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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Tea Cup Tuesday-Yea!


Happy Tuesday Everyone!
I am happy to share another tea cup with you as well as a little history behind tea and tea cups.
From a little research I have found out that the tea cup has developed in England in response to the newly available tea from China. Before this time, only coffee and chocolate were availabe (early to mid 1600's). King Charles II queen was from Portugal and already knew about tea, and talked her husband into finding a way to bring it to England. So tea came to England in the 1660's. Tea was very expensive and cost from 6 to 10 British Pounds per lb, and that was in the late 1680's! Imagine that!

The cup itself seems to have started out as handle-less cups and the saucers with tall sides. The British did not like this at all and eventually, developed a handled cup and a shallow saucer. But it wasn't until the 1740's that they developed a "soft paste" that could produce pottery anything like Chinese porcelain. By 1815 a "hard paste" had finally been developed that made fine white "bone China", by adding calcined animal bones. Adding to that, taxes on tea had been cut, making it possible for more people to afford it. Pottery factories grew and many of the companies we see backstamped on our antique cups sprang forth.

This is just a small snippet of the information that is out there about the history of tea and tea cups. I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, on to the cup!
My cup this week is new to my collection. I fell in love with the bold colors and the simple earlier version of the rose. I also really like the gold trim.

This cup has a really good feel, the handle and weight are just right. This may not be my most gorgeous cup, but it is really comfortable to drink from.


I just love the flowers on the plate. This is such a great springtime or summer cup and plate.


"It was William McKinley (the 25th president of the USA) who introduced the highly protectionist McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 - this imposed tariffs on many imports (including pottery) in order to make it easier for the American manufacturers to sell their products. It was a requirement of this Act that all such imports carried the name of the country of manufacture.
This provided well-known marks such as "Bavaria," "England," "Nippon," - indicating the country of manufacture".

"In 1921 the Act was amended to require the phrase "Made in" preceding the country of origin, The labeling at individual British potteries varies somewhat from the 1891/1921 dating requirements described above (e.g., Wedgwood adopted the "Made in
England" around 1908/10 and may have used it on some pieces as early as 1898)".
Reference-thepotteries.org General Guide To Pottery Trade Marks

If a backstamp includes "bone china" or "English bone china" it was made in the 20th century.

Using this information, I am guessing that my cup was made somewhere between 1900-1921.
It doesn't look that old at all!

Thank you so much for coming by for a visit today. I appreciate every single one of you!
Martha and I love to stop by and visit your place and see what tea cups you have to share.
Just fill in the two blanks below in Mr. Linky, and you will automatically be signed up. Please make your tea cup post first and then sign up. Thank you so much, and don't forget to visit Martha, she always has beautiful treasures to share as well as an interesting post.
Hugs to you all
Terri
p.s. If my friend Cheryl is reading this, my phone was not working in the mountains at all. I will hopefully reach you tomorrow : )



36 comments:

parTea lady said...

Thank you for the interesting tea and teacup history. Your cup is very pretty and so is the photo styling.

Martha's Favorites said...

Hi Terri: I always learn something from you. I think that is what I love about visiting your site. I forgot to mention your name in my post today. I have to fix it. I have been so batty lately. I will get better. You are the best. I forgot to tell you how much I loved your cup! Hugs, Martha

Honey Lamb and I said...

That was a great history lesson. I always love your teacups! I am sure you have shown it before and I have missed it but I would love to see your china cabinet!! ~Shelley

Anonymous said...

WOW, great information Terri! Your research is SO appreciated, too.
That cup is just so pretty and the flowers are so crisp against the white background.
Another great Teacup Tuesday...you and Martha have created a wonderful place to gather!
Hugs,
Jan

Victorian1885 said...

Hello Terri
What a beautiful tea cup & saucer! I am going to have to look for that pattern..thank you for hosting this great event!

Wanda

Jacoba said...

Very nice teacup and nice story! The brushed gold rim is very pretty.
My father was a teaplanter, but I prefer drinking coffee to tea
;-)), but of course have read a bit about tea and grew up between the tea plants.
Your tutorial encouraged me to make a scrap bookmark. Well, now that it has been hanging around I say: not so bad, could be better. Thanks for inspiring me!
Happy day!
Jacoba

Theresa said...

Oh I love this cup. It looks like a vintage rose~ Thanks for the history on tea. I loved it! I love all the artwork you have been doing in previous posts too~ All my best, Theresa

KathyB. said...

I was surprised to learn bone china really did include ground up animal bones! Thank-you for this bit of history ,I do find it very interesting.

Your tea cup is very pretty and one I like very much. The rose is delicate and realistic. I know what you mean about a cup that handles well, or just feels right in your hand and to drink from.

As usual, I have enjoyed my time with you, Thank-you~

Ldy ~~ Dy said...

Ooooooh....so so pretty!

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hi Terri,
Your teacup is very sweet! The roses on it remind me of my Therese Bugnet roses, which I shared in my tea post today. I agree, it is the perfect teacup for spring and summer. I so enjoyed reading the history on china teacups and tea itself! Thanks for your visit and I hope you're having a lovely day.

