3 Metlox Grape Cup Sets

THREE METLOX POPPYTRAIL SCULPTURED GRAPE CUP AND SAUCER SETS - 6 PIECES Three vintage California earthenware cup and saucer sets in the Sculptured Grape pattern by Metlox Poppytrail, six pieces in all. Each footed cup has a ring-turned body, an off-white glazed ground, and a sculpted olive-brown twisted grapevine handle, decorated with embossed hand-painted blue grape clusters, green and gray-green leaves, pale yellow blossom sprigs, and gold-brown curling tendrils. The saucers repeat the same embossed and hand-painted border around a plain center well, with a scalloped edge and a soft olive-brown brushed rim line. This is the same pattern as the other cup and saucer sets, plates, salad plates, shakers, creamer and sugar, and gravy and butter pieces offered separately in this sale, so bidders assembling a service should watch those lots as well. The pieces show fine crazing typical of this earthenware body, and the printed saucer backstamps are partly smeared with the lower lettering illegible. Good, honest mid-century American dinnerware for table use, open shelving, a hutch, or a coffee-and-dessert setting. Sold as a lot of six pieces - three cups and three saucers. Description Three cups, footed with ring-turned sides and applied sculpted grapevine handles in olive-brown; interiors plain glazed white with no decoration. Three saucers, round with scalloped edges, embossed grape-and-leaf border, and a recessed center ring to seat the cup. Cup measures approximately 3-1/4 inches tall at the rim per the tape-measure photographs. In the side view the tape hook is standing on the table beside the cup rather than hooked on it, and in the overhead view the tape is laid across the rim, so both figures are close estimates only. Cup rim diameter reads at roughly 3-1/2 inches and the saucers at roughly 6-1/4 inches; these are estimates from the photographs rather than hooked tape readings, and bidders should verify all dimensions from the photographs. Saucer undersides carry a circular printed backstamp reading "POPPYTRAIL BY METLOX" across the top with the lower "MADE IN CALIFORNIA" arc smeared and blotted; a hand-inked number appears alongside reading as "26" or possibly "28", with no definite reading claimed. No printed maker mark is visible on the cups themselves, so none is claimed for them beyond the pattern match to the marked saucers. Attribution note Metlox Pottery operated in Manhattan Beach, California, founded in 1927 by T. C. Prouty and his son Willis Prouty, first producing outdoor ceramic signs and then dinnerware under the Poppytrail name from the early 1930s until the plant closed in 1989. Replacements, Ltd. catalogs this pattern as Sculptured Grape by Metlox in the Poppytrail-Vernon line, discontinued, with production running roughly from 1963 to 1986, and describes it as raised blue grapes with green leaves and vines on a white ground. Related colorways exist, including an all-white version and a pink grape version, so buyers matching an existing service should compare colors closely against the photographs. Identification and dating here are offered as the consignor's photo-based opinion and are not guaranteed. Bid on the item as pictured. Condition Used vintage condition, sold as-is. Fine crazing is visible in the glaze on the cup interiors and across the saucer surfaces. The printed saucer backstamps are smeared, with the lower portion of the lettering illegible. Light scattered surface scuffing and faint utensil or stacking marks appear in the saucer wells. A few small dark specks and pale amber spots are present near the foot rings. The brushed olive-brown rim line on the saucers is thinned in spots. No cracks, chips, or repairs are apparent in the photographs, but the pieces have not been examined under magnification and no such guarantee is made. Photos are part of the description. Notes for bidders Glazed earthenware is not dishwasher or microwave recommended; hand wash gently in warm water and dry promptly. Do not soak crazed pieces, as moisture can enter the glaze lines and stain the body. Stack with felt or paper separators to protect the raised decoration and the sculpted handles, which are the most vulnerable points. Only the piece(s) pictured are included in this lot. Terms Sold as-is, where-is, with no warranty expressed or implied. All sales final. Please ask any questions before bidding. Buyer is responsible for pickup or shipping arrangements per auction terms.