Object Type
The design of cups for coffee drinking is different than that of tea cups. Usually the diameter of a coffee cup is smaller than the height; this is the exact opposite of the proportions for tea cups. Straight-sided cups like this example were introduced at the Sèvres porcelain factory in France in the 18th century and were widely copied elsewhere. They were known as cans and were adopted especially for coffee drinking.

Materials & Making
The production of bone china declined in 1815, as the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the re-opening of continental European markets brought an overwhelming demand for Josiah Wedgwood & Sons' traditional creamware. A note in a price book of May 1879 states that: 'The China Works were therefore adapted to the production of Earthenware...we have, however, this year re-opened them for their original purpose, having made the necessary alterations to bring them up to the requirements of the day'. New designers were hired many of whom trained at the Government School of Design in London. The mixture of historic styles in the pattern on this cup and saucer suggests that its designer was trained at the School of Design. There students studied historic styles, in particular the Neo-classical and Renaissance. By the mid-19th century the majority of decorated tablewares made at Wedgwood were transfer-printed.