Blessings,
Sandi

Patti said...

That is a very lovely teacup. And I agree with you, it certainly doesn't look that old. Obviously, it was very gently used.

Thank you for the tea and teacup information. I always wondered why it was called "bone china." Now I know.

Have a lovely day,
Patti (Fill My Cup with Beauty)

Marguerite (Tina) Smith Hart said...

Terri that cup and saucer are to die for! So beautiful and I love the way you artfully arranged the setting, so creative and lovely as always!
Tina xo

Brenda ~ The Heminger Farmhouse said...

Hi Terri :) Love blogland! You can always learn something new, like your post about the history of the teacup!

And your teacup is so pretty!

Wishing you a Happy Teacup Tuesday!

Warmest hugs, Brenda

Riet said...

Ohhh wowwww Terri,this is so beautiful.

Hugs Riet.xx

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Terri,
Thanks so much for the informative post on the history of the tea cup!! So interesting!!
And what a lovely tea cup!! Perfect for the summer time!!

Debbie

Appleshoe said...

Hello Terri- Thank you for hosting Teacup Tuesday with Martha. This is a pretty teacup, very striking with it's bright little rose. Salisbury makes such beautiful teacups, I would love to get a hold of one of their 'Foxglove' pieces. Take care.

Terra said...

Your cup is very pretty and looks brand new. I thought it was when I saw the photo. I enjoyed that bit of history about the tea cups and factory stamps.

Vintage Porcelain Art By Amy Enright said...

Thank you Teri! Your c&s is lovely! Love the wild roses!
Thank you to you and Mratha for hosting! this is my first "teacup tuesday" and I'm so excited!
Amy

Princesa Nadie said...

A really pretty tea cup and very interesting all things you tell us
Love

petitebroderie said...

This history is very interesting. And the teacup is very beatiful!!!Thanks Esther

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

A sweet rose cup. There really is no end to the variety is there? It's amazing that so many of these delicate objects survive. Thanks for hosting! Jacqueline

paperbutterfly said...

A wonderful post! I enjoyed learning these facts about teacups and their markings.
I too love the simplicity of your choice this week.
The single simple rose pops on the white. Fresh as Spring.
Thank you for hosting.
Hope to see you at tea.
Blessings, Pam

Werna Gail said...

I found this information very interesting, thank you for taking the time to research. I tried to add my url on Marthas page but could not. I had done that last week, is it something I must do each week?

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Loved the history lesson on tea and tea cups. What a perfect end to my tea filled day. This tea cup is beyond beautiful. Not only do I love the style, the colors and pattern are simply gorgeous. I could stay here all night and admire that lovely design.

Your taste in vintage and antiques is simply above reproach. I realize it's late, but hope your tea cup Tuesday was wonderful.

Charlie said...

Oh love the lesson today! Learned so many things that I did not know. Thanks for researching this. Love floral teacups! Especially roses....but who doesn't ?

Rella said...

The rose sitting along side the tea cup is almost identical to the one in the pattern. Really gorgeous and such information!! I never would have guessed that about the 'bone' in bone china.

How many teacups would you say you have in your collection at this point?

xox Rella

Debbie said...

Beautiful tea cup! How interesting to display all of your cups...I love it! Wish I had some. I once collected old powder compacts and hats. I had over 100 compacts and sold them all. I now have a small collection of old purses...the beaded and mesh type...not an expensive lot...just a few I like and some I inherited. I will be on the lookout for old cups. I have just one but I do have an antique tea set my mom handed down to me. Maybe I will post about that some day! Great blog!

Lou said...

Ohh Terri great post and another gorgeous tea cup... was actually nearly ready with my post for this week to play again, but having comp problems.. grr so will save it for next week.. and will definitely be ready now..:) Just didn't get the finishing touches loaded and get it published...
Am missing playing...
Hope you are still well...
Love Lou xx

Gratitude and Joy said...

Hi Terri, I enjoyed your pictures they are so beautiful, it's always a pleasure to see what you are going to do from week to week. Paris is so beautiful, thank you for sharing it with us. Love you

Kim Dellow said...

Beautiful tea cup Terri! I love reading about the history. Thank you for sharing! Kim

Beansieleigh said...

Hi Terri! LOVE your new cup and saucer, and the history about tea was very interesting too! (Can't wait to try to make your paper shoe, one of these days too! So pretty!)
~tina

Princesa Nadie said...

Fairies invite you to a party in this magic night
Love

Ivy said...

Beautiful teacup...possibly my favorite so far! Hugs!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Bless Dawn for bringing your shoe tutorial to light. I have wanted to feature you as my blog artist and blog of the day ever since I first clicked on you from Marlynn's blog. I have found the perfect match for you, so I am featuring you on Saturday as my blog of the day. I hope you like what I have to share. Thank you for being such an inspiration and having such an awesome blog.

Lady Katherine said...

I just love all the History! Your Teacup is so lovely!

Jacoba said...

Maybe it is not too late to join you all for tea?

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