Victorian Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Cup & Saucer Rare Patt. 2869 (198 Variant) 1890

A stunning Victorian Royal Crown Derby cup and saucer in a vibrant imari palette with copious rich gilding. The main central pattern is almost identical to that of well known pattern 198, with two birds in a tree against an underglaze blue ground set in an arched frame. The mirroring frame has a flowering plant amongst gilt scrolls, a red-edged, white reserved, daisy type flower with gilt centres, rather than the solid red stylised flowers of 198. The surrounding background is filled with red-edged, white blossom on gilt branches, with peony and lotus flowers of differing form to those of 198. The wide frieze running around the rims of both pieces is again very similar to 198 in the arrangement of panels and main shapes, but the decoration to the bone shape device is very different, as is the colouring of some of the flowers, and the whole blue ground is ornately filled with gilt scrolls and dots rather than being left plain. This pattern is numbered 2869, and is clearly a lighter, brighter and more lavish variant of 198, and one that I have not been able to find another example of, perhaps suggesting the service from which this set came was a special commission. Factory marks to each piece, with date cyphers for 1890 for the cup and 1891 for the saucer. The pattern number is painted to each and impressed Derby marks to the saucer.