Pattern 1676 Spode bone china Bute shape Coffee Can introduced c1811. The design is a loose floral spray printed in charcoal enamel and following firing it was hand-painted by Henry Daniel's decorators who filled in the design outlines with green enamel. This coffee can has a wide floral moulded border around the top outside rim as well as the pattern 1676 decoration. The moulded border is known as 'Flower Embossed' and it was introduced c1813 & was immensely popular.
The Flower Embossed decoration was built into the can/cup moulds which was much cheaper than applying ornamental motifs 'sprigged on' as added pieces of decoration. Provided the moulds were replaced when worn or damaged this was a very successful way of introducing 'cheaper' decoration. Josiah Spode II was not just at the quality end of ceramics production, he wanted to supply the 'middle classes' with desirable objects as well.
Times were very hard and Josiah Spode II was looking to gain market share. The Napoleonic Wars were still going & the British Government was desperate for money and had raised taxes on their ceramic products during 1811 resulting in 30 English potters filing for bankruptcy in that year alone. 1812 would also bring war with America.
Josiah Spode II's signature handle
Flower Embossed was the most popular of Spode's moulded designs
Clean & white porcelain with lovely gilt decoration
This coffee can is marked to its base with its pattern number '1676' in red enamel. It is worth remembering when trying to read pattern numbers (if there are any) that they were always written this way up. There is also a decorator's mark in green enamel.
The pattern number dates to c1811 but the moulded decoration dates to c1813 so this Spode Coffee Can would have been made around 1813. It probably wouldn't have been made much later because 1813 was the date of introduction for Spode's London shape coffee cup & this style took off quickly and by c1818 coffee cans were no longer fashionable.
A similar patterned Spode plate can be seen in the Victoria & Albert Collection although theirs does not appear to have the embossed border or a pattern number on its base, see it here: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O150957/plate-spode-ceramic-works/