Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac

From Mystic Tea Room

Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac high-footed cup and saucer, made in Japan

Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac high-footed cup and saucer, made in Japan

Cup center detail, Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac high-footed cup and saucer, made in Japan

Saucer detail, Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac high-footed cup and saucer, made in Japan

Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac set with high-footed cup upside-down

Ardalt-Lenwile foil paper sticker and backstamp

This black and white cup with thick gilding on the black areas is not back-stamped "Japan" or "Made in Japan" but it came with a red and silver foil sticker reading "Hand Painted / Lenwile China / Ardalt / Japan." It is also backstamped in iron-red with the numerical code 6388, which is likely a catalogue number, not a dating code. Most Ardalt-Lenwile Zodiac cups and saucers are missing the metallic foil paper stickers they were issued with, but all of them have the same iron-red numerical code backstamps.

Ardalt-Lenwile imported many other examples of gilded black-ware from Japan, but this self reading astrological cup and saucer with a simple golden star in the interior is the only known tasseomancy piece attributable to the company.

DIV-TLR-ALZO