Now what did I buy - small pottery tea bowls/cups and saucers

The decoration was done by hand, and there isn't a signature in the lot. There are six cups or bowls with some saucers. Some are in better condition than others, but I wasn't arguing since the entire pile cost about a dollar. Even the white part is a bit bumpy, so odds are these weren't the highest quality even new. Does anyone know how old they are or where they're from?

 

Not much of a china maven, but they have (sort of) the look of Adderly...

A dollar??!!

 

It appears to be sprig painted ironstone. Off the top of my head I'd guess mid 1800s but a bit of research might pin it down more. Are they small enough to be from a child's set?

 

I agree with SIS. 1840s English Ironstone.
Tea bowl and saucer
Handleless (is that a word?) cup and saucer

 

I think earlier, might even be late 18th. Agree they're English.

 

WHEEEE!

 

I've just splashed out on Berthouds compendium, hope it arrives soon and it may be of help here.

Till then I would also think these are early, maybe c1800

 

Here is a link to a ceramic diagnostic page. They show this type from about 1835-1870+. In addition to the description there are photos too.

http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Post-Colonial Ceramics/PaintedWares/index-paintedwares.htm

Sprig Painted Wares (c. 1835 - 1870s)
The earliest painted patterns, such as the China glaze landscapes, required a skilled painter and a large number of brush strokes, and thus were more expensive to produce. As the prices for painted wares fell, the potters were looking for ways to cut production costs. One of the ways to do this was the simplification of the painted patterns. By c. 1835, sprig patterns were being introduced. These were very simple small floral painted patterns that only required four-to-six short brush stokes for each element. Sprig painted wares remained common up into the 1870s and possibly later.

 

Didn't think to use "sprig painted." Was looking under "sprigged;" google didn't like that at all!

 

Hi Silver,
What wonderful adjective to use for you. "Where is silverthwait?" "She was sprigged."
greg

 

Thanks. Now to figure out what to do with them! (LOL) No one collects pottery locally any more, including me.

 

Uh, um... Hand over the coffee and no one gets hurt." ??

Or you could send a pair to ME!

 

Greg - I am ignoring you!

 

You're all so silly

 

just putting this under SIS's last post.......just because....

just because.....it's good to be silly....every so often !

 

SIS, I wouldn't necessarily agree with this date attribution. Most tea bowls would be much earlier and I have sold sprigged ware that definitely dated to pre 1800.

I'll stick with my gut feel of c1800