Churchill Blue Willow Ceramic Tea Cup and Saucer

At 6.5 cm tall and 11 cm wide across the saucer, this Churchill Blue Willow ceramic tea cup and saucer, with its classic Blue Willow transfer landscape rendered in crisp cobalt blue on white and its well-proportioned, comfortable form, is a small pleasure with a long history behind it, the Blue Willow pattern giving the cup and saucer a decorative richness that belies the modest scale of the pieces.

Made by Churchill China of Stoke-on-Trent, one of England's most enduring transferware manufacturers, this tea cup and saucer is part of the Blue Willow range, Churchill's version of the Blue Willow pattern that has been one of the most enduringly popular and widely produced patterns in English transferware since its introduction in the late 18th century. The tea cup and saucer, as the most intimate and personal pieces in any tea service, are the forms in which the Blue Willow pattern is most frequently encountered and most closely examined, and the quality of the Churchill transferware printing, which renders the classic landscape of willow trees, pagodas, bridges, and birds with the crispness and clarity that the pattern demands, gives the cup and saucer a decorative quality suited to both daily use and display. The piece is in very good condition throughout.

• Maker: Churchill China, Stoke-on-Trent, England
• Pattern: Blue Willow
• Dimensions: 6.5 cm (H) x 11 cm (W)
• Condition: Very Good
• Features: Classic Blue Willow transfer landscape, cup and saucer set, cobalt blue on white
• Period: 20th century
• SKU: SKU-00241

A pleasing piece of English blue and white transferware. Pairs naturally with the Copeland Spode Italian tea cup and saucer (SKU-00328), the EIT England Blue Willow tea cup and saucer (SKU-00242), and the wider Blue Willow collection.