A.T Finney & Sons Ltd owned the tradename DUCHESS and were based in Longton, Staffordshire
This teacup IS part of a trio of the same design, split up as we felt the individual pieces may be of more interest to someone - look HERE to see another piece of the same design
DLAT Rating 10/10 !!! (Darling Look At This!)
DUCHESS - Teacup ONLY
Made in England
Circa period 1960's ~ 1980's
Fine White Bone China
Translucent, meaning if held to the light you can see your fingers through the china
Transferware decorated (assumed) because there are no artists marks although this teacup does have '957' hand written underneath (in green). The artwork looks to be too 'perfect' to have been hand painted
Hand gold gilding applied to the inside rim, outside top rim, handle and around the base
Pink roses with foliage on a pure white background, two different designs on each side of the cup with one side having a small roses design whereas the other side of the cup has a much larger rose design.
The colouring is delicate, pastel and very 'dainty' in appearance, perfect for a High Tea party
Bi-directional scalloping used on the top lip i.e both horizontally and vertical
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Backstamp design strongly suggests this teacup was produced in the period 1960's ~ 1980's based on the Crown graphic placed at the top of the backstamp, very clean, simplified backstamp design, only the word ENGLAND (not Made In) and the use of transfers for the decoration.
Black colouring
(Simple graphic of a crown)
DUCHESS
BONE CHINA
ENGLAND
There is no Artist marks but there is a hand applied "957" in pale green UNDER the glaze
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This teacup is a bit like a "show pony" in that it is just so beautiful and delicate! My wife hardly ever bought this one out of the china cabinet and the condition attests to that ...
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO discolouration
NO fleabites
NO crazing
Gilding is in excellent condition with no signs of handling or washing wear on ANY part, not even the handle or top lip are showing wear to the gilding!
The inside of the cup is very clean and white, no signs of tannin stains at all (or glaze breakdown for that matter)
Two extremely minor things I noticed while gently looking at the teacup:
a) Inside the cup is a tiny little 'mark' but I cannot figure out what it is. Rubbing with a cloth does not remove it, it feels smooth to the finger and it looks like a very light yellow. It is tiny and barely noticeable with all the white china around it, but it can be seen if looked at very closely.
b) Another extremely small, faint mark on the outside (nowhere near the mark mentioned in (a)) and again I cannot remove it with rubbing and it feels nice and smooth to the touch of my finger. Looking closely with a magnifying glass, it is almost like a small dab of paint (a grey/purplish colour) which incidently is the same colouring used in the rose foliage very close to this mark - perhaps it has always been this way. We never really took a close look before, just enjoyed our tea!
