Anne Hathaway's Cottage...Anne Hathaway being Shakespeare's beloved...and Shakespeare wrote a play called Richard III....




The maker is one of the small new English potteries that have sprung up as small, independent potteries or trademarks since the last big consolidation and liquidation of the older, familiar names in the pottery business in the mid 1990s. But they make bone china, and the quality is pretty good, so I am so glad they are there!



Not exactly teatime goodies...but...hey! My degrees are in Physical Anthropology and Archaeology...although I think they've renamed the disciplines now, but...it was right up my alley...in this case a car park...parking lot to Yanks...when in May, 2014, an excavation found a burial...that was subsequently identified categorically as the missing grave of King Richard III...the last Plantagenet, killed at the Battle Of Bosworth in 1485 by Henry Tudor.



He was said to have had a hunchback, and the skeleton clearly shows that. Anyway, after DNA testing, carbon dating and all sorts of wonderful scientific wonders, they positively identified him and found a few living relatives...including a carpenter in Canada. Reburial was March 26th in Leicester Cathedral...much better than the hurried first burial by monks who saved the body after the battle and hid the body below the monastery alter in an unmarked grave.



This is a portrait from his lifetime. Queen Elizabeth II visited the body 2 days prior to the reburial, which astounded everyone by the attendance of 30-50,000 people during the city procession and cathedral funeral....




There was a reenactment of the Battle of Bosworth to begin the procession 3 days before the funeral....with the body in a lead lined pine box on a simple casson...



The procession was led through the town to the cathedral by mounted men in authentic 15th century armor...


who also sttod as an honor guard outside the cathedral...


Leicester is the city my family is from, so I was also interested because of that....


some of crowds for the viewing prior to the funeral...


Sophie, Countess of Wessex was the Queen's representative at the funeral. Sophie is married to Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son.



This showed up in the car park during the funeral....




This is the skull and the facial reconstruction done of what Richard III probably looked like....

Benedict Cumberbatch reads poem at funeral  Oscar-nominated Cumberbatch, who is to star as Richard III in an upcoming TV adaptation, will read a verse penned for the service by Britain's poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy specially written for the late ruler






 The British actor was a fitting choice for the job – he has been identified as the King's third cousin, 16 times removed, and is currently playing Richard II in a movie soon to be released with the same name...


.



There is a lot of controversy about the character of Richard...many feel the Shakespeare's portrayal of him as a villain was political blacking....there have been a number of great books debating it, both scholarly and fictionally immersed...my 2 favorite currently are:



In a classic English mystery re-packaging of a 1940s mystery by Josephine Tey called Daughter Of Time since the discovery...but fabulous depite the new cover....and a great romp called The Murders Of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters from 20 years ago...



For a video of the complete burial service, photos and other info here is a link:

King Richard III in Leicester

Okay...I've got that off my chest!  Next week...back to a more normal teatime...although I DID go to an exhibition on Pompeii this week....hmmmm....once an archaeologist, always an archaeologist...




Below is the list of some of the blog parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to visit!






17 comments:

  1. I have a very similar tea mug with the thatched cottage and found it at an estate sale for 99 cents! Mine has a little scene inside the mug and different colored flowers on the handle. It reminds me of seeing Anne Hathaway's cottage when my family lived in England in the late 60's.

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  2. Ruth, your posting today is very interesting and I enjoyed reading about Richard. I love anything with a cottage on it so I am loving your pretty tea mug. You sound like you have a lot going on right now. All the best, my friend. I couldn't link up just yet because your Inlinkz doesn't appear to be working so I'll come back later. Have a lovely day.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  3. Ruth, I so enjoy your thematic posts. Very interesting information about Richard lll and his current funeral. I really like seeing your mug and I'm glad to learn about a new bone china pottery in England. So sorry to hear you're having website difficulties. That is an outrageous sum to pay! Best wishes for successfully moving your listings to Etsy.

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  4. Thanks for the history lesson today. Richard was an interesting king. And there is ALWAYS more to the story. I have a couple of cups with thatched roofs pictured on them. I love them!

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  5. This post is right up my alley with the historical data Ruth - thanks for sharing about Richard III and I'll check out the books.
    The mug is quaint, too bad about your Google issues.
    Thanks for hosting your tea gathering.

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  6. Oh dear, Ruth, what an ordeal about the $6, 499.00 for the website issue! Best of luck in moving everything to your Etsy site.
    Thank you for your history lessons on Richard III. You know so much information. Also, your cottage teacup is so pretty. Thanks for hosting your party!

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  7. Fascinating stuff. It's almost incredible that they found his skeleton. What are the odds? And I admire the Queen -- at her age, she still manages to dress up and show up, doesn't she?
    What a lot of work you have with your shop! At least you will save all that money. Have a nice Tea Day, Ruth!

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  8. Oh dear, I am sorry to hear about your website ordeal. They are indeed asking for so much money! I like Etsy, I have a tinie-winie store in it and the fees are very reasonable. You might find it a comfortable new home for your antiques there. I hope you all the best.

    Thanks for the post about King Richard. I found it really interesting, all the photos about the funeral too. I can't travel in person so I enjoy posts like this that allows me to see the world in my chair :-) Thanks again.

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  9. Hi Ruth,
    What a pretty Anne Hathaway Cottage mug. So much interesting information. Sorry about your website problems. Thank you for hosting Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Happy Easter! Karen

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  10. Ruth, I enjoyed this post so much! I have been following the discovery/reburial of R III also, and find it fascinating. I was happy to hear that the Queen paid her respects too. And such great news about B. Cumberbatch's upcoming movie. I would actually watch him read from the phone book--or anything! We visited the city of Pompeii many years ago, and I know I will never forget the scenes, homes, people, and the remains of the volcano lurking in the distance. Thanks for the wonderful post!! Linda

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  11. Best Wishes regarding your shop endeavors! Your post won me over with Benedict Cumberbatch. Not what I expected when I stopped by. How fun!

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  12. I've never met a mug or teacup with an English cottage that I didn't like! Thank you for sharing the interesting info on King Richard III.

    Are you watching Wolf Hall on PBS? I caught last night's premiere and will definitely be tuning in every week!

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  13. Hi Ruth! I'm a bit of a history nerd myself, so I really enjoyed your post about Richard III! I also always enjoy a Benedict Cumberbatch viewing. You're cottage much is really pretty.

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  14. Hi Ruth: So love to come here and learn. I am so sorry about what is going on. I wish I could help you. I will pray you get it all done in time. Hugs, Martha

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  15. My dear Ruth, this was a very interesting post....one I thoroughly enjoyed!

    Thinking of you, sweet lady, and hoping everything gets done. Thank you for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. Hugs to you!

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  16. Ruth, thanks for the informative post. Most interesting! And what a lovely collection. Looking forward to visiting more of these links over the weekend.

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  17. What a great and informative post. Love the mug!

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Thanks for visiting and we love to hear from you! We read every comment. If my husband's health permits, I love to visit andreply. Have a wonderful day and a cuppa tea always at hand! :)

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