Sunday 17 August 2008

Fortune Telling Teacup

Paragon Fortune Telling TeacupI spent most of yesterday sorting through the boxes of things that Auntie Joyce left me. There are so many interesting little bits and pieces - a right old mix. I've put some of them up on eBay including a revolting, terrible, horrible figurine - possibly Staffordshire - of a girl riding a goat. It really is quite tragic.

I'm hanging onto a couple of things, though. I just love this teacup and saucer. It's Paragon fine china and from what I can gather it's from about 1932. It's a beautiful pale blue with slightly raised white clouds and gilding. Inside the teacup there are lots of interesting symbols and the words "Many curious things I see when telling fortunes in your tea".

Paragon Fortune Telling TeacupI assume that the idea was you'd have a cup of tea and afterwards the tea leaves would settle on various symbols, thus telling your fortune. I don't believe in any of that stuff but it's a pretty little item nonetheless. It's quirky. I like it!

Please click here if you'd like to see some more photos of the teacup and saucer.

The Clarice Cliff Quest is moving along really well. I joined the forum at www.claricecliff.co.uk and have had some very helpful responses to my post. It looks like the dinnerware is from 1940 and apparently the pattern name is 'Patricia'. That's slightly uncanny - my Mum's name was Patricia.

I'm off to sort the kitchen cupboards and drawers out now. This moving house lark is a right chore, I can tell you!

9 comments:

  1. How interesting are your finds Laura? You lucky thing! That cup and saucer is so cute i wouldn't be letting go of that!

    Moving is a nightmare and I only had one room out of my parents to move, poor you having a whole home!

    J x

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  2. I love the teacup and saucer. It's a definite keeper.

    All this sorting/throwing things away/packing is really boring. Can't wait 'til it's all done!

    L x

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  3. In my experience, the uglier the ceramic, the more it seems to be worth - maybe that girl on a goat is worth a fortune?? (Had a look at it, hmmmmm!) The cup and saucer are fabulous, glad you are keeping them.

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  4. The girl on a goat figurine is truly dreadful. I hate it with a burning passion but as you say, normally the most horrendous-looking things are worth the most. I mean, just look at Andrew Lloyd Webber! ;o)

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  5. Oh the lovely Staff figures....I have could have nightmares about them. My grandma (Now 101 and only just gone into a home last year) had about 50 of them. Horrible things. They were all on display to one side of the fire place on floor to ceiling shelving. Hers were mainly statues of John Welsey preaching (she is methodist),men in gaudy clothing with hunting dogs or the spaniel pairs. Thankfully when we cleared her house I wasn't made to choose one!
    Loving the cup and saucer though, so much nicer to look at and interesting.

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  6. I totally agree with you, Veryan. Staffordshire figures are yuck. I detest those spaniel ones especially!

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  7. What a great cup and saucer! I love quirky things like that.

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  8. I have this very tea cup but in beige. You said that the tea leaves would land on the symbols, but that isn't how you read them in this tea cup. (this is how my great grandmother taught me how to use this cup) You finish your tea, and then turn it upside down on the saucer to get rid of the excess tea. Then you turn it back upright and count how many tea leaves are inside. If you look closely next to each image, you'll see that there are little numbers. You have to find the symbol that has the same number that you had tea leaves. Then voila! There's a few symbols that I find confusing... I don't know what they all mean. But that's how I got onto you! I was looking up the meanings of the symbols. Am yet to find a website that contains that info.

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