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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Royal Chelsea Teacup, Antique Pitcher And Bowl




Hello and welcome to the first Tuesday Cuppa Tea in June. Amazing! I finished the antibiotics I was taking for the sinus infection just last Friday and am feeling so much better! It's a joy to think of sharing a tea time with my friends!


Just to start and set the stage for my choice this week, here is my favorite page from the June entries in A Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden...



And so my teacup today is a Royal Chelsea, England cup and saucer in a pattern called Golden Rose, pattern number 3983A...



Royal Chelsea was a Staffordshire, England firm that started in 1912 as New Chelsea Porcelain company...which became New Chelsea China Company in 1951  acknowledging the changes in materials used in their wares that occurred in the 1930s.




New Chelsea also made Chelsea China in the 1930s and Royal Chelsea in the 1940s until the pottery closed in the 1960s. Their quality and workmanship was outstanding, with a lot of hand done and enamel overpainting. I have always loved their quality...




This teacup has the wonderful trim technique called "sponge gold" or "sponged gold" which is made by 22 or 24kt gold being applied with a sponge to the rim either in a wide band like this example or a narrower band. The technique is costlier and more time consuming than the usual brush lined gold trim. Sponged gold is the sign of an expensive and superior teacup. Just lovely!



I was trying to decide what to share today, and remembered my pitcher and bowl set that I have had for years and treasure although damaged....It sits on the top of an English armoire in our bedroom....



The pitcher is in good nick...as the Brits say, with only an old tight hairline...but the rest of the set didn't fare as well. The set is by Copeland's Spode and dates to 1904, and was a complete toilet set. But the shippers did a bad job, and when it arrived from England the bowl was split into 3 pieces...and it's substantial porcelain...and the brush holder, soap dish and several other pieces were smashed. 



I still have the slop bucket and insert which is quite large...but has a large crack and I salvaged this lid of a covered dish. I just love the pattern! Just Exquisite!



I just couldn't bear to part with the pieces. So...they are treasured even if flawed...just like us, aren't they? Precious but not perfect! And still lovable and of worth!

So thanks for joining me this week. Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please be patient because it seems to be quite slow sometimes. I am redoing the list of blogs but please visit the others who have linked. Have a great week!



20 comments:

  1. What a stunningly gorgeous cup and saucer set. And your pitcher and bowl set is also pretty. Glad it didn't get thrown away.

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  2. I had The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady given to me recently by a friend but it was in such poor shape, I didn't keep it. A shame, but it was musty and the binding was broken so all the pages were falling all over.
    The Golden Rose teacup is delightful.

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  3. Hi Ruth,
    Your Golden Rose teacup is gorgeous. I love sponged on gold, sometimes better than a gold trim. I'm glad you could salvage the pitcher and bowl set. Such a shame it got broken but beautiful sitting there on display. Thanks for joining me for tea and enjoy your day. By the way, that was the first time I had tried the bergamot tea. I enjoyed it but I have many, many other varieties of black tea I enjoy as well.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  4. Hi Ruth,
    I love your Royal Chelsea teacup and your beautiful rich blue pitcher. I must find my Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady Book. I am wishing that I could see more of your lovely armoire too! Thank you for hosting Tuesday Cuppa Tea. Happy June!
    Karen

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  5. Thank you, as always, for the "free educational seminar" I so often get here. Today I learned about sponge(d) gold, and why it looks so rich and elegant! So sorry about your "smashed" pieces (pausing for moment of remembrance), but like you, I like to think about your pitcher and bowl as having more character now!

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  6. The teacup is so gorgeous especially the sponged gold. It must be fun for the artist to sponge 22 caret gold! I love Royal Chelsea and have on piece, Green Ivy, which also a very unusual pattern and also has a lot of gold in it. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Aren't sinus infections terrible?!! Happy to hear you are on the mend. The Golden Rose is gorgeous and I enjoyed reading about the sponge technique. I think it's the nicks and breaks are just a few of the wonderful stories these gorgeous pieces can tell. Lovely post.

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  8. Lovely cup and saucer. Love your pitcher and bowl, a great place to show it off.
    Thanks for hosting.

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  9. Amazing tea cup. I have always wanted one of those. Love your pitcher as well. Have a good week my friend. Hugs, Martha

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  10. I LOVE your Golden Rose teacup. It looks very similar to Royal Albert. Happy June, and I'm glad you're feeling better!

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  11. Beautiful teacup! Your pitcher and bowl set is beautiful, also! I have two large pitchers that have cracks in them, but still enjoy them very much. Thank you for hosting and have a wonderful week! Glad you are feeling better!
    Hugs, Nancy

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  12. You had me at "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady!" I love that book. I homeschooled my kids all the way through high school, and one of the things we observed every week through the majority of those years was a nature study day. Using Miss Holden's book as inspiration, we made our own nature journals, complete with drawings, photographs, quotes, and narrative.

    Golden Rose puts me a bit in mind of Old Country Roses, don't you think? It's a lovely pattern.

    Thanks so much for stopping by my cottage to see my repaired magnolia teacup.

    Blessings on your week,
    Patti @ Magnolia Cottage

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  13. I just bought this book myself last month. It has been very enjoyable to read. Your tea cup is totally gorgeous! I have the very same one : ) It is so regal to me with all that gold. A very romantic and dramatic cup. Your pitcher and bowl set is a lovely deep color of blue. It doesn't matter that it isn't perfect at all. It is beautiful!
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  14. That lid is gorgeous! It is such a sham that parts of it were smashed. That cup is lovely. Thanks for sharing the interesting book, I enjoyed getting to see a bit of it.

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  15. Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I've been looking around, and I love your content. I'm your newest follower!!!

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  16. Just lovely.... you and the teacup..... life is blessed. Luv visiting

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  17. Glad you are feeling better! Yup, a little flaw never stopped me from loving a beautiful piece. The page from the book is beautiful and I love what you shared! Thanks for linking up to SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  18. I was wondering if anyone could tell me about a Royal Chelsea stamp that has a full crown at the top and inside the circle it’s on, what looks like a globe

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  19. I was wondering if anyone could tell me about a Royal Chelsea stamp that has a full crown at the top and inside the circle it’s on, what looks like a globe

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  20. Lorraine, Sydney, NSW, Australia: 4.10pm 6.11.2022
    Came upon your Blog whilst researching information on my Golden Rose, Royal Chelsea Bone China collection.
    I give thanks to my Fathers good taste for, as a result, I have 4 teacups/saucers plus additional small plates for High Tea.
    He also purchased Milk & Cream Jugs and a Sugar Bowl together with a Tray for sandwiches/cakes.
    All this for my Mother back in 1970.
    I also have 2 Dinner Plates and Bread/Butter plates and sundry bowls meant for what purpose I do not know.
    He was at the time most annoyed when told that the additional 2 Dinner & Bread/Butter plates were no longer available. As he said, "I could have purchased them all at once instead of piecemeal".
    Do you know whether these additional Dinner & Bread/Butter plates can be acquired at this time?

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