Theodore Haviland Limoges Two-Handled Cream Soup Cups and Saucers for Burley & Company, Set of 4, Raised Gold, Antique, c. 1903–1923

A set of four antique two-handled cream soup (bouillon) cups and saucers, Theodore Haviland, Limoges, produced for Burley & Company of Chicago — a well-established American china importer and retailer in continuous operation from 1838 to 1923. Rendered entirely in white porcelain with elaborate raised gold paste scrollwork: a wide scalloped border band and a finer filigree ring encircling each saucer's well, with matching gilt detail on the cup handles.

The set carries two Theodore Haviland backstamp variants, two pieces each, both marked as made for Burley & Company of Chicago. One bears the “Patent applied for” mark, dating to c. 1903–1923. Because Burley & Company was sold to Albert Pick & Co. in a transaction completed by 1923, every piece in the set predates that year, making the entire service more than a century old.

The specific pattern is not attributed to a numbered Schleiger reference — Haviland produced tens of thousands of pattern variations, and unpainted gold-filigree designs of this kind are among the hardest to pin to a catalogued number. Offered honestly as an unidentified Haviland pattern rather than an invented attribution.

Condition: one small, stable rim chip on a single saucer, fully disclosed; the remaining seven pieces are clean. The raised gold shows lovely, crisp texture throughout with no notable wear.

Curator certified for accuracy and quality.