Product DescriptionThe Christmas Rose is the common name for a Helleborus Niger, a much loved garden plant which produces a pure white flower that blooms for the Christmas season. Spode first produced the Christmas Rose pattern in 1890 on a special plum pudding dish. The Christmas Rose Soup Tureen and Cover 14 cup combines snowy white Christmas Rose blossoms entwined with holly sprigs in a Victorian color palette for an elegant holiday table.Amazon.comSpode is a trusted and coveted name in ceramics, and rightly so; they've been producing lovely tableware in England since the late 1700s. Spode's bone china is of the highest quality and is valued for its strength and pure white color. The Christmas Rose pattern, first introduced in 1890, features a floral border and an elegant Victorian colour palette of clean white, berry red, burnished gold, and a range of natural greens. The Christmas Rose soup tureen is mostly a pristine, snowy white, with a thin rim border of red-orange trimmed with 22-carat gold; the lid has a matching border along its rim. The sturdy side handles and lid handle are also decorated with gold flourishes. An illustrative border of white Christmas roses entwined with holly and mistletoe is painted in a wreath around the tureen. (The simple white Christmas rose is a winter bloom in England.) The tureen lid has a small cut-out (also gold-trimmed!) for a ladle handle. This tureen would look lovely on a holiday table set with matching Christmas Rose place settings. To help preserve the decorative borders and gold-painted accents, Spode recommends that its bone china products be hand washed in hot water with a mild detergent. Avoid abrasive cleansers or scrubbers that might scratch or mar decorated surfaces. Spode bone china is not recommended for use in the microwave, oven, or freezer. The Spode Christmas Rose soup tureen measures 13 inches across and stands 9 inches tall (measurements include handles and lid); it has a 3-1/2-quart (14-cup) capacity. --Garland Withers