Tucker Cup & Saucer

This is a rare treat I have always wanted to own. A cup and saucer made by the Tucker factory which was located in Philadelphia in about 1830. The Tucker factory, one of the first successful porcelain factories in the US, was established by William Ellis Tucker in 1826 at Center Square, the site of Philadelphia’s current City Hall. William Tucker died in 1830 after which his brother Thomas Tucker oversaw the day-to-day operations and design while investors like Judge Joseph Hemphill and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were able to provides the funds. They produced porcelain that rivaled popular European porcelain of the same date. The factory closed in 1838. The set is quite typical in terms of shape and decoration with a little twist - the cup being handleless which was done at the factory but was not originally meant to be this way. More on that later. The saucer is decorated with a nice sepia colored scene in the center of a building in a landscape surrounding. The cup has a similar scene to it that is a bit darker in shade likely due to the scene of the saucer being worn over the years from the bottom of the cup moving over it. The saucer is in great condition with a large firing fault to the bottom right of the scene where there was an impurity to the paste that burnt away during the firing process and left a brown hole. There is a a small chip to the edge of the rim that doesn't take away from the piece. The cup is in great condition though it was originally meant to have a handle but something must have happened and it was decoded to get rid of it. That is before the glaze was applied and it is all original this way! The only way to tell is when you shine a light through the cup you can still see where the handle was once attached. Probably collapsed during the first firing. The glaze of the piece have the typical light hint of blue to them and the shape of the cup is typical of this maker as well. You can see similar pieces in the Philadelphia museum of Art which has the largest colelction of Tucker porcelain. The cup is about 2.875 inches tall with a diameter of 3.5 inches. The saucer is just over 1 inch tall and has a diameter of 5.625 inches. Neither piece is marked which is the norm. Please email me for more information or other pictures.