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Whether you’re collecting to sell or looking to fill your china cabinet, English bone china teacups are a delightful rabbit hole worthy of Alice herself. Our tea-riffic starter guide will help you steep through the process with ease
When collecting vintage English bone china teacups, you may be attracted to a specific colour, shape, pattern, design feature, time period or manufacturer.
Or maybe you will only buy vintage teacups you love individually, which will collectively form your unique set.
Let’s explore the history of bone china, various teacup shapes, shapes of handles and decorative elements.
We’ll also cover how to start your collection with examples from some of the top companies that started in England, and what to look for to ensure you purchase a quality vintage English bone china teacup, no matter the price point.
This soft-paste porcelain, comprising bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin, was perfected by potter Josiah Spode between 1781 and 1789. Spode owned a company in Stroke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, home of England’s pottery district.
With bone china, artists could craft thinner, more elegant designs than ever before. However, it’s interesting to note that bone china is stronger in construction than most porcelains.
Do not confuse ivory bone china with bone china. Ivory bone china is the American cousin of English bone china and is thicker and heavier.
By the 18th century, the English had taken the Chinese teacup and added a handle.
Generally, there are three basic shapes to a teacup. The classic or bowl shape teacup is short and wide, although you will find this style with longer, taller sides in the marketplace.
The flared or summer teacup resembles the classic teacup, but if you look closely, you’ll see it gently flares at the rim.
The flute shape is taller than the classic or flared style and starts to widen right from the base in a v-like formation. It wasn’t long before manufacturers stylized these basic shapes and gave them distinctive names.
Royal Albert China started after Thomas Clark Wild purchased Albert Works Pottery in 1896 in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, England.
The company produced high-quality china for tea, breakfast, and dessert. By 1904, it had been rebranded as the luxury brand Royal Albert and produced some of the most coveted teacups for vintage collectors today.
Royal Albert teacup shapes you will find while vintage shopping include the Elizabethan. It’s a teacup that royally rests on an inch-high footed pedestal from which it curves gently in and then out.
Other footed pedestal style teacups include but are not limited to the Gainsborough shape cup, the Hampton shape cup, the Avon shape cup, the Countess shape cup, and the Lyric shape cup.
The Gainsborough is shaped like a tulip. The Hampton has the distinction of almost looking like a sugar bowl if you were to add a handle to the other side.
The Avon is a low, wide V-shape with a wide rim, while the Countess is taller and elegantly rounded. The beautiful Lyric is slim and curved at the bottom and flares out mid-cup.
A loop handle is the rounded classic handle most associated with a teacup. Of course, there are numerous variations on the loop.
The broken loop handle or B-shape is like the loop, but there’s a double bump forming a “B”. The loop with kick shape starts out as a loop but then drops downward and kicks forward.
The elegant French loop handle has a sense of drama as the top curvature elongates. Meanwhile, the broken French loop handle has a break in the line at elongation.
The angular or 7-shaped handle is an angled loop. The ear handle is shaped like the outline of a human ear, with ample space for your fingers.
The Old English shape handle rises steeply upward, moves horizontally to an angular corner, and then curves downward. Then, there are geometric-style square shape handles or French square, a more elongated version.
Even fancier handles can contain rings inside, dubbing the design a ring handle. And, yes, it is just big enough to slide a finger through! The oval or egg shape ring handle is set vertically or horizontally, just for fun.
The coil shape handle looks just like you would imagine.
When shopping at vintage shops, antique shops, flea markets, or yard sales, keep your eyes open for highly coveted designs like the butterfly shape handle. A butterfly motif sits where the handle should be. These teacups are more decorative than utilitarian.
Also in the marketplace is the wing shape handle, reminiscent of an angel’s wing. Some have rings within them, so you can better grasp the handle with your fingers.
When searching for vintage English bone china teacups, floral motifs are the most popular. There is also a wide variety of fruit and foliage designs, birds, and animals.
Look for romantic scenes of couples, too. Replicas of Chinese or Japanese porcelain designs are also in demand.
One of the most desired patterns is Royal Albert’s Old Country Roses, inspired by an English rose garden in full bloom. Developed in 1962, the pattern with red, pink and yellow roses is adorned with gold-trim accents.
And try to collect all 12 of the vintage Royal Albert’s Flowers of the Month series, one specially designed to represent each month.
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Let’s explore the history of some of the other bone china teacup manufacturers and the most stand-out patterns.
Wedgwood, makers of fine bone china and porcelain pottery, was established in Stoke-on-Trent in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood, who was one of the first notable potters to mark his name on his products.
You’ll find a maker’s mark with a signature, not a symbol. Look for Wedgwood England, Wedgwood Made in England, or Wedgwood of Estruria & Barlastion on the bottom of the teacup and saucer. Note: Beware of copies marked “Wedgewood” with an “e” — they are not authentic.
