HISTORY:
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 special items need to "leave home" to find a new, caring home to live in.
Our philosophy is love and appreciation for the imagination and creative skills used when designing and making these pieces so many years ago. We are not into "let's make a quick buck" here as it does appear many others like to do ... take a look around online at greed in action with atmospheric asking prices which only pushes this wonderful chinaware further and further out of reach for the "Average" collector.
Our asking price for these Shelley pieces reflects our philosophy and in a bid to promote the purchasing of more than just one piece for your collection, if two or more pieces are purchased then an automatic incremental discount will apply at the checkout.
Design and shape information obtained from the Shelley China Club, UK - a very handy source of information, should Shelley be your "thing"
DLAT RATING: 9/10 (Darling Look At This!)
Dainty, delicate, very pleasing shape and yes, lovely colouring for the Summer months! We do not the true name of this design but have always referred to them as the "Buttercups"
These are "very old girls" and VERY delicate so please treat them with respect and great care when handling ... my wife did have a fantastic FULL teaset for eight but over the years accidents happen and now we just have a few bits and pieces left
SHELLEY - Teaset Pieces (Fully described below)
Made In England
Price indicated is for EACH PIECE, however if two or more pieces are selected then an automatic incremental discount does apply at the checkout
Circa 1925 ~ 1945
Yes, these were "born" just before WWII, almost 100 years ago! They are not 'perfect' though and I have gone to great pains ensuring the description of each piece is detailed for those interested ...
White Very Fine Bone China base colouring with a deep, rich Yellow inside the teacups and around the mouth of the creamer jug.
Pattern: the name of this pattern is unknown
Due to the vivid deep Yellow, we call these the "Buttercups"
Registered design: 272101
Pattern #: 7003
The only information about this design at the Shelley Club website is that the shape is referred to as Dainty
These pieces, particularly the teacups, are extremely delicate - they feel very much like our Belleek (Irish fine china) 'egg shell' like
Hand decorated
Heavy Gold gilding has been applied around all rims and completely over all handles (not just a strip of Gold)
Fine Bone China, meaning it is very light to hold and translucent (you can easily see the shadow of your fingers through the china when held up to a strong light source)
Circa period of 1925 ~ 1945 (based on the backstamp design) but we know for sure these pieces all date from the mid-late 1930's as we were gifted a lot of old Shelley many moons ago by extended family and they had purchased these in this time period, just after the 'Depression' and before World War II got underway.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Some backstamps are so difficult to read now but here are photos taken from the various pieces
Backstamp TEACUP
Backstamp SAUCER
Backstamp SIDE PLATE
Backstamp CREAMER JUG
Backstamp CAKE/SANDWICH PLATE
On all pieces, the hand applied pattern coding uses Gold paint
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP: 86mm mouth x 60mm height
SAUCER: 139mm diameter (Curved hexagonal shape if that makes sense, looks something like a flower petal)
SIDE PLATE: 151mm diameter, same shape as the saucer.
CREAMER JUG: 62mm diameter mouth x 90mm body x 75mm height
CAKE/SANDWICH PLATE: 240mm x 212mm (slightly rectangular)
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This first section of the condition report is universal to ALL pieces, following this are my comments about specific pieces and what I have observed (if anything)
NO cracks
NO chips
NO crazing - Yes, a little surprised here but there is no crazing apparent when both dry and wet tested.
NO fleabites on any piece, particularly the saucer & plates
NO discolouration observed to the lovely "Buttercup" Yellow colouring, evenly dispersed.
OBSERVATIONS PERTAINING TO EACH PIECE
TEACUPS: I have been provided with two by my wife, funny enough I have called these the A and B teacups.
The A teacup has a nice overall White base colouring which is not discoloured, this includes inside the teacup i.e no tannin stains. The Gold gilding around the rim appears to be fine, with no sections showing as worn or missing! However the teacup handle does have "back" wear from normal handling, right down where the handle joins the body.
The B teacup also has a nice overall White base colouring, with no discolouration, including the inside of this teacup i.e no tannin stains. Like the A teacup, the Gold gilding around the rim appears to be fine but again, the handle does have a small section of "back" wear to the gilding from normal handling and in the same position as teacup A.
I have taken a photograph to show these two areas of wear on the handle
When ordering a teacup, please just drop me a note with the order if you have a preference between teacup A or B
SAUCER: Pure White base colouring, there is no Yellow on this piece. The Gold gilding is solid and heavy around the rim with no handling wear apparent HOWEVER on the topside I can see (and feel) a little raised 'bump' like an imperfection within the china - Shelley with imperfections? Hmmm ... this is not a chip and it is extremely difficult to see but it is there.
SIDE PLATE: More pure White base colouring without any Yellow decoration. The Gold gilding is again solid and heavily applied with no handling wear being apparent. But this plate is not perfect, I can clearly see two tiny Black dots on the topside, actually there is another much lighter dot right near the rim. I cannot 'feel' these with my finger and simple cleaning did not budge them, in fact I looked very closely and these dots seem to be UNDER the glaze. I initially thought there was another dot on the UNDERSIDE near the rim but looking closely at that one and it is definitely a tiny 'dab' of Gold - Woopsie, a slight of the hand by the gilder. Perhaps mistakes were made at the Shelley works, especially considering the world turmoil at the time ... I really have no answer for these dots appearance
CREAMER JUG: The base White is pure and evenly dispersed, likewise the Yellow applied to the top section is evenly applied and not discoloured. However (again) I can see two small areas on the side of the jug which looks sort of "dirty" - no cracks but a light greyish looking discolouring in these two spots. Inside the jug is clean and unstained. There is also a tiny 'dot' just near the base, underneath the spout - this is a very small 'dot' which is slightly discoloured. It feels similar to a fleabite but I am not sure about this one. No crack around the area and nothing in the corresponding location inside the jug. I have tried simple cleaning but this was fruitless - perhaps something stronger could be used by the new owner. In case this dot is harbouring little bacteria, I have sprayed the area with ISO alcohol to kill any such nasties. The Gold gilding to the top rim is evenly distributed and not showing handling wear but again, just as with the teacups, there is a small area of wear to the "back" of the handle (only).
CAKE - SANDWICH PLATE: More pure White with no sign of the Yellow anywhere. Heavy gold gilding to the rim and I can see some light wear to this guilding. On two corners of the plate there is definitive wear that has occurred, the remaining Gold gilding is still in very good condition. This is a much heavier piece than the others but remains fine bone china which is translucent.
IMPORTANT! This looks to be from a different design ... while looking similar to the other pieces, the impressed work is of a similar but different design. My wife had this out on a few occasions but she always thought it may actually be a Soup Tureen base plate, due to the square depression in the centre. Doesn't really matter as it still looked very nice at afternoon tea!
Of course we pack EXTREMELY carefully, particularly those teacups ... although they will eventually leave 'home', we still care about them when they have a new owner who is waiting for them to be delivered.
