The strong utilitarian design of this undecorated red body cup and saucer might mislead one into a modern date attribution. In fact, Wedgwood has adapted the "London" cup shape, popular in the first decades of the nineteenth century, increasing its scale and the flare of its profile. It is the unexpected absence of surface decoration that links it to later more minimalist ways of thinking.

The relatively narrow, vertical shape of the cup is characteristic of coffee cups; the same set would have included broader tea cups. The interior is glazed, protecting the porous surface of the clay from liquids.

The term "rosso antico" was used by Josiah Wedgwood I to designate his red stoneware. Later generations--who were actually responsible for the bulk of this type of production--adopted the more generic term "red body." Perhaps because of the more romantic Mediterranean sound, the ware is almost universally known as "rosso antico" in today's marketplace.