The Cups of Persuasion

I've been obsessing on all my Jane Austen movies lately, watching them over and over again.  I have 3 versions of Pride and Prejucide on DVD, as well as a paperback and the audio book on cassette.  I have 3 versions of Emma on DVD, and 2 versions of Sense & Sensibility.  I just watch them over and over.  The hubs thinks I'm nuts of course, and won't sit still for even 5 minutes of all this "old stuff".  But I love it.  I love the stories, the manners, the clothes, and I especially love the tea and china rituals.

Today I watched Persuasionwith Amanda Root playing Anne Elliot, long-suffering and submissive, who finds love in spite of her interfering friends and disapproving family. I like this version, even though it does take some liberties with the story.  But the changes are obviously attempts to simplify the story, which does get a bit complex, and at least they haven't messed too much with the key characters or main events.

What I want to share here are the special moments in cups

This is one of my favorite cups.  We see these large two-handled cups used at Mary's (Anne's married sister) for breakfast, which I assume means they might contain coffee instead of tea?  I tried to find cups like these online, and even bought a book about antique china, but I couldn't find anything about them anywhere.

The only time we see the smaller teacups from the china set being used is when Anne is nursing her nephew.

This is from a wonderful scene in the movie, where Anne, while visiting her sister Mary, takes tea with her in-laws the Musgroves, and spends the entire time listening to everyone's woes and complaints over their cups. It's a wonderful illustration of Anne's patient nature, and her role in the family. 

And of course, the blue china cups are beautiful.

Ok, ok, this isn't a teacup.  This is from a scene in one of the public houses in Bath, where apparently you drank these healthful waters from a tin cup.

A quiet moment in a public shop.  I like to think there might be hot chocolate in this cup.  Anne doesn't seem to be aware of anything, however.  She sips in a bemused state, thinking about her beloved Captain Wentworth.

Comments

[Arti]

Right cup or not, this movie made it to New York Times' List of Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, together with two other Austen adaptations. Enjoy your blog!

[Christine]

Thank you Meredith! I wish more film makers would pay closer attention to these kinds of details. I loved Age of Innocence. I wonder about the china used in Gosford Park? I know they spent quite a lot of time getting the historical details about serving roles and so on. Do you know if the china was authentic?

[Meredith Chilton]

Unfortunately, the china used in this film is not accurate to the period. The large double handled cup used to drink tea in the photo was acutally used for bouillon or soup, and the other cups, as well as the candleabra are all later in date. The BBC TV version of the film had far more accurate china accoutrements.
Two other films where china/dining habits are accurate are: Master and Commander and The Age of Innocence. Alas, period ceramics are all too often overlooked by the set designers.