Demitasse cup (much smaller than a "standard teacup") of unknown pedigree - please read my description for FULL details
Demitasse Cup ONLY
Much smaller in size than a standard teacup and most often used for drinking coffee
European made (I suspect West Germany)
When was it made? No idea but I have a feeling it was the same sort of heritage as some other pieces I have from Europe, dating between 1930's & 1940's
Fine white china base
Hand decorated
Translucent (you can see light through the walls of the cup)
Design is similar to English but "different" - mainly multi-coloured leaves with a couple of flowers but these do not look like roses, more of a lily shape.
Top band is a beige colour with a deep burgundy erratic line all around the cup
Gold gilding is applied to the top rim and at the base
I would have to say the artist who decorated this cup was having a bad day! In many places the artwork (leaves) is outlined with a thin grey line and within this outline is supposed to be the colouring (reds, blues, green and yellow) but the artist "missed the mark" so the colouring is has not been correctly placed within the outline! The colour application looks quite sloppy!
The base has some makers identification but I cannot find out anything at all about these marks, which are:
W & S
(REC. d
4779) this section within the brackets is actually within a diamond shape and the small d has two dots underneath it (I cannot type them here)
(Gold painted numbers)
1773
I tried searching on a registration # 4779 but came up blank, making the assumption that REC. d was a variation of Registered Company (REG. D) used often in British fine china identification,
Unusual to have the 4 numbers painted in gold, normally I would expect just an artists mark
This all leads me to think this is NOT a British made piece, particularly that it is a demi cup for coffee, not very British!
Interesting little cup but it now has no place in our collection of fine British china!
CONDITION:
Extremely good condition.
NO cracks
NO fleabites
NO chips
Artwork is clean and undamaged although somewhat "unprofessional" looking
Gold gilding is substantially unworn on both the top rim and the lower area of the cup
