Welcome to another Teacup Tuesday, and this beautiful Royal Sealy teacup! As always, let’s start out with the Instagram post.
Teacup Tuesday 18 February 2020
Oh my! Look at today’s Teaucp Tuesday find! I’ve never seen this opalescent finish or cutout edge on a teacup before – and isn’t that handle ornate? Come on over to the blog for some more teacup excitement! Just click the link in my profile or visit MANTELandTABLE.com.
Extra Royal Sealy Teacup Tidbits
The fascinating cutouts on this saucer had me immediately remembering a white wrought iron cafe table. I have a very specific picture in my head, and I’m thinking maybe my grandmother had one out in her garden.
Let’s imagine that she did, and that we ARE sitting out in her garden. (I’ll tell you about it sometime – it was fabulous!) The table is on a lovely little patio surrounded by tall green trees and bushes. There’s a little goldfish pond too, and dwarf apple trees with pink flowers blooming underneath.
It really would be a perfect place to sit in the morning sun, listen to the birdsong, and have tea in a lovely Royal Sealy teacup.
Manufacturer’s Info
Well, my research did not pay off this week. I couldn’t find a single thing about the Royal Sealy China Company! I’ll keep looking though, and if you have any info, I’d love to hear from you.
As far as markings, the cup doesn’t have any at all, but the saucer has this charming little backstamp. What kind of an animal is on it, do you suppose? A puppy? A lion? A seal maybe? I did read that someone dated a similar cup to between the 1920’s and the 1950’s. So I guess that’s a fair assumption for the date of our own Royal Sealy teacup too. But that’s about all I could find out.
I did find out about Lusterware, though – it’s the technique that gives our cup its opalescent shimmer. According to Anne McCollum on Creators.com, “Lusterware is a technique that is centuries old. The iridescent quality is the result of a metallic glaze that is applied during the last firing.”
I’d never seen either the cutout (reticulation) or the iridescence before, so this Royal Sealy teacup was pretty exciting! And I think I got a good deal too, because the prices I’m seeing online are a lot more than what I paid at Goodwill!
Royal Sealy Teacup ~ Behind the Scenes
Since a spring garden was my inspiration for this photo shoot, the daphne bush was the perfect backdrop. It was in bloom in our little backyard woodland – the only tricky part was getting the table close enough to it!
There’s a little hill, so this flat spot was as close as I could get.
But it worked out ok, and I got some pretty good shots of this lovely Royal Sealy teacup!
Teacup Shopping
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Pin the Royal Sealy Teacup For Later
Have a Lovely Teacup Tuesday!
I have the very same set that was left to me from my grandmother. My design is the same one as yours! I love the tea cups! She had alot of them and i was fortunate to get them all. I treasure them all!
Candi! That’s so fun – Don’t you love having things that were shared by someone else? It feels like such a wonderful cycle! 🙂 I bet you do treasure them! Thanks so much for visiting and for the comment – I love to find other teacup collectors!
Your photos almost look like a watercolor painting. That is a particularly lovely cup and saucer. As a retired potter, I’m familiar with both using iridescence and gilding or the gold on the edges. After a piece has been bisque fired, raw to hard dried clay it is fired in a kiln. Then it is painted on or a transfer added and then usually a translucent or clear glaze applied and then fired again. Last step is the overglaze technique of gilding or adding iridescence. Chemicals/or metals are suspended in an oil base and carefully applied in a one stroke technique. The piece is then fired a third time–at a lower temperature, fusing the chemicals to the glaze. The piece should be hand washed and carefully dried, and never placed in a dishwasher…it is a very old technique, and can be damaged with today’s harsh cleaning chemicals. Lovely photos and ceramics.
Oh thank you Sandi! ❤️ I’m so happy that you commented – hearing about the technique from an actual potter is really exciting! What a fascinating process! It sounds like quite a bit of skill is required as well as an extra layer of artistic know-how. Your description makes me appreciate my special teacup even more. 🙂 And I appreciate the washing instructions too – good to know!
Thanks so much for sharing this info with us – so sweet of you to stop by! ❤️
The cup is lovely—and brought back the ‘smell’ of working with the overglazes and gilding! LOL.
Thanks so much Sandi! Yes, I bet that process has a very distinctive smell! 🙂
Your Daphne’s already in bloom? I wish I was there to smell it.
Yep!❤️ Feel free to come down and smell it any time! 🙂 Love you!
A very usual saucer and handle for a teacup but I love the uniqueness of it…and the colors of course. Another beautiful teacup, thanks for sharing Barbara.
I know – I’d never seen anything like it! I hope I can find out something about the company that made it someday. ❤️ Happy Tuesday my friend, and thanks so much as always for stopping by!