Maker: Coalport Porcelain Works (John Rose & Co.)
Period: Early/Mid-Victorian
This Coalport part tea set belongs to the Gothic Revival that revered the arts and architecture of the Middle Ages. The porcelain shapes and decoration are influenced by the vaulted ceilings, pointed arches and tracery windows of Gothic cathedrals.
The tea and coffee cups, saucers and large serving plate have concave flutes that evoke cathedral windows. In between the flutes, the ribs are moulded and gilded to resemble fan vaults of Gothic ceilings.
The pattern number 5/96 dates from around 1844, when the new Houses of Parliament were being built in London to Gothic designs of Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, after fire had destroyed most of the old Palace of Westminster in 1834.
The base of the plate has the ‘English Porcelain’ puce stamp of John Rose & Co. and Coalport.
The Gothic Revival probably began with the writings of 18th Century English politician Horace Walpole and his ‘Gothic’ mansion, Strawberry Hill, in southwest London, but did not reach full bloom until the 19th Century. In part, it was a Romantic reaction against 18th Century rationalism, and the dark, mechanised squalor of the Industrial Revolution. Gothic Revival in turn fed into the Pre-Raphaelite and arts & crafts movements.
Condition Variable. The four coffee cups are all in excellent condition, except one has minor staining. Four of the seven teacups have no wear or damage, just manufacturing flaws: a few impurities in the glaze, and a tiny porcelain tear underneath the glaze from firing. One teacup has minor gilt rubbing on the outside. Two teacups have old rim hairlines – one 7 mm long on both sides of the cup, the other 1.8 cm but visible only on the inside.
The seven shared saucers all have varying degrees of gilt rubbing.
The serving plate has an old rim chip – 8 mm x 4 mm – and gilt rubbing.
Coffee cups each height: 6.8 cm; diameter: 7.6 cm; width with handle: 9.1 cm
Teacups each height: 6.2 cm; diameter: 8.3; width with handle: 9.6
Saucers each diameter: 14.8 cm
Serving plate diameter: 24.8 cm
Combined net weight: 2.784 kg
Non-UK customers – For reasons of size and weight (3.6 kg when packed), the set will be shipped via DHL. Select the DHL option at checkout or contact us in advance for a DHL estimate. We will need a delivery address, including postcode.
Medium: Bone china (porcelain)
Origin: Coalport, Shropshire, England
For background on the factory, see Coalport Porcelain Works (John Rose & Co.) in Makers & Artists
