Pattern 1706 Spode bone china Bute shape Coffee Can decorated very simply in cobalt blue enamel in a design known as 'Chantilly Sprig', introduced at Spode c1811. As the name suggests, this 18th century design derives from French porcelain decorated in a similar manner at the Chantilly porcelain factory in France.
At first glance this would appear to be a strange choice of design to introduce in 1811 considering that Britain was still at war with France but Josiah Spode II knew exactly what he was doing.
This particular design is hand-painted; Spode also introduced a blue printed version some years after this one which had a central carnation flower together with several insects & flower sprigs again mimicking 18th century porcelain design.
Simple, minimalistic & affordable decoration which still shows off the beauty of Spode's white porcelain. This design, or a version of it had been produced by many manufacturers both here in the UK and abroad during the 18th century.
These would have been quick & profitable to churn out for Spode. The 'middle classes' also wanted bone china & Josiah Spode II was happy to oblige them. This 'old' but well known design would have been associated with upperclass & quality in the previous decades which is exactly what the middle classes of 1811 would have aspired to.
The little flower at the base is a lovely touch & makes the whole thing more attractive
No maker's marks on its base which was still common to this period