Unknown teacup and saucer from Scotland - pre-1850's

by Megan
(Alberta, Canada)

Unknown teacup and saucer from Scotland - pre-1850's:- I inherited a beautiful teacup and saucer. The family stories say it was brought over from Scotland by my 4th great grandparents when they emigrated to Canada sometime between 1830ish and 1851, most likely between 1839 and 1843. My great great great great grandparents were from the Renfrewshire area of Scotland. My great great great grandfather was born in Ontario, Canada in 1851 so they emigrated before then.

I haven't had great success yet finding any passage lists to pinpoint the year more precisely.
I don't know if my 4th great grandparents inherited the cup and saucer or if it was given to them as a gift, possibly a wedding gift. (I'm speculating here).

The cup and saucer are a white/creamy white with gold designs. There isn't a potter's stamp but the bottom of the saucer has 6444" written on the bottom in gold.

I don't know if it is even possible to trace the roots of my teacup and saucer but I've been trying. Hopefully by enlisting the help of people with a lot more knowledge in this area I can make some headway. My aunt and I are the family historians and we find the stories around the people add so much to the facts. In this case we have some stories about the teacup and saucer and would like to find some facts.

I'm using this site to enquire because using past questions you have answered for other people has helped me find out about the pottery marks on other teacups I have from the other side of my family. Plus, I think the people on here care more about the history and interesting information about pottery which is what I'm looking for.

Thank you so much for any information you can give me.

Megan from Canada

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Peter (admin) says:-

Dear Megan

Many thanks for your kind words about the site. Yes, we do care about the history and stories of the makers and the people who have collected their wares, and how they have come down to the current day.


However, many people also want to know the value of their items, and there is nothing wrong with that, which is why I run the
valuation service, where ordinary people can liaise with world leading experts.

If this was to be sent to one of the experts, I would be reasonably confidant they would confirm this as early Staffordshire ware (around the first half of the 19th century - which confirms your family history dating). It would be interesting if it was Scottish ware, but I doubt it as the technology was scarce and Staffordshire was the centre of excellence around that time accounting for most finely made examples of this period. Identifying the actual studio which made this would need a lot more research than an online appraisal could give you and may be not possible at all - even if a specialist museum curator of ceramics was to research it.

However, the expert would know if this was likely to be porcelain (it was very early days for porcelain production), or another form of strong but fine ironstone type ware similar to Wedgwood's famous creamware (or Queensware as he marketed it). Wedgwood was interesting in that, as a leading entrepreneur (industrialist) of the time (as well as technical ceramics expert and amazingly good designer), he made his fortune by deciding NOT to try to mass produce the elusive white gold of porcelain (an obsession which put many wannabe makers out of business). Instead he went for a fine but sturdy earthenware body.

Look at it through the light to see if it is translucent, and also listen to the sound it makes when rung. Compare this with any porcelain or bone china you might have around.

Best regards

Peter (admin)

For general free advice on how to research your collection, I wrote these pages:

value of antiques.