Saucer from Suffragette Tea Set
Artist
H.M. Williamson & Sons
(Longton, England, 1879 - 1941)
Date1909
Object NameTea plate
Mediumbone china
ClassificationsCeramics
DimensionsOverall (Diameter): 18cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1986.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS011444.13
About MeThe teaset comprises teapot and lid, sugar bowl, milk jug, five teacups, five saucers, one bread plate, four side plates. The service is white porcelain with a dark green trim around rim of spout, and the rim of the lid. The handle and the knop on the lid are also in this dark green. Emblazoned on the side of the teapot is the green and purple transfer print of WSPU emblem. The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was founded by Mrs Pankhurst in 1903. The main objective was to gain, not universal suffrage, the vote for all women and men over a certain age, but votes for women, “on the same basis as men.” This meant winning the vote not for all women but for only the small stratum of women who could meet the property qualification. As one critic pointed out, it was "not votes for women", but “votes for ladies.”