Vintage tea cups safe to use?

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Teachronicles
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 7:46 am

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ShuShu
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:02 am

I’m totally not an expert but I have been told that if there is no color inside or a golden rim so you can assume it’s fine
.m.
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:46 am

When it comes to lead leaching from porcelain, i think the risky part are some overglazes. The blue-and-white porcelain should be completely safe.
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Stephen
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:42 am

Here's an informative thread from teachat:
https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... n+toxicity

I'm usually only cautious with overglaze painting and gilding. I've used a home lead test kit and only found lead leaching from gilding on vintage Chinese wares and from overglaze painting (on one piece only.)
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Victoria
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 1:06 pm

+1 to replies above. If it has no overgrazing, and is not using bright decorative colors inside the cup, should be fine. I collect blue & white cups from 1600s forward, no problem using them.
Hmm
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 5:08 pm

With blue and white porcelain, the temperatures needed to fire them means that it should be almost close to impossible for there to be any traces of lead left.
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Bok
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Tue Jul 31, 2018 9:13 pm

Also watch out for cracks, in those case lead can still leach out, even if it is over-glazed. Red glaze is also often more prone for leaching than blue.
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