Question:
Hello,
Can someone offer some expertise and tell me whether or not they think this is an old piece of delft. It is unmarked as far as I can tell.
Paul D. Maher
Answer:
Design looks Delft - but the repro ones do too, of course. Most early Delft was blue and white. Until fairly modern times, it was hard to do red under the glaze - hence the Delft pottery used blue. Cheap and cheerful stuff, early Delft. Well, it was then, before it became rarer and collectable. Don't be fooled by the crackle in the glaze. That can be reproduced. In the case of English Staffordshire dogs, the ones without the crackle are more likely to be original than the nicely crackled ones. Are there any markings on the base? If there are, they could give a clue. There were makers that produced things in colours other than blue on white, but those were more expensive articles than mugs on the whole.
Answer:
Just noticed that you said unmarked. Sorry..... A lot of so-called Delft was also made in Staffordshire from the late 1700s onwards. Very hard to tell, sometimes, but I'd put this piece as fairly modern. Then again, I could be totally wrong.
Answer:
The puce-colored scene looks like a transfer (not handpainted). I'd guess late 20th century tourist piece?