A highly collectable Wedgwood pattern for teacups, Wild Strawberry is an intricate design of strawberries and leaves.
Josiah Spode started Spode in Stoke-on-Trent in 1770. He was famous not only for further developing the recipe for bone china but also for underglaze blue printing. Spode could transfer intricate designs onto his works using copper wires with this technique.
A beloved underglaze blue printing pattern is Spode’s Blue Italian. Inspired by lovely blue Chinese and Japanese porcelain, Blue Italian, first developed in 1812, illustrates the Italian countryside.
Spode Buttercup is a light-hearted pattern crafted first in 1924. The teacup with a fluted rim features yellow buttercup flowers. Most bone china you’ll find from this company is marked Spode.
Aynsley was founded by John Aynsley and started in Stoke-on-Trent in 1775. Not only was Aynsley bone china exported to over 70 countries, but they also became a warranted supplier to Queen Victoria.
Flip over the teacups, and you’ll see a crown in Ansley’s light green hallmark.
Some stellar Aynsley teacups you may stumble across from the 1930s-1950s appear in dusty rose, sage green, turquoise or royal blue with white reverse. These beauties are heavily decorated with gold and festooned with fruit and floral designs inside the teacup.
Royal Stafford China was founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1845. In 1992, they merged with another company and are known today as Royal Stafford. You’ll find the name of the company and a crown in various designs marked on the underside of your bone china collectibles.
For elegant, more formal afternoon tea parties, look for teacups and saucers elaborately painted with gold patterns or bolder, more playful colours featuring paisleys and abstract floral arrangements circa 1930.
You’ll even find Royal Stafford black teacups and saucers heavily rimmed in gold. One stunner has a white interior with colourful pansies circling the scalloped rim.
A latecomer, Royal Doulton did not hit the scene until 1815. The company managed to take over Royal Albert in 1971 before merging with Waterford Wedgewood in 2005. Royal Doulton is the manufacturer to turn to for elegant simplicity in design.
Royal Doulton Gold Lace has a delicate filigree pattern around the edge of the cups and saucers, with gold around the rims.
Strasbourg features golden and black scrolls and a classic loop handle edged in gold.
For something with retro colour, you are bound to fall in love with the Royal Doulton Melrose pattern. Lovely teal green with gold accents, the white interior cups are left unadorned.
The owners of Foley Works, a British pottery company, built another location exclusively to craft bone china in 1860.
Joseph Shelley became a partner in 1870 in what was then known as Wileman & Company. As you can deduce by the company name, Shelley became the complete owner.
The company’s zenith was during the 1920s-1930s. Shelley is your manufacturer if the Art Deco period is your favourite era. The Vogue blocks tea duo is a contrasting yellow and black modern abstract design. It’s a rare find from the 1930s.
In direct opposition, Shelley also designed teacups and saucers with woodland themes, complete with thatch-roofed cottages.
One prominent shape in the Shelley collection is what they dubbed the Queen Anne shape. It resembles an artistically rounded octagonal shape.
With its delicate beauty, bone china is easy to identify. Hold it up to the light and place your open hand behind it. Observe the shadows of your fingers right through the bone china.
Shop for vintage teacups in person if you can. This way, you can examine them closely before you buy.
Look for chips and cracks, especially along the rim of the teacup and saucer. Also, check for signs of repairs with glue.
Several factors affect the value and, therefore, the price of vintage English bone china teacups. Of course, the rarer the piece, the more it will be worth.
Elements such as beautifully hand-painted designs make the piece more valuable. While some patterns are still being produced, older or original pieces hold the most value.
Teacups are worth more when sold with a saucer. Checking the stamp on the bottom of each will tell you if it is an original match.
Although some bone china teacups with matching saucers can fetch thousands of dollars, you’ll find a wide range of collectible pieces for $25 to $1,500.
Using your vintage teacups for just tea would be a shame.
To use your lovely cups on more occasions, think dessert. Teacups make beautiful vessels to hold velvety mousses, custards, individual trifles, ice cream or sorbets.
They can also act as accent pieces for dessert buffets to hold chocolate truffles or candies. Try serving hot chocolate or lattes in your vintage teacups on a cold winter’s day.
Or use them as dainty storage vessels for jewellery or potted succulents.
Vintage teacups are not to be washed in the dishwasher. Hand wash only with mild dish soap. Keep teacups out of direct sunlight to avoid fading.
Also, prevent chips and cracks by not stacking your bone china teacups within one another.
With care, you will be able to enjoy the life of your vintage English bone china teacups and pass them down to generations to come.
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Karen Barr is a freelance writer in Ottawa, Ont.
