{"product_id":"avon-honor-society-award-cup-and-saucer-octagonal-porcelain-with-peach-rose-garlands-and-acid-etched-gold-dated-1994","title":"Avon Honor Society Award Cup and Saucer, Octagonal Porcelain with Peach Rose Garlands and Acid-Etched Gold, Dated 1994","description":"  \u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA footed cup and saucer in white porcelain, both cut to an \u003cstrong\u003eeight-sided form\u003c\/strong\u003e — the cup a faceted bell on a stepped octagonal foot, the saucer a matching octagon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decoration is \u003cstrong\u003epeach roses\u003c\/strong\u003e: full open blooms and small sprigs, hung in \u003cstrong\u003eswags and garlands\u003c\/strong\u003e that loop around the cup and ring the saucer, tied with coral ribbon and set among fresh green foliage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth pieces carry a \u003cstrong\u003ebroad acid-etched gold band\u003c\/strong\u003e of dense scrollwork — at the cup's rim and around the saucer's edge — with fine gold lines at every rim, on the foot and along the scrolled handle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe detail that makes it is inside. Set into the well of the cup, and again on the saucer, is an \u003cstrong\u003eoval gilt cartouche framing a portrait of a young Victorian woman\u003c\/strong\u003e, dark-haired, in lace, wreathed in the same peach roses. You find it when you finish your tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth pieces are marked in gold on the underside: \u003cstrong\u003eCREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE AVON HONOR SOCIETY — © AVON 1994 — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED\u003c\/strong\u003e, the cup also carrying a script \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003c\/strong\u003e monogram.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis was not sold. It was earned.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eHonor Society\u003c\/em\u003e is a sales achievement level in Avon's recognition programme, and the mark says so precisely — \u003cem\u003ecreated exclusively for\u003c\/em\u003e. A Representative hit a number over a full year and this arrived. Every one of these in existence passed through the hands of a woman who sold enough to be given it, which is a different kind of provenance from anything bought in a shop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe company was built by exactly that arrangement, and by one woman in particular.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ePersis Foster Eames Albee (1836–1914)\u003c\/strong\u003e was \u003cstrong\u003efifty years old\u003c\/strong\u003e when she went to work for David McConnell selling books, and she became the \u003cstrong\u003efirst employee of the California Perfume Company\u003c\/strong\u003e — the firm that would become Avon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat she actually invented was the method. Albee recruited women as \u003cem\u003eDepot Agents\u003c\/em\u003e to sell within their own towns and their own circles, with the best of them promoted to \u003cem\u003eGeneral Agents\u003c\/em\u003e who recruited in turn. It worked at a scale nobody expected: \u003cstrong\u003eby 1903 the network was over ten thousand agents\u003c\/strong\u003e. She is remembered as the Mother of the California Perfume Company and the first Avon Lady — a title the company could not have given her while she lived, since \u003cstrong\u003eAvon did not take that name until 1939\u003c\/strong\u003e, twenty-five years after her death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Victorian portrait on recognition porcelain of this kind is the company's long-running tribute to Albee, and the piece belongs to an annual series awarded through the 1990s. \u003cstrong\u003eThe portrait itself is not captioned on the cup\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the identification rests on the series rather than on a name printed on the porcelain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDating needs no argument here. \u003cstrong\u003eIt is dated on the piece: 1994.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eFooted cup and matching saucer — an Avon Honor Society sales recognition award, not a retail product\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOctagonal throughout — faceted bell-form cup on a stepped octagonal foot with a scrolled handle, on a matching octagonal saucer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ePeach rose garlands, swags and sprigs with coral ribbon and green foliage; broad acid-etched gold scroll bands to the cup rim and saucer edge; gold lines to rims, foot and handle; an oval gilt cartouche with a Victorian lady's portrait in the cup well and on the saucer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eWhite porcelain with gilding\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eGold underside marks to both pieces: \u003cem\u003eCREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE AVON HONOR SOCIETY · © AVON 1994 · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED\u003c\/em\u003e, the cup with a script \u003cem\u003eH\u003c\/em\u003e monogram\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003e1994, dated on the piece.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eExcellent. No chips, no cracks, no crazing, no restoration and no repairs to either piece; the cup stands level and rings true, the handle is sound, and both pieces are bright and unfaded. The gilding is strong throughout with no rubbing to the etched bands, the rims or the handle. \u003cstrong\u003eExpect it to have been displayed rather than used\u003c\/strong\u003e — no tea staining, no utensil marking in the well — with only faint surface handling marks and slight residue to the saucer's underside where a label once sat. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA single cup and saucer is a more useful thing to own than a service, because it never has to match anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse it. It is a proper cup with a proper handle, and peach, gold, green and white will sit on any table alongside any other china. One good cup for the morning, kept apart from the everyday mugs, is a small daily pleasure that costs nothing to maintain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt also displays beautifully. The octagonal saucer stands well in a plate stand or on a rail, the cup sits happily on a shelf or in a cabinet, and the two together fill an awkward small space — a windowsill, a bathroom shelf, the top of a bookcase. Turn the cup and it doubles as a holder for rings, earrings, paperclips or a single small candle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe portrait is the part people find on their own. It is set where you only see it once the cup is empty, which is a piece of design somebody thought about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd there is the reason to prefer it over prettier china that cost more: somebody was given this for work she did. It is a trophy the size of a teacup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and with gilded porcelain there are two hard rules. \u003cstrong\u003eNever put it in a dishwasher and never put it in a microwave.\u003c\/strong\u003e Dishwasher detergent strips gold within a few cycles and it does not come back; gold in a microwave arcs and can damage the piece and the oven both.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWash it by hand in warm — not hot — water with a little mild soap, and dry it with a soft cloth. Use no abrasive pad, no scouring cream, no bleach and no citrus or descaling cleaner, all of which dull acid-etched gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo not pour boiling water straight into a cold cup; let the water go off the boil, or warm the cup first. Store the cup upright rather than stacked or hung by its handle, and put a paper or felt round between the saucer and anything stacked on it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48041038315625,"sku":"VE-0707","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_2050.jpg?v=1789131060","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/avon-honor-society-award-cup-and-saucer-octagonal-porcelain-with-peach-rose-garlands-and-acid-etched-gold-dated-1994","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}