Coalport Tea Service, c. 1805

This “Japan" pattern English Coalport Tea Service was designed by John Rose, c. 1805 and features a standard Rose knob, a prow-shaped spout, and cobalt blue under-glazing.

The design of this porcelain blank was popular, and many painted patterns embellished this blank series.  The "Japan" theme also was extremely popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  European producers created many variations on the design, frequently incorporating cobalt blue, an orange or coral, and gilt paint within a pattern that joined floral and geometric motifs.

In our research, we have not come across another example of exactly this pattern, nor have we encountered any pattern that features what one might colloquially refer to as "dirt" at the center of the plates and saucers and just inside the gilt band at the bases of the sugar bowl and teapot.  This free-form brown paint is the base for delicate tufts of gilt grass.  

The combination of free-form brown paint with linear floral and geometric motifs is unique, and suggests that the Neill-Cochran House Museum tea service was an individual commission.