Pattern 312 Spode bone china Bute shape Coffee Can. This exquisite design was introduced by Josiah Spode II c1802. The design probably came from Europe and depicts gilt & iron red enamel cornucopias filled with pink roses & little two-tone blue & yellow forget-me-nots.
Josiah Spode II makes this gilding pattern down the Spode kinked handle, his instantly recognisable trade mark. It is the mark of quality.
You can see a tiny crack on the top rim here but what a pretty little coffee can; thank goodness it has survived over 200 years so that we can admire the work of those Stoke-on-Trent potters, decorators, gilders & brave, ingenious entrepreneurs.
It is almost clean inside & has just some wear to the gilding around its rim, obviously it was a treasured item.
No manufacturer's marks or decorator's marks on its base which is usual for early Spode bone china. Just an old collector's label.
This is a Spode pattern 312 bone china Creamer in the New Oval shape which was introduced at Spode c1805.
It is showing some wear to the gilding but never-the-less you don't come across these items very often.
Almost clean inside with just a few specks of kiln dust
This Spode Creamer is marked to its base in red enamel with the manufacturer's name & pattern number so I presume it was made c1810-15 (earlier pieces are either not marked or have gilt pattern numbers only).
It also has a previous collector's label; the Andrews, Derek & Yvonne were passionate early Spode Collectors for over 30 years.
Here is a pattern 312 Spode bone china London shape Tea Cup & Saucer. The pattern dates from c1802 but the shape was introduced at Spode c1813. Perhaps because it is a very pretty pattern would explain why it was still in use eleven years after introduction. Possibly someone already had a Tea Service in this pattern in the old Bute shape and they wanted to 'modernise' it so they purchased some matching London shape tea cups. This could have been a special order that Josiah Spode II would have been happy to fulfil.
By c1813 Josiah Spode II had perfected his bone china production so that he could promote his beautifully white, flawless porcelain by leaving the outside unpainted & Henry Daniel could equally promote the skills of his decorators.
Looking good at 200+ years old.
Decorating the inside of a cup to the matching saucer design would have required much more skill from Henry Daniel's decorators who provided this service to Josiah Spode II's business.
If you take yourself to one of those 'paint a pot' pottery decoration businesses you will find out just how difficult it is!
The saucer is marked in red with 'SPODE' & its pattern number '312', the cup is unmarked. Both pieces would date from about c1813-1818; after this date different tea cup shapes were becoming fashionable & the pattern itself would have looked rather dated. The Spode London shape Tea Cup also has an old collector's label which I like to keep.