BACKGROUND:
My wife "collects" but is changing which type of china/porcelain she wants (now pre-1900's) and she has come to realise that many of our treasured items need to "leave home" to find an alternative, caring home to live in.
Tuscan was the trading name used by RH & SL Plant, operating out of the Tuscan Works in Longton.
Operations began in 1898 and in 1966 the company was acquired by Wedgwood and although the operations continued, they were now part of the Wedgwood Group.
Yet another outstanding fine bone china teaset trio from Tuscan, the printed pattern name is Aristocrat and while there is number on the underside of the saucers (only), F340, this has been hand applied by the gilder and I'm not convinced this is actually the pattern number.
The design is visually appealing, if light Green is your "thing"
DLAT RATING (Darling, Look At This!) 9.0/10
NOTE: While visually appealing, the teacups in particular do show light signs of wear ... please read the full description below
RH & SL Plant (TUSCAN) Teacup - Saucer - Side Plate (Trio)
(Offered separately or as a trio if all pieces remain available)
Circa 1947+ (this backstamp was used from 1947 onwards although my wife feels that the family member who had these would have bought them in the 1950's)
Made In England
Price indicated is for one off EACH PIECE, however if both pieces are selected then an automatic discount does apply in the checkout
Fine Bone China
Translucent, which means if held to the light you can easily see the shadow of your fingers through the china.
Pattern: Aristocrat
All pieces have the decorator & gilder's marks near the backstamps.
I have carefully examined the decoration very closely and compared the decoration between pieces and I am confident to say these have been hand decorated, not transferware. There are inconsistencies between the same pattern on various pieces and it "looks" hand applied!
Gold gilding has been applied around the scalloped rims of all pieces plus on both sides and back of the teacup handles and around the cup base foot.
Shapes: All pieces are quite "traditional" in shape but across all pieces a "fluted swirling patterning" is used for the china blank.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Backstamp of the teacup (A)
Backstamp of the saucer
Backstamp of the side plate
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP: 84mm mouth x 70mm height
SAUCER: 145mm diameter
SIDE PLATE: 170mm diameter
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This first section of the condition report is universal to all pieces, any differences 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 teacups - clean and bright White!
NO significant knife cuts or scratches observed in the central areas of the saucers or side plates.
Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty relating to any observed flaws on any of the pieces ... nothing is perfect after 75 years!
Gold gilding ...
While the saucers and side plates ALL show practically NO usage wear through normal handling, the teacups are a different story ...
There is no observable wear to the Gold gilding on the teacup base foot area, both handles (surprisingly!) but the top rim has not withstood all those lips sipping tea so well! The gilding around the top edge is "patchy" and if I was to rate the gilding around the rim out of 10, these would get a 7 ... meaning that wear is apparent and visible but not "terrible"!
Another thing I noticed while photographing these teaset pieces, ONE teacup (only) has a slightly different colouring to all of the other pieces. Yes, can still call itself light Green but the "shade" or intensity of the Green is slightly stronger than all the other pieces, even the backstamp on this piece is darker in colour than any of the others. I have tried to show this slightly "darker" cup in one of the photographs, sitting alongside a "normal" coloured teacup.
I have separately offered this slightly "darker" teacup so that anyone who is interested can purchase "matching colours" across the teaset pieces.
The colours of the saucers and side plates is consistent and there are no such colour variations with those pieces.
NO observable wear at all to the Gold gilding on all pieces, not even the most handled areas such as the teacup handle and the teacup & saucer rims.
FLEABITES ... while it is quite common to come across "fleabites" (slivers of china knocked away, usually on the underside of the saucer or plates) on older teaset pieces, these pieces have survived really well in this regard.
There are NO fleabites observed on both the saucers and just one side plate has a tiny fleabite which is quite difficult to see and certainly not discoloured. It would seem these pieces were handled with care during their long lives.
The are no additional comments about any of these Aristocrat light Green teaset pieces ...
This double trio china set is now sitting in a cabinet in the "departure lounge" (spare room) waiting to make the exciting trip to it's new 'forever' home - doesn't everyone/everything get excited about taking a holiday?
