Coffee cup and saucer (pair)

1820-1840

Measurements

Cup: 2-1/2 in x 4 in x 3-12 in (dia); saucer: 1-1/4 in x 5-7/8 in (dia)

Materials

Glazed white earthenware

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, anonymous gift

Accession Number

2023.17

Provenance

The anonymous donor purchased this pair of coffee cups and saucers along with other related objects from Heather Higgins Antiques, Winnetka, Illinois

Comments

Early coffee cups were distinguished from tea cups by having handles.  Saucers were deeper than more modern counterparts.

Pink lusterware was among the most popular Staffordshire ceramics made for local consumption and export. The object form, slip-cast in a mold, was brightly painted, in this instance in shades of pink achieved by firing a metallic oxide glaze of gold.  In addition to striping, these cups and saucers have prominent stylized imagery suggestive of a medieval cottage with trees and fences.

Other objects—some from the same service and others from similar services— include a teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, slop bowl, and cups and saucers with and without handles.