Pattern 1923 Spode bone china Bute shape Coffee Can decorated with 'Swag Embossed' moulding in a wide border to its outer top rim together with hand-painted lilies both inside & out. This design was introduced at Spode c1812-1813.
Swag Embossed moulding incorporates classical anthemion & acanthus motifs. It was a rather busy design much like Dolphin Embossed & was not popular with Spode's customers. See pattern 1875 (illustrated) for a similar design.
The lily here is Nymphaea alba or European Water Lily with its yellow centre.
Spode 'Swag Embossed' moulding was considered rather crowded & heavy. Thus it was short-lived and had virtually ceased production by 1822 because it was so difficult to use it tastefully in conjunction with enamel decoration. However, this particular design which uses judiciously placed sprays of lilies in a limited colour palette suits it very well as does a later Spode design, pattern number 2533 (illustrated) of c1816.
The small lily spray here is Convallaria majalis known as Lily-of-the-Valley it is a highly scented & native woodland plant in the Northern Hemisphere.
The usual Josiah Spode II kinked handle & gilding pattern
Unfortunately some of the gilding has worn away around the base band but this is a rare pattern to find.
Inside the Spode Coffee Can you can see beautifully, hand-painted lily sprays. Lilium candidum also known as Madonna Lily or Tiger Lily symbolises majesty & wealth.
There are no pattern numbers, manufacture's marks or worker's marks on the base of this Spode coffee can but there is an old collector's label.
Similar Spode pieces in pattern numbers 1924 & 1875 (illustrated on this site) can be seen on the Spode ABC Blogspot which is written by Pam Woolliscroft the former Spode Museum Curator here:
See also pattern 2533 (illustrated) for another example of Spode's 'Swag Embossed' decoration.