This is a Ridgway Union Wreath Shape teacup and saucer duo made in the 1830s. The wild rose pattern painted in gold on a gray and white porcelain background with bouquets of flowers painted around the centre of the saucer and bottom of the cup creates a very beautiful soft atmosphere. The embossed pattern of shamrock and thistle flowers is hidden at the base of the upper part of the handle, making this a very rare design called the Union Wreath Shape.
The cup and saucer were retailed by Joseph Green & Sons which had a large London shop at St. Paul’s Churchyard between 1834 and 1842 Joseph Green preferred the items to be backstamped with his own trademark instead of the maker’s one. The bottom of the saucer bears a printed image in purple of St. Paul’s Cathedral with ‘Josh. Green & Sons/11 St Paul’s Ch. Yd/London’ underneath in cursive script. The bottom of the cup bears the words only. The painted pattern number, 2/6347, helps to identify the maker as John Ridgway & Co, along with the specific rare shape of the handle. The pattern number corresponds with 1834-1842 as likely date of manufacture, which defines it as a late Georgian (a.k.a. Regency period) or very early Victorian.
The gorgeous adornment of this John Ridgway cup and saucer tells of the taste for opulent luxury in early and mid-19th Century Britain, as a new class enriched by the Industrial Revolution and the growth of empire flaunted its wealth.
