Factory Z  Bute cups

Factory Z  is an unidentified maker of teawares in the 1790s and early 1800s which was first named by David Holgate (1971).  It's wares have mainly been separated from other makers using features of its teapots and the fact that larger pieces in teasets were numbered in a way that did not relate to known factories.

Identification depends on relating cups to larger pieces and varies from quite certain to rather uncertain. Handles were of three types: Spode-type but with square bottom attachment, simple loop with thumb-rest and  Ridgway-type with two gentle kicks.

Factory Z type, Spode-type handle
Wide Spode-type handle with bottom attachment square (see right and pl.250 in Holgate, 1971). Finely potted in greyish body with dark specs. 
A cup with a "loop" handle of the Spode type with simple gilt line. Top attachment rounded, lower square. Gilt leaf burst on bottom inside. R. Edmundson attributes to Factory Z c1800 pattern 112. (aj080, h58, w84, b40, handle: v27.1, h16.6, w9.5, 7.7)
A cup with a "loop" handle of the Spode type with simple gilt line. Top attachment rounded, lower square. Even wall thickness and flat inside bottom.  Matching oval teapot had 38 impressed on rim of base.  Factory Z . (aj298, h58.6, w83.6, b38.7, handle: v27.2, h16, w8.9, 7.3)
A cup with a "loop" handle of the Spode type with simple gilt line. Top attachment rounded, lower square.  Even wall thickness and flat inside bottom.  Factory Z. (aj318, h58.1 , w79.9, b38.3 (43.7), handle: v27.8, h14.6 (19.3), w8.8, 7.5, t3.8)
A cup with a "loop" handle of the Spode type with lustre spots down the edge. Top attachment rounded, lower squarish.  Even wall thickness and flat inside bottom.  Factory Z. (aj496, h58.8 , w80.9, b38.8 (43), handle: v28.1, h14.8 (19.8), w9.3, 7.4, t4.7)
Factory Z type handles with thumb rest
Simple loop handles in 2 types,  with a gently pointed thumb rest on top.  Type-1 is more generous, wider and looks pointed from the side but less pointed at 90o to this. Type-2 is less generous, narrower and can look pointed from both directions. Finely potted in very white bone-china with even wall thickness and bottom flat inside .  See also Spode-type handles and Ridgeway-type.
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Possibly Factory Z. (aj104, h54.6, w82.1, b,39.3 handle: h15.4, v31.3, w9.2, 6.4)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments.  Decorated with hand painted flowers. Possibly Factory Z. (m042, h55, w79, b(42) ) Miller
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Possibly Factory Z. (aj418, h55.8, w82.9, b,42.1 (46.8) handle: h14.3 (18.7), v29.6, w7.8, 5.7, t4.6)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Decorated black print "Resting Sheperdess". Possibly Factory Z. (aj323, h53.1, w82.8, b38 (44.2) handle: h14 (18.7), v30.5, w8.2,5.94 t4.9)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Decorated black print "House, Gents and stags". Possibly Factory Z. (aj419, h55, w82.7, b40 (45.3) handle: h14.1 (18.3), v29.6, w8.2, 5.6,  t4.3)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Decorated black print "House, lake and boat". Possibly Factory Z. (aj417, h56, w83.4, b41 (45.7) handle: h12.1 (16.8), v29.7, w7.8, 5.2,  t4)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-1). Pointed upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Decorated black print "Shepherd and sailing boat". Possibly Factory Z. (aj433, h56.6, w83.6, b40.1 (44.9) handle: h14.2 (19.1), v30.2, w8.2, 5.9,  t4.7)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Rounded upper and pointed lower attachments.  Decorated black print "Shepherd and sailing boat" not same as aj433. Possibly Factory Z. (a139, w81.4)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Rounded upper and pointed lower attachments. Fine potting, fair translucency. Foot recess sides vertical. (aj551, h53.9, w81.6, b38.7 (43.2) handle: h12.6 (17.4), v29.9, w8.6, 6.1)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Rounded upper and pointed lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. (aj048, h55.5, w81.9, b39.5  handle: h13.3, v30.3, w8.6, 6)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Rounded upper and  lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. Decorated with puce bat print of "Resting Shepherdess". (aj175, h54.9, w82.7, b,39.7 handle: h11.7, v29.7, w7.6, 5.4)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2). Rounded upper and lower attachments. Foot recess sides just off vertical. (aj305, h55.6, w83.4, b,41.3 handle: h13.5, v28.5, w7.9, 5.5)
A cup with a "loop" handle with a pointed thumb-rest on the top (type-2).  Fairly rounded upper and lower attachments. Foot recess sides vertical. (aj076, h55, w84.4, b39.8 handle: h12.8, v28.5, w7.6, 5.3)
Factory Z types, Ridgway-style handles
 Wide loop handle with two gentle kicks and rounded upper and slightly pointed lower attachments.  Finely potted with even wall thickness and flat bottom inside. Finely crazed glaze and brownish transparency.
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. Creamy bone-china body with finely crazed glaze. ?Pattern 91 see creamer, pl 563 in Berthoud (1999) Possibly Factory Z?? (aj271, h62.2, w81.1, b38.7 handle: h15.7, v30.7, w8.8, 6.7, t4.8)
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. Creamy bone-china body with finely crazed glaze. Saucer marked with pattern 3 (see right 3mm). Possibly Factory Z?? (aj504, h59.7, w79.4, b37.4 (41.9) handle: h15.7 (20.2), v30.1, w8.5, 6.5, t4.8)
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. Creamy bone-china body with finely crazed glaze. Possibly Factory Z?? (aj366, h61.9, w80.1, b37.7 (42) handle: h15.2, v30.4, w8.6, 6.5, t5.1)
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. White bone-china body. Possibly Factory Z? (aj053, h58, w80.3, b39.8 handle: h15.2, v29, w9, 7.1)
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. White bone-china body. Possibly Factory Z? (aj497, h57.8, w78.9, b38.2 (43) handle: h16.8 (20.9), v30.9, w9.1, 7.2, t4.4)
A cup with a Ridgeway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. White bone-china body. Possibly Factory Z? (aj732, h57, w80.7, b39 (43) handle: h15.4 (19.5), v28.2, w9.1, 6.8, t4.7)
Other similar Ridgway-style handles, 
 Wide loop handle with two gentle kicks and rounded upper and  pointed lower attachments.  Finely potted with even wall thickness and flat bottom inside. Finely crazed glaze and brownish transparency.
A cup with a wide Ridgway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge, upper attachments rounded, lower more pointed. Brown mottled very translucent bone-china body. Rim flares slightly. Transfer same as creamer, pl 644 in Berthoud (1999) attributed to Factory Z?? (aj166, h58.3, w86.9, b39 handle: h14, v30.3, w8.7, 5.6, t6)
A cup with a wide Ridgway-style "loop" handle with two gentle kicks along the lower edge. Upper attachment rounded and lower slightly pointed. White bone-china body. Cup dimensions different from others in this group. Possibly Factory Z?? (aj165, h54.9, w82.2, b38.5 handle: h14.2, v28.8, w8.6, 6, t5.6)
References:  Berthoud, M (1999) "A Cabinet of British Creamers", Micawber Publications, Bridgnorth.  Emmerson, R. (1992)  British Teapots and tea drinking. HMSO, London. Holgate, D (1971) "New Hall and its imitators", Faber and Faber, London.
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