HISTORY:
My wife "collects" but is changing which type of china/porcelain she wants to acquire, such as signed Pâte-sur-Pâte from Minton, Oh my! deep pockets are needed for these with some of the finer examples approaching the cost of a car at well known auction houses such as Sotherbys! Never heard of these Pâte-sur-Pâte? Below is an example of the type of wares I am talking about ...
She has come to realise that many of her/our treasured items need to "leave home" to find a new, appreciative, caring home to live in, these Minton's are nervously waiting for a new "forever home(s)"
HISTORY:
Not a name that you hear a lot in the world of fine chinaware here in Australia, MINTON potters are considered one of the finest names in porcelain, ceramics, bone china and earthernware pieces. While other fine pieces from the likes of Wedgwood, Royal Albert, Royal Doulton etc made their way to Australia over time, a much lesser number of Minton pieces went "down under" - they were quite highly priced and prized by their owners, not making the trip to the "Antipodes"
Minton is one of the very long "stayers" in the English potters world, having been formed in 1796 - imagine this ... while Captain Cook was only just discovering Australia, ... back in England, Thomas Minton was beginning his potting venture in Stoke. The Minton business was eventually swallowed up by the Royal Doulton Group and then with another change, the Waterford Wedgwood Group. In general, the "Minton" name on products disappeared in the late 1960's
These Bouillon cups and saucers are of very high quality, bright White bone china but they are "contemporary" pieces from the late 1950's ~ early 1960's - certainly not from the 18th Century!
I hear you ... just what on earth is a Bouillon cup?
Think of a slightly larger teacup but with a teacup handle on EACH side. Perfect for those occasions where "slurping" is acceptable (not too loud!) and a you have a nice stable hold on the cup.
My wife only bought these out at afternoon gatherings just a couple of times but they were perfect for a small cup hot soup such as a Miso, a hot Honey based drink (Winter treat!) and of course, tea or coffee.
Another useful thing about these two handled cups is they are perfectly at home with a lady who is right OR left handed! Ever noticed that? When presented with a cup of tea, the handle is usually over to the right, now for a left handed person this means they need to rotate the cup so they can comfortably hold the handle.
DLAT RATING (Darling, Look At This!) 9.9/10
MINTON POTTERY Bouillon cup and/or Saucer
(Offered separately or as a duo if all pieces still remain available)
Currently I have two pairs (cup & saucer) or four pieces in total with the price indicated being for one off EACH PIECE, however if two or four pieces are selected then an automatic discount does apply in the checkout
Circa 1959 & 1960 (the backstamp tells all! see my notes about this special backstamp further down in the description)
Made In England
Bright White Bone China - very "porcelain like" in appearance and weight. This is not your very fine bone china such as that produced by Shelley or a Belleek product.
Pattern: Lorraine
Pattern design is ... yes, flowers! Small, pastel coloured flowers of various colours and varieties, with foliage. Decoration has been applied extensively inside the bowl of the cup, in fact more so than the outside.
Gold gilding has been heavily applied to the top rim, sides and back of each handle and around the foot of the cup.
The outside walls of the cup and topside of the saucer are a twisted swirl texture.
Looking closely (and supported by the artist's marks near the backstamps) I believe these to be hand decorated. The work is very similar to many that I have viewed from this era, something like a fusion between transferware and hand crafting with solid painted areas and also the use of "dot" finer details (dots being all of varying sizes)
Translucent, which means if held to the light you can easily see the shadow of your fingers through the china.
DIMENSIONS:
CUP: 114mm mouth x 52mm height
This makes the cup about 20mm wider than a "standard" teacup but more squat or bowl like.
Sometimes just having numbers can be difficult to visualise so I have actually measured exactly how much liquid the cup will comfortably hold ... 3/4 cup or 6 ounces.
WEIGHT: 157g
SAUCER: 158mm diameter, which is only 10~15mm wider than a standard saucer
WEIGHT: 140g
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
The backstamp (on the saucers only) is quite special too! While there is the normal "contemporary" backstamp that Minton's used from the late 1950's onwards ... there is more!
In addition to this Lime Green printed backstamp, another STAMPED impression into the china has also been made, actually two of them.
The photograph of the backstamp is not clear enough to make out the stamped impressions but here is the text ...
MINTON
CHINA
Below this is a two group number impression
Saucer 1 (June 1959): 6 59
Saucer 2 (Feb 1960): 2 60
Decorator's marks appear on all pieces
The cups do NOT have these impressions, I am guessing the area available on the base is just far too small
It looks to me as though the backstamp was applied to the saucer first and THEN the stamped impression made because on one saucer I can see that the printed backstamp has been significantly affected by the stamping.
Here is the backstamp on the cups
and the backstamp on the saucers
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This first section of the condition report is universal to all four pieces (two sets of cup & saucers), any difference or flaws are noted below this section
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO chips
NO crazing observed (both Wet & Dry)
NO discolouration or damage/wear was observed to the decorative work on any piece. No pieces have any "stains", in particular the inside of the cups - clean as and the decorative flowers like just beautiful while you are having a slurp!
NO knife cuts or scratches observed in the centre of the saucers.
NO observable wear at all to the heavily applied Gold gilding on all pieces, not even the most handled areas such as the cup handle and the rims.
I thought to myself, so the decoration is great but I bet there are some fleabites ... I was wrong (again!) correct ...
NO fleabites to the cups or saucers at all, checked both visually and by touch.
The are no additional comments about this any individual piece
A truly unique cup & saucer set from one of the best porcelain & chinaware makers in England, sure it's not old in relative terms but hey! it's a genuine Minton product.
