Vintage Carlton Ware Fruit Basket Cruet Butter Dish Set Film TV Theatre Prop
£40.00
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Vintage Carlton Ware Fruit Basket Cruet Butter Dish Set Film TV Theatre Prop
£40.00
Overview
- Type: Complete Table Cruet and Serving Condiment Set / Theatrical Set Dressing Prop
- Designer: Carlton Ware Studio Modelling Team
- Brand: Carlton Ware
- Pattern: Fruit Basket (1958 Issue)
- Manufacturer: Carlton Ware Pottery (Copeland Street, Stoke-on-Trent, England)
- Place of Origin: England, United Kingdom
- Style: Mid-Century Modern / 1950s British Homeware / Retro Studio Set Dressing
- Colour: Buttery Cream and Deep Forest Green Glaze with High-Contrast Multi-Colour Fruit Transfers
- Design Era: 1950s Era (Specifically launched c. 1958)
- Material: Earthenware Ceramic / Fine Pottery
- Set Includes: Single Oil/Vinegar Pouring Bottle with Original Ceramic-Topped Cork Stopper, Single Salt Shaker, Single Pepper Shaker, Single Matching Twin-Indent Footed Cruet Stand/Tray, Single Rectangular Covered Butter/Cheese Dish with Lid
- Features: Pristine Unused Quality, Camera-Ready Blemish-Free Glaze, Hand-Painted Raised Enamel Accents, Dual-Tone Forest Green Accent Glazing, Removable Original Bottom Plastic Cruet Plugs, Official Script Backstamps
- Condition: Good Vintage Condition (Unused Set / Stable Superficial Hairline to Butter Lid Corner)
- Size and capacity: Standard 1950s dining table service scale. Vinegar bottle measures exactly 6.5 inches (H) to the stopper top with a 3-inch base; salt/pepper shakers stand 3.25 inches (H) on a 5.5-inch (W) leaf plinth tray; rectangular butter dish base measures 6.25 inches (L) x 4.25 inches (W) x 3 inches total built height — as verified against the vintage workshop folding ruler in the gallery images. Total group weight is approximately 950g.
Dating & Historical Context
- Dating: This rare multi-piece table ensemble dates precisely to 1958. The crisp, underglaze black script backstamps combined with the teardrop-flared bottle contours and streamline geometric butter dish shape are exactly diagnostic of the premium tableware ranges launched from Stoke-on-Trent at the close of the decade.
- Historical Note: Manufactured at the iconic Copeland Street works in Stoke-on-Trent, Carlton Ware's 1958 Fruit Basket range was revolutionary. It shifted away from the heavy embossed relief leaf moulds of the pre-war era, introducing smooth, architectural contours beautifully contrasted by solid blocks of glossy forest green glaze. The iconic transfer graphics feature a meticulously hand-touched cluster of autumn harvest fruits—depicting a golden crowned pineapple, a deep orange citrus orb, slate-blue grapes, and ripe harvest plums nested among forest-green foliage. While single pieces survive, discovering a complete coordinated set containing the oil/vinegar flask, salt/pepper set with tray, and the matching covered butter dish together is an exceptional find for collectors of high-grade post-war British studio pottery and period television set design stables.
Description
A beautifully complete and exceptionally preserved survivor of late-1950s British ceramic design, this vintage Carlton Ware Fruit Basket tableware collection infuses incredible retro charm into any afternoon tea service or country kitchen display dresser. Set against a smooth, buttery cream glazed earthenware body, each featured piece showcases the signature, vivid 1958 harvest fruit cluster motif offset by rich forest green trim lids and stands.
Expert Identification & Production Set Design Value:
- Camera-Ready Unused Quality: This complete set is entirely unused, meaning the glossy cream glazes and hand-painted accent transfers have been perfectly preserved with zero domestic wear. It provides the pristine, clean aesthetic required by set decorators for close-up insert shots on camera without any distracting grease stains or cutlery damage.
- Comprehensive Hostess Serving Set: A rare, matching compilation comprising the elegant teardrop vinegar bottle, a complete salt and pepper shaker duo seated inside their custom forest-green leaf plinth tray, and a substantial dual-tone covered butter box.
- Authentic Heritage Backstamps: The bases retain original underglaze black script factory markings reading "Carlton Ware, Made in England, 'Trade Mark'", complete with an orange handwritten artisan code under the lid rim, offering absolute verification for historical set authenticity.
Condition Report
This multi-piece tableware set is in beautiful vintage condition and remains entirely unused. The vinegar bottle, pourer spout, ceramic stopper cap, salt and pepper shakers, and the forest green footed cruet tray are completely immaculate—entirely free from chips, cracks, or wear, retaining their original bottom plastic bung plugs and clean interior cavities. The rectangular butter dish green ceramic base is pristine. The cream Fruit Basket butter dish lid features a very tiny, fine hairline fracture on one corner tip as highlighted in the macro close-up gallery image; this fracture is purely superficial, completely stable, does not go all the way through the clay body, and doesn't impact the structural capability or display aesthetic of the set. The glazes remain bright, glossy, and highly reflective across all pieces with no internal kitchen staining, fading, or crazing. Unglazed base feet show natural, light shelf wear patina from display storage over the decades. (Please study all detailed gallery photographs to inspect the fine glaze condition).
Shipping & Logistics
- Domestic Shipping: FREE UK TRACKED DELIVERY.
- Packaging: Each delicate item will be meticulously wrapped individually in high-density foam sheeting and multiple layers of heavy-duty bubble cushioning. The components will be packed inside an internal box to ensure absolutely zero movement or contact shock, nested securely inside a heavy-duty, double-walled outer shipping carton.
- Dispatch: Order before Midday 12.00 noon (UK time) and we ship the very same day.
Returns & Payment Policies
We want you to be delighted with your heritage find.
- Not as Described: In the unlikely event of an error in our listing, we will provide a full refund and cover the return postage costs.
- Change of Mind: We accept returns within 30 days; however, in these instances, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs.