A pastoral scene, painted in plum.
This teacup, saucer, and dessert plate carry the Tonquin pattern, a transferware design created by the legendary Clarice Cliff for Royal Staffordshire. At the center of each piece sits a romanticized English cottage scene, complete with a house, a sailboat on the water, and gardens in full bloom, all rendered in a rich plum purple. A wide, densely patterned floral border of roses and foliage wraps around the rim, finished with a fine dotted edge.
Clarice Cliff was one of the most celebrated British ceramic designers of the 20th century, known for bringing bold, art deco sensibilities to everyday tableware at a time when that kind of expressive design was unusual in the industry. Tonquin itself was produced in a number of colorways, including blue, red, brown, and black, but the purple, sometimes called plum, is considered one of the harder shades to find today, which makes a set like this an especially nice one to come across complete.
Each piece is marked on the base with the Tonquin name and the Royal Staffordshire backstamp.
Tucked inside every set, a little something for first time Tavola customers — a hand-finished vintage passport notebook. Start the record. Note the piece, the moment, the person you gave it to. One day this cup will sit in someone else's hands — and they'll know it came from yours.
A pastoral scene, painted in plum.
This teacup, saucer, and dessert plate carry the Tonquin pattern, a transferware design created by the legendary Clarice Cliff for Royal Staffordshire. At the center of each piece sits a romanticized English cottage scene, complete with a house, a sailboat on the water, and gardens in full bloom, all rendered in a rich plum purple. A wide, densely patterned floral border of roses and foliage wraps around the rim, finished with a fine dotted edge.
Clarice Cliff was one of the most celebrated British ceramic designers of the 20th century, known for bringing bold, art deco sensibilities to everyday tableware at a time when that kind of expressive design was unusual in the industry. Tonquin itself was produced in a number of colorways, including blue, red, brown, and black, but the purple, sometimes called plum, is considered one of the harder shades to find today, which makes a set like this an especially nice one to come across complete.
Each piece is marked on the base with the Tonquin name and the Royal Staffordshire backstamp.
Tucked inside every set, a little something for first time Tavola customers — a hand-finished vintage passport notebook. Start the record. Note the piece, the moment, the person you gave it to. One day this cup will sit in someone else's hands — and they'll know it came from yours.
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