Featured Copeland & Garrett covered cup, but is it a replacement?

I have been trying to find out more about this pretty covered cup, but no luck so far. It was described as a chocolate cup although those are usually two-handled. The three pieces are all marked with a Copeland & Garrett mark for 1834-1847, so no mystery there. The problem is that it doesn't seem to be a known Copeland & Garrett or Spode shape, and my searches for covered or chocolate cups turn up mainly European ones. There are cups made by Sevres and Meissen which have some similarities, particularly the rather fun serpent handle, oddly facing downwards rather than biting the rim (I love his grumpy expression). I think this may have been a specially made replacement for a broken continental cup. The saucer has a shallow depression in the manner of "trembleuse" cups. The really intriguing thing is that inside near the bottom are two nodules on opposite sides, just above a kind of ledge over where the base narrows. I think possibly there was some kind of filter resting there, as if for sediment, what do you think? Did chocolate produce sediment?

 

Very pretty

 

It must be a pot de creme, but I don't know about the bumps.

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong @ValerieK
Could it possibly be that the lid might be off another
Piece? Like they put the lid to the sugar bowl on because it looks like it fits. Just saying it's a possibility.
Mikey

 

That's a thought, but the lid has a notch which fits perfectly over the top of the snake handle, and the size is also perfect, so I think it belongs there. Maybe the lid was meant to be an extra safety measure against spills on the trembleuse cup, or to keep the beverage hot for longer, or just another ornamental feature for a cup designed for the cabinet.

Thank you, a new term to research! I've had a quick look and found it means that really rich, dark chocolate creamy dessert I have had in the past. The cups for the cold dessert as well as the hot chocolate can have one or two handles, and come with or without a lid and saucer. One difference is that the dessert is so rich that the cups (or little pots) are usually much smaller than my cup, just a little chocolate treat to round off a meal. Also, if the nodules are meant to support a filter, that would suggest a hot drink. Now that you've mentioned the idea, I really do want to have a pot de creme, complete with contents, right now!

 

Yes, the size bothered me, too--not that I couldn't eat that much chocolate in a heartbeat.