Wileman & Company was formed in 1872, using the name The Foley China.
In 1910, all Wileman china became marked as Shelley
The Foley China
Late 1800's ~ early 1900's
England
Tea Saucer ONLY
Fine bone china (porcelain) that has translucent properties (hold it to the light and you can see through it)
Quality hand decorated
Light, delicate mauve leaf design around the outer edge, changing to a light golden brown leaf.
Scalloped sides
Gold gilding around the outer edges of the petal shaped saucer
Dimensions: 5.5" diameter (140mm)
Clean
NO cracks
NO discolouration
NO fleabites
NO crazing
Gilding is in good condition, two small areas where I noticed the gilding has been worn by handling.
Backstamp clearly identifies this tea saucer as being made during the period 1894 ~ 1910 (See the photograph)
The bottom line of the backstamp has
RS 175656
I cannot type the 1st two characters (RS) correctly, that is a capital R and S but the S is far smaller and right near to the top of the R
But there is also another number, this seems to be the Registration - this code is stamped INTO the porcelain and is quite difficult to read in reality (faint and partially obscured by the backstamp print but confirmed from the cake plate of the same design)
Artists marks ("5044" gold paint) are clearly visible - each item painted by the artist had their unique mark placed underneath as they were paid "by the piece"
For those who collect this fine china based on the artist, both this tea saucer and the cake plate advertised separately are decorated by the same artist, amazing (just think of it) that someone sat down and hand painted this item around 120 years ago!
