Skip to main content

Cup and saucer: C.250 & A-2015

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Maker(s)

Factory: Chamberlain & Co.

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain cup and saucer with knurled edges, decorated in polychrome enamels with 'Dragon in compartments' pattern, and gilded

Soft-past porcelain with ‘pie crust’ or knurled edges, painted in blue, yellowish-green, yellow, pink, red, and a little black enamels and heavily gilded. The cup is of flaring 'bucket can' shape with a ring handle. The circular saucer has steeply sloping sides, a curved well, and stands on a footring. The outside of the cup and interior of the saucer are decorated with 'Bengal Tiger' or ‘Dragon in Compartments’ pattern: comprising three lappet shapes enclosing respectively a kylin, a dragon, and a vase of flowers on a low table, surrounded by areas of red and green ground, and thickly applied gilding. The cup has a Chinese style border inside the rim, and a pink multi-petalled dark pink flower in its base, which also appears in the centre of the saucer. There are wide bands of gilding over the knurled edges of both pieces, a narrower band round the base of the cup, and lines down the sides and back of the handle.

Notes

History note: Grafton Antiques, Sydney, from whom purchased on 11 June 1993 by Christopher Hogwood, CBE (1941-2014), Cambridge; purchased from his executors by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Legal notes

From the Collection of Christopher Hogwood, CBE. Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Place(s) associated

  • Worcester ⪼ Worcestershire ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2015-04-27) by The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Dating

19th Century, Mid#
Victoria I
Circa 1840 CE - 1844 CE

Note

This popular pattern, no. 75, derived from Chinese famille verte porcelain of the Kangxi period was produced at the original Worcester factory, and its production was continued at Richard Chamberlain's factory. The mark indicates that this cup and saucer was made at Chamberlain's after 1840 and before the closure of its Coventry Street showroom in 1844.

School or Style

Chinoiserie

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamel ( blue, yellowish-green, yellow, pink, red, and a little black) gold
Cup Diameter 7.8 cm Height 8.2 cm Width 9.6 cm
Saucer Die Axis 15 cm Height 3 cm
Handle

Materials used in production

clear Glaze
Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Glazing

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: a crown with the inscription below it

  • Text: CHAMBERLAIN & Co./WORCESTER/155 NEW BOND ST./& No. 1./COVENTRY ST/LONDON.
  • Location: On base of each piece
  • Method of creation: Printed overglaze in pale pinkish red
  • Type: Factory mark

Inscription present: circular white paper stick-on label

  • Text: 623
  • Location: On base of cup
  • Method of creation: Hand-written in black ink
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: circular white stick-on label

  • Text: 623/bis
  • Location: On base of saucer
  • Method of creation: Hand-written in black ink
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.250 & A-2015
Primary reference Number: 201343
Old object number: 623 and 623 bis
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Tuesday 19 May 2015 Updated: Wednesday 15 July 2020 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Cup and saucer" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/201343 Accessed: 2024-11-12 20:26:10

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/201343 |title=Cup and saucer |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-12 20:26:10|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-201343

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...