Arthur Bowker | Miniature Coronation Cup | Gilt Lion Handle | Queen Elizabeth II | 1953
Small enough to sit in the palm, made to mark a day half the world stopped to watch.
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 was marked across Britain and the Commonwealth with commemorative china, from the great factories down to the smaller Staffordshire firms. Arthur Bowker of Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was one of these, making fine bone china miniatures and figures.
The cup is straight-sided, on a gilt foot, with a gilt rim. One side is printed in colour with the royal coat of arms, supported by the lion and the unicorn above the motto "Dieu et mon droit", with "E R" below. The other side carries the crowned EIIR cypher with blue ribbons and the inscription "H.M. Queen Elizabeth II Crowned 2nd June 1953". The handle is modelled as a rampant lion, fully gilded. The base is printed "Staffordshire Fine Bone China of Arthur Bowker, Made in England" beneath a crown.
The cup is in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration.
Key Details
Maker: Arthur Bowker, Fenton, Staffordshire
Date: 1953 (coronation of Queen Elizabeth II)
Material: bone china
Form: miniature cup with modelled lion handle
Decoration: royal coat of arms; crowned EIIR cypher with coronation inscription; gilt lion handle, rim and foot
Marks: crown above "Staffordshire Fine Bone China of Arthur Bowker, Made in England"
Dimensions: height 6.2 cm; diameter 4.5 cm
Weight: 80 g
Condition: excellent; no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration
Buyer profile: collector of royal commemoratives; someone marking a 1953 birthday or family memory; collector of miniature china
Collector Appeal
The modelled lion handle, echoing the heraldic lion in the royal arms printed on the side, gives this small commemorative cup a sculptural quality. At this size it sits comfortably among other small commemoratives or on a narrow shelf.
Crowns pass and reigns end; a small cup made for the morning of one keeps the date as if it were still today.
