Art period & date: Regency, ca. 1825
Maker: Henry Daniel
This Henry Daniel trio was made around 1825. The ‘Imari’-type decoration shows an imaginary garden of a Chinese scholar, seen in miniature through framed windows on the saucer and inside of the cups, and more expansively on the cup exteriors. The stylised rock and flower, banana tree and orange fence are all motifs that Daniel took from Spode, where he had been in charge of decoration before starting his own factory in 1822. In particular, the outside of the cups is strongly reminiscent of Spode’s famous ‘Banana Tree’ pattern. The handle of the ‘Etruscan’ cups is also a straight copy of Spode’s ‘Bell shape.’
The pattern number, 3736, dates from the period before Richard Daniel joined his father as a partner in 1827.
Condition The coffee cup has a 1.4 cm hairline rim crack, visible only on very close inspection; otherwise condition very good. The teacup has a long jagged old crack running down one side of the handle and a 2 cm rim crack on the opposite side; a section of the thin gilt band around the foot has also rubbed. A section of the saucer has broken off and been glued back.
Saucer diameter: 14.3 cm
Teacup height: 6.6 cm; diameter: 9.3 cm; width across handle: 11.6 cm
Coffee cup height: 7.5 cm; diameter: 7.9 cm; width across handle: 9.8 cm
Net weight: 331 g
Medium: Bone china (porcelain)
Origin: Stoke-on-Trent, England
For background on the factory, see Henry & Richard Daniel in Makers & Artists
