Spotlight on… Teacups

Time for tea? Perhaps it’s time for some new teacups? A plethora of shapes are available, so whether you prefer curves, straight sides or something in between, one will stand out to you.

Why not make yourself a cuppa and enjoy our spotlight feature, where we look at six of our favourite Wedgwood fine bone china teacup shapes

We start with Wedgwood Clio, a perfect example of a collection that offers four different teacup shapes within one pattern. Two of these, Leigh and Peony, are Wedgwood’s most well-known teacups and part of the Traditional shape collection. Leigh has the classic curves and a proportionate loop handle. Peony, also with classic curves, opens out at the rim and has a more elaborate loop handle.

The popular Leigh shape was used by Wedgwood in its Malabar pattern, which has delicate florals for an oriental feel. Leigh is also the shape used in Whitehall, a prominent gold ivy leaf pattern on white.

Wedgwood’s Lichfield and Kutani Crane patterns feature the Peony shape, with printing that runs around the inside enhancing the teacup’s elegant curves. Lichfield has a large floral pattern in soft hues, whereas Kutani Crane showcases an oriental bird and flower theme and has a bold border inside the rim.

In 1991, Wedgwood refreshed its Traditional shape with the introduction of Victoria – a teacup with a footed design, as shown here in the Chester and Argyll patterns which use ornate gold detailing in their designs. This footed teacup shape never hit the popularity heights of the Traditional shape collection.

Next, we look at the less-common Windsor shape, sometimes referred to as the Williamsburg – which links back to a collaboration from the 1930s. This interesting teacup is complemented by its angular handle. Also a highlight of the Windsor shape is its corresponding deep-sided saucer for the cup to comfortably nestle within. Wedgwood’s Bianca and Chinese Flowers patterns feature Windsor-shape teacups. Both of these patterns show off pretty floral decoration and include gold trim, both at the rim and across the handle.

Our final look at teacup shapes focuses on those with straighter sides – and straighter sides also means a wider base, making saucer-matching very important indeed! Distinctive with its straight sides, wide base and more squared-off overall cup shape is Imperial. This shape was a common look for Coalport teacups – Persian Flower being a popular pattern. Given that Wedgwood bought Coalport back in 1967, this shape has real heritage yet still feels contemporary today.

The Wedgwood Wonderlust and Vera Wang for Wedgwood Love Knots collections feature Imperial shape teacups, both beautiful examples of how a china shape that’s decades old can have such appeal in the modern day. The Wonderlust teacup has an elaborate floral pattern on a striking yellow base, the colour boldly replicated on the saucer. Vera Wang Love Knots, on the other hand, delicately enhances the shape with a simple ‘love knot’ bow design in silver off white.

Delphi is another straight-sided teacup shape, this time with sloping sides. Its neat look with a wide base contributed to its popularity in the 1990s Samurai pattern from Wedgwood. Both Samurai and Metropolis – another pattern with a Delphi shape – feature geometric themes in their designs to complement the more angular style of teacup.