Tea for two little girls -- teapot, cream, sugar and two cups and saucers. 

Appropriately for a child's tea set, John Ridgway's wine red transfer "Japonica" pattern presents a playful Chinese fantasy--one that could easily inspire a child's imagination.  A pleasure barge is steered through limpid waters toward an elaborate pavilion. The barge features its own little pagoda-roofed structure in the prow. The passenger--doubtless a personage of some importance-- stands in anticipation of the approaching landing. He will be welcomed by two more exotically costumed figures ashore who await the arrival.

Floral clusters and a narrow scalloped border frames the fantasy scene.  As a final note, the pleasure barge is repeated in the bottom of the cups.

Petra Williams identifies both the pattern name and maker in her three volume work on romantic transferware and notes the occurrence of the pattern on both toy and adult pieces.  In our experience, adult wares have been limited to tea wares. Curiously, while the toy  pieces are based on the "London"  shape of the 1820's, the adult  pieces exhibit the more elaborate scalloped and ribbed forms associated with 1830's patterns.

Additional cup and saucer available, $125.00.