The Ridgway family was one of the important dynasties manufacturing Staffordshire pottery, with a large number of family members and business names, over a period from the 1790s to the late 20th century.
While these pieces are of a very 'late' production from one of the Ridgway potteries, these still represent a significant piece of English pottery history spanning 200 years.
This trio (teacup, saucer & side plate - all offered separately) is an example of one of their 'contemporary' products, most likely produced in the period 1970's ~ 1980's
You may need dark glasses when sitting near these! In our opinion (others may not agree) we considered this type of Gold adorned chinaware to be quite gaudy, although it makes for a break from the endless "flower designs"!
In a moment of madness we bought some of these Royal Vale teasets years ago. Well it's a personal taste 'thing', we love Art Deco and 'nice' well made and hand decorated chinawares with beautiful English flowers or shapes but this type of china, soaked in gold decoration was never really 'us' and after a few uses from time to time, they tended to sit in one of the china display cabinets never seeing a drop of tea.
This type of design is not for us but that's not to say someone else won't love them .... teasets need love!
For the greatest amount of flexibility we are offering these "piece by piece" in case you just need a replacement or if you would like the complete trio (if still available), then an automatic discount comes into play in the checkout.
Price indicated is for EACH PIECE, however if all three pieces to create a trio are selected then an automatic discount does apply in the checkout
DLAT Rating: 9.5/10 (Darling Look At This!) - remember to wear your "Sunnies"!
RIDGWAY POTTERIES LTD - Teacup, Saucer & Side Plate
Trade name: Royal Vale
Fine Bone China
Design: No decorative art in the normal sense of the word, but LOADS of Gold gilding applied to a pure White base - a very contemporary looking teaset which does "blend in" with many table settings.
Special note: While the teacup and saucer are "roughly" a standard single teacup or saucer size, the side plate is a monster being 208mm diameter, some 30% larger than "normal"!
Translucent, which means if held up to a strong light source, you can easily see the shadow of your fingers through the china
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Makers mark printed on the base of the teacup (under the glaze)
Makers mark printed on the base of the saucer (under the glaze)
Makers mark printed on the base of the side plate (under the glaze)
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP: 90mm mouth x 70mm height
SAUCER: 140mm diameter x 20mm depth (quite "bowl" shaped, great for those 'slops')
SIDE PLATE: 208mm diameter
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This first section of the condition report is universal to all three pieces, any difference or flaws are noted below this section
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO chips
NO crazing
NO fleabites
NO discolouration observed to any area of the pure White base china, particularly inside the teacup where no tannin or other staining has occurred.
As indicated above, this trio has had very little actual use and has spent most of its life in one of the display cabinets. This said, Gold gilding by it's very nature is apt to show every little flaw, no matter how small, and here are my comments about this.
Overall, the Gold gilding is unworn but there are slight & light signs of useage which are detailed below ...
TEACUP: The handle has no apparent wear signs from handling, the same applies the the gilding down the sides of the teacup and at the foot. The top rim is also in very very good condition with no obvious wear to the gilding.
SAUCER: The rim and gilding flowing towards the centre of the saucer show no signs of wear. The central ring does seem to have the very lightest of wear but this is extremely light wear.
SIDE PLATE: Again, showing no apparent wear to the edging or flowing design towards the centre. The central ring of Gold gilding has no visible wear at all. While critically looking over this side plate I did see just a couple of light "knife cuts" in the central area but again, most folk wouldn't even notice these.
There are no further comments specific to any individual piece
