Description:
Cup plates were used when tea was drunk from saucers. After the tea was poured from the cup to the saucer, the cup was placed on a cup plate in order to prevent the tea from staining the tablecloth.Set of four English Staffordshire flow blue cup plates all marked on the back with "DAVENPORT" in blue and an impressed anchor with "DAVENPORT"and "48," and variously with an impressed "1" or "2" or "5" and a blue "X" or "74," which have a Flynt family provenance. Cup plates, small plates from 3 to 4 1/2 inches in diameter, were used to hold the cup to prevent damage or staining. Before the advent of the glass pressed maching, most cup plates were earthenware, usually matching dinner and tea sets; some were blown glass with simple cut design. English potters were making cup plates along with their other tablewares in order to capture the American market; it is not known who made the first cup plate. Staffordshire potters, including Davenport, Riley, and Wedgwood, were exporting these "Anglo-American" wares, often using historical subjects, including people, views, and events. Most were made from 1800-1850, with the largest production after the war of 1812. After a partnership with Thomas Wolfe at the Islington China Works in Liverpool, John Davenport (1765-1848) took over John Brindley's Longport factory in 1784 where he produced both pottery and glass until he retired in 1830. The pottery was continued by his sons, Henry and William, but was in poor financial state under William's son, Henry, finally failing in 1887. The firm seems to have been been meticulous in marking its wares. The standard impressed mark consisted of the name Davenport curving above an anchor, with the name in lower case letters up to about 1815, but thereafter in capital letters. After about 1830, numbers were impressed on either side of the anchor to give the date of potting, such as the "4" and "8" on this example. A wide variety of printed marks were used after 1830, almost invariably including simply the surname Davenport rather than any identifying initials. The place, Longport, also appears in later marks. The style of the printed cartouches as with the patterns, tended to follow current fashion.
Subjects:
Pottery; glaze (coating by location) Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+67.234%2FC |
