Teacup 54: My most precious cup

September 11, 2020 | 4 Comments

Well… here it is. The last teacup in my collection – the oldest and most special one!

I think that it’s about 130 years old as it belonged to my great great grandmother and it was given to me in 2003 by my very special great aunt – Aunty Ruby. If there is anyone reading this that knew Aunty Ruby you’ll know exactly what I mean by ‘very special’. And in fact it’s hard to write about her without starting to tear up a little. I like to think that I inherited some of her creative genes.

I’m not sure of the make of this cup. A china expert suggested that it might be Foley due to its  delicate scalloped shape, but it doesn’t have the right stamp for that. Anyway, it’s gorgeous and hard to sketch loosely!

Find out more about the cup and Aunty Ruby here.


So, that’s it! This big project is over and I now know that I have over 50 teacups! Oh ah! that’s a lot.

I started this project in January 2019 and it’s taken longer than I thought to sketch them all. (For comparison: In 2015 I sketched approximately 100 in the year. See here for some highlights.)

I created a rule for myself during this project. I had to continue to drink out of a cup until I sketched it, so this meant that some cups I used for weeks on end and others for only a day. It’s now so good  to have the freedom to use whatever cup I want! 🙂

One more post to wrap up this project and then I might start something new. Actually I have already started my new sketching project…so stay tuned for that!


 

 

 

4 Comments

  • Dawn Holder says:

    Very nice and very special! Thanks for sharing!

  • Heather Crellin says:

    I liked hearing the stories of all of your tea cups!

  • Jane Varley says:

    Lovely story Liz, and the teacup is a delight. It looks as light and airy as a feather and a very fresh and pretty design.

  • Cha Mekke says:

    An enchanting tea cup with a wonderful history! I love frilly-edged ones, and yours is such a magical beauty. How wonderful that it’s so old and full of love, and has been held by so many of the women in your family over the years.

    Of my own tea cups, my favourite is a Shelley Dainty Blue – also with a frilly edge – and inherited from my dear mother, who had so many tea cups when she passed away that I had to downsize all but the 8 prettiest sets.

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