This company started out manufacturing porcelain in 1889, from a factory in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. In 1948 it was renamed the CROWN STAFFORDSHIRE CHINA COMPANY, producing fine earthenware and bone china tableware.
Although the firm produced a wide range of patterns, we currently only stock the Chinese Willow pattern. This colourful variation on the famous blue & white willow pattern is sometimes known as Gaudy Willow.
Chinese Willow retains many of the characteristics of the Willow pattern, in particular the two lovebirds at the top of the design.
Chinese Willow
Crown Staffs produced at least three versions of this pattern, as shown below. All are on a bone china body, which (unlike earthenware) is translucent when held to the light.
Click on each IMAGE for further details.
Crown Staffs Chinese Willow
Crown Staffs Chinese Willow - no border
Crown Staffs Chinese Willow - 11 birds
Coalport Chinese Willow
This is the most widely collected of the three and is handpainted in brightly coloured enamels over a black transfer. We believe the Crown Staffs company continued producing this until relatively recently, ie: the 1960s or later.
Some of the more recent items are marked with the pattern name (Chinese Willow), and occasionally the following inscription:
"From Ancient China comes this
design symbolic of love and the home."
An identical version of the Chinese Willow pattern was produced by the Coalport china company.
The version shown right dates from the 1930s and is painted in more muted colours over a blue transfer, with no border. It is relatively scarce and does not include the pattern name in the backstamp.
A blue and white version of the Chinese Willow design was produced by the firm of Till & Sons, with the pattern name Kang-He.
Eleven Lovebirds
This early Chinese Willow variant features 11 tiny birds in a V-shaped formation, and was produced with a variety of different coloured borders. The backstamp includes the Reg No 589090, dating the design to 1911 or later. It is quite hard to find.
The same V-shaped flock of birds appears in an almost identical pattern produced by the Star China Co, marked on the back:
"Paragon China, Reproduction of Old Chinese"
We specialise in English tableware from the 1920s and 30s and ship worldwide from our base in London, UK.
This site only shows a small fraction of our stock - if you don't see what you're looking for, please e-mail us.
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