A rare coffee cup and saucer with tragic links to Liverpool is expected to sell for over £1,000.
The special items were recently discovered during a house clearance sporting some chips and superficial wear-and-tear. Despite this, the cup and saucer – thought to have been used by first class passengers on board the Titanic – are expected to make considerable money at auction.
The espresso cup and saucer, made around 1911, are stamped 'White Star Line' – the Liverpool-based company which owned the doomed liner. The cup itself is stamped 'Stonier & Co Liverpool' a Liverpool-based china and glass merchant who once had a massive department store in Liverpool city centre.
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Stonier & Co Liverpool were the agents who facilitated the deal between the items makers Spode and the shipping company. The ceramics, painted cobalt blue with gold gilt, were recently discovered in a home in the Four Oaks area of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.
Sarah Williams, senior valuer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers, said: "It’s incredible to hold this cup and saucer and think of first class passengers sipping coffee on the Titanic. This example has a few small chips and wear commensurate with age but the pieces really are in remarkable condition for such delicate ceramics over 110 years old.
"There are conflicting theories as to whether the same pattern or one extremely similar, named R4331, was also used on Titanic’s sister ship Olympic, which was broken up in 1935.
"Whilst R4331 was used on both vessels, the R4332 may have been produced in such small numbers that it was reserved for exclusive use on Titanic, presented as a company gift or possibly sold as White Star Line souvenirs to wealthy passengers. Pieces of the distinctive R4332 ceramic are known to have been recovered from the wreck of Titanic."
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The crockery's opulent pattern is believed to have been used in the ship’s first class restaurant. Some experts suggest the collection was produced in such limited numbers that it may have been used for room service on private promenade suites.
Mrs Williams added: "Fuelled by James Cameron’s epic film, there remains endless fascination with the Titanic tragedy and the demand for ‘liner china’ – ceramics associated with maritime travel – remains high. This is a rare opportunity for a collector to acquire a piece with the heritage of bone china supplied on the world’s greatest ocean liner."
Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage with the loss of more than 1,500 lives. The cup and saucer are expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200 when they go under the hammer at The Lichfield Auction Centre on February 15.
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