H97.101.11

The cups and saucers in this collection come from Della's Tea Cup Cafe, 7309 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, which was established in February, 1967. The cafe is noted for, and decorated with, a very large collection of tea cups. Some of the cups were purchased by the owner, others were presented to her as gifts, while still others were made for her. A: cup is of porcelain glazed with white in the interior, pale yellow on the sides but not the bottom, and a peachy tan near the top edge. The lip of the cup is scalloped and the scallops continue through the body of the cup, giving it a lobed appearance. It is a bouillion cup with two handles and a lid (see B); each handle is shaped like a flower with a leaf on each side; the leaves are attached to the body of the cup. The handles have been decorated with metallic gold. The peachy tan stripe near the top is scalloped on its lower edge; this edge has been hand painted with metallic gold in the shape of flowers and beads on the front and of flowers and a single stripe on the reverse. Gold brush strokes in the tan area give it a mottled effect. Beneath this decoration is a flowering bush, also hand painted in gold, with the flowers in orange and pale pink. The reverse has a much smaller and simpler version of this motif. The base of the cup is marked with a manufacturer's mark in orange: "Limoges, France" as well as the signature of the retailer (also in orange): "Raphael Weill & Co., San Francisco." B: lid is of the same materials as the cup, glazed in the same colors, and with identical scallops and metallic gold decoration. Like the cup, it is more richly embellished on one side. The handle is placed in the center, and matches those on the cup. C: saucer also matches the previous pieces, in material, shape, and decoration. The base of the saucer is marked in blue: "F.B., Limoges" and in orange: "Limoges, France." About this set, the donor remarked: "Other people come here and then [are inspired to] start a cup collection. As a collector, you have to know how to find value. I had my cups appraised twenty years ago. She told me what to look for... You have to know what you buying, why you buying it, where you're getting it, what stores... Go to an antique store, yard sale, auction,... you just keep looking for them. It was very good somebody took the time to tell me, so I'm going to tell you [to be specific about what you buy for your collection]. One lady came by last week and she collected creamers. Well, I never did collect creamers. There was a beautiful one standing up here. It was a nile green with some outstanding figure on it... so I gave it to her."

Used: Della's Tea Cup Cafe | Della Hardmon Guess | African American | Drinking | Raphael Weill & Company | San Francisco | Lynn Neighborhood