Would you pay £2,500 for an eggcup?

I hope you enjoyed a nice long Easter weekend. With our enforced "stay at home" lifestyle, it was easier to eat far too many Easter Eggs!

After so much chocolate, a simple savoury boiled egg is very appealing, for which you need an eggcup. Choosing which one can be tricky, if you are a ‘pocillovist’- an eggcup collector (from the Latin ‘pocillum ovi’, meaning a small cup for an egg).

Collecting egg cups is a hobby open to virtually everyone. Reasonably cheap, they are widely available from car boot sales, flea markets, and antique shops.

The first images of people using egg cups appear in a Turkish mosaic dating from 3 AD, and eggcups were discovered amidst the ruins of Pompeii from 79 AD.

Eggcups were adopted by British aristocracy in the 1600s, rising to wide popularity during the Victorian era. Companies like Wedgwood and Haviland incorporated eggcups into their bestselling dinnerware services, and it was fashionable to sell eggcups in sets of 6, 8, or 10 with matching trays and spoons. Complete sets are extremely rare today, and worth a premium.

Collectable eggcups can be beautiful and delicate, such as Wedgewood and Royal Worcester; commemorative, such as the coronation of King George and Queen Mary; humorous, brightly coloured children’s fun ones, and themed and promotional ones. Usually ceramic, they can also be made from wood, glass, metal, mineral, stone, horn, plastic and Bakelite.

Their value depends on condition, age, theme and vital maker’s marks. Antique in good condition are generally rare because, as everyday items, they were often damaged or thrown away. Even a hairline crack can halve their value.

The most sought after are oldest in mint condition (19th century silver and glass examples fetch over £500), those made by a collectable manufacturer, like Minton or Doulton; those from a collectable period, like Art Deco or 1950s; or those based on a collectable theme. Indeed, the most expensive auction price is reputed to be £2,500 for a rare Royal Doulton Bunnykins shaped eggcup.

But know when to stop! Last autumn a Yorkshire lady auctioned her 2,500 eggcups for charity. Whilst this pales beside a New Zealander’s 9,000 strong collection, I was reassured to learn that she had been.. a poultry farmer!