Bell China was the trade name used by Shore & Coggins Ltd, England
The backstamp indicates the period this piece came from was somewhere between 1936 & 1966 although I feel the 1950's would be an accurate time period for these pieces based on the hand painted decoration, art design with soft pale colouring and teaset pieces design, in particular the teacup handle which is very traditional.
I currently have no other pieces from our "Meadowside" teaset, they have all found new homes (very quickly I might add!)
DLAT Rating: 9.5/10 (Darling Look At This!)
BELL CHINA - Teacup (1) ONLY
Fine Bone China Teacup
Design/pattern: Meadowside
Period 1936 ~ 1966 (based on the backstamp design) although we believe this actual design was from the 1950's
Translucent fine china, meaning that when it is held to the light you can easily see the shadow of your hand through the chinaware
Hand painted
Soft, pale hue colouring of English meadow flowers, grass and one design with silhouette background bushes/trees.
THREE artwork designs are painted onto the cup, the largest on one side, a smaller (different) design on the other side and a small bouquet WITHIN the teacup.
Lime green paintwork to the top rim, around the base and down the back of the handle
NO GOLD GILDING is used at all in this design
This is a very traditional flower design, tasteful and due to the lack of Gold gilding it is not gaudy! It doesn't scream out at you ... "look at me, look at me"
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Reddish Brown colouring is used for the backstamp
FINE
BONE
BELL CHINA (Handwritten style, logo used by Bell China)
MADE IN
ENGLAND (Underlined with two lines)
"MEADOWSIDE"
Artist's mark is above the backstamp right out near the base rim, this is a lime Green paint
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP: 80mm diameter 'mouth' x 65mm height
Weight: 100g
CONDITION:
Very Good condition
NO cracks
NO fleabites
NO crazing
Artwork is not worn in all three areas
NO tannin (tea) stains inside the cup
Green lip, base and handle paintwork is not worn or damaged
Looking extremely closely at the cup I can see the tell-tale signs of human endeavour, those wonderful 'slips of the hand' while she (most likely) skillfully created the art
In fact, the skill of the artist is most impressive, image how difficult it would be paint INSIDE the cup - that takes some skills for sure.
Overall, although "unassuming" in colouring, this teacup is an absolute stunner and grabs the eye!
