- The world of antique cups and saucers is a vast one, full of material types and styles. Most serious collectors pick one area of interest and focus the collection in that direction, for instance, collecting English china, collecting china from one maker or focusing a collection on cups and saucers from a specific era. For a more casual collector, buying cups and saucers in good shape, with little wear and without cracks or chips is always a good idea. The casual collector could focus a collection in broad terms, such as cups decorated with floral patterns, or cups made of a singular material, such as colored glass or cups with gold or silver edging. These terms are broad, and the casual collector will find many cups fitting into these categories; buying only the ones the collector loves will keep the collection to a manageable--and usable--size. This article will focus on two of the most popular areas of collecting.
- Limoges china, named after a region in France, is china from this region decorated with Victorian flowers or other designs with gold trim. Through the years it has been made by many different companies, but it always has the Limoges mark. Production began in the late 1700s and the china continued to be produced through the 1930s. Collectors use a few different measures to value the china, including the quality of the decoration, if the decoration was done by hand or transferred onto the blank china and if it is signed by the artist. Collectors will pay top dollar for hand-painted Limoges pieces. When collecting Limoges, the quality of the decoration is key. The better the decoration, the higher the value of the piece.
- English Chintz is a floral pattern china, but it looks different than Limoges. Covered completely in the floral pattern, English Chintz became popular in the 1920s, and production continued through the 1960s. This china looks vintage, and has become popular.Most Chintz pieces are marked on the bottom and include the pattern name. The popularity of English Chintz means that there are many reproductions, so knowing a few ways to identify the real thing is key. Look for both the maker's mark and the pattern name on the bottom of the piece first. Signs of aging in an antique piece are also a good sign of authenticity. A company reproduced some pieces in the mid 1990s, but these pieces carry the more recent date on the bottom.
