1910s Wedgwood Edme Teacups & Saucers Set- 18 Pieces

Details

Description

The Edme on the Terrace.

It's a Tuesday in July in France.
The sun is doing its level best to … Read more The Edme on the Terrace.

It's a Tuesday in July in France.
The sun is doing its level best to make an appearance on the beach at Deauville. Somewhere above the sea, on a shaded loggia, a young woman—let's call her Beatrice—is reading Benson and ignoring her suitor.
The suitor is earnest. He is wealthy. He is also, unfortunately, fated to die in the mud of the trenches, in just six years, but they don't know that today...
Beatrice reaches for her cup. It isn’t gaudy. It isn’t dripping in gold leaf or painted with frantic cherubs. It is cool, creamy, and architectural. It feels like a fluted column from a temple she once visited in Sicily, but scaled for the hand.

This is the Edme.

Designed by John Goodwin for Wedgwood at the height of the Edwardian era, it was the "sophisticated cousin" of the pottery world. Inspired by 18th-century French sketches, its deep ridges and Georgian proportions managed to be both ancient and startlingly modern.
It was a hit in 1911. It remains a hit today for the exact same reason: it doesn't try too hard.

The Details
We found nine of them. Not eight (which is never enough) and not ten (which is an awkward number for a table). Nine perfect pairs.
The Pattern: Wedgwood’s legendary Edme. Queen’s Ware body in a rich, warm cream.
The Look: Classic ribbing (celadon-style fluting) with sophisticated handles on the cups.
The Vintage: Hallmarked 1911. These have seen the end of the Belle Époque and the invention of the jazz age.
The Condition: Excellent. No chips. No "character" cracks. Just the smooth, architectural grace they had when they left Staffordshire over a century ago.
Perfect for Earl Grey, a stiff Darjeeling, or perhaps just sitting on a terrace and ignoring a doomed suitor who talks too much about his new motorcar.

Just lately, Edme is experiencing a huge revival of interest, as a result of it appearing in "DOWNTON ABBEY"; the dinnerware used downstairs by the Crawleys' staff.

Cups and Saucers are: 5.5"W X 5.5"D X 2.75"H. See less