Service à thé achats ancien 1886 Foley Wileman trèfle forme Alexandra or blanc Rd60650

This is an extremely rare antique 21 piece Foley Wileman fluted bone china tea set in the Alexandra 4 leaf clover shape. Placing it to the end on the 19th century, in white with gold handles & trims. The gold has worn in places, mainly on the handles of the cups and jug. There are some small black dots to some pieces which are mainly underglaze and original. There is also some staining, mainly to the inside of a couple of the cups and some of the outside grooves of the large sugar bowl and there is a hairline crack to one of the cups - see photos. Small under rim chip to one plate. That being said, given the age (almost 140 years) and delicacy of the china, this really is an exceptional set. It is so beautifully made, the milk jug sits perfectly within the sugar bowl when stored. All pieces are marked (printed or impressed) with Rd60650 dating it to 4/11/1886.

Eventually, in 1925 Foley Wileman changed its name to ‘Shelly' because of a legal dispute over the name ‘Foley'. Joseph Shelly had, however joined the business in 1862 and his son Percy Shelly joined in 1881.

Set comprises

6 x tea cups

6 x saucers

6 x tea plates

1 x sugar bowl

1 x milk jug

1 x sandwich/cake plate.