TWO CHINESE EXPORT 'QUAKER FARMER' SAUCERS AND A COFFEE CUP CIRCA 1800-10

painted in green, blue and yellow enamel, highlighted in gilding.

Coffee cup: the handle has been broken off and restored back on and may be partially or entirely made up. There is a shallow 1 inch long slice chip to the bottom edge of the footrim. One saucer is extensively restored and oversprayed. It appears to have been broken into at least three large pieces. The restoration has been well done and is difficult to see on the front but is partially scraped away on the underside. The other saucer has three adjacent 1/2 inch haircracks at 5 o clock on the rim and a restored over minor hair crack or chip on the rim at 10 o clock. All three pieces have some wear to the gilding on the rims.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For a discussion of this pattern see the note to lot 95.

From the very few pieces which survive it appears that there was probably only one tea and coffee service made in this color. Its history is somewhat dramatic, as according to Elinor and Horace Gordon, 'Chinese Export Porcelain for the American Market', The University Hospital Antiques Show, 1968, and Gordon, 1977, p. 149, it was commissioned as a wedding gift in 1803 for Elizabeth Jefferies upon her marriage to Samuel Shipley. The ship carrying the service apparently sank in the Delaware river and the service was only salvaged some years later, the remaining pieces surving in the Shipley family before coming into the possession of Elinor Gordon. The coffee pot and teapot from the service are illustrated by Lang, p. 39, pl. 9 and  p. 42, pl 15, who also illustrates a saucer dish which belonged to Elinor Gordon, p. 51, pl. 31.