

A charming early Minton bone china tea cup and saucer made in 1825-30. This tea duo has a very elegant “N” shape with slightly fluted, waisted cup featuring shaped rims and a raised, curved handle with a uniquely moulded paw shaped lower terminal. The same model of a cup can be found in the A Compendium Of British Cups by Michael Berthoud, plates 757 and 758. The cup and saucer are finely painted in unusually vivid and striking colours (yellow being a notoriously difficult shade to fire). Expertly painted gold highlights further enhance this duo, giving it an additional touch of splendour. Dimensions: cup – 5.6 cm high to the handle, top diameter 9.6 cm, saucer, diameter 14.7 cm. There is one small chip on the underside of the saucer and a hairline crack of approximately 2.5 cm on the cup. These imperfections are minor and do not detract from the overall beauty of the set. Considering its age of nearly 200 years, this tea cup and saucer remain in good antique condition. Please examine all photographs carefully as they form part of the description.