1988 Royal Doulton English Fine Bone China Bunnykins Baby Bowl:
10,100 ppm Lead on the FOOD surface.
[The 1988 back-mark is for pieces made between 1988 and 1993.]
The amount of Lead that is considered illegal / unsafe in a newly manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the glaze, paint or coating of the item. As a result, this particular bowl would be considered illegal by current standards.
Of particular interest with this piece: the outside surface (the surface NOT intended for contact with the child’s food) is relatively low Lead, it is only the inside food-surface that is incredibly high Lead.
Note: While the bottom mark has the year “1988” I don’t know if this exact design was made in that year or later, as the 1988 appears to just be a Copyright year.
This bowl had the following specific readings when tested with an XRF instrument:
Inside (food surface) of bowl:
- Lead (Pb): 10, 100 +/- 200 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Chromium (Cr): 1,678 +/- 145 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 83 +/- 17 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 948 +/- 66 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 2,641 +/- 239 ppm
- Vandium (V): 785 +/- 67 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 491 +/- 66 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 254 +/- 82 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 386 +/- 101 ppm
Outside (non-food-surface) of bowl:
- Lead (Pb): 245 +/- 21ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Tin (Sn): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 157 +/- 26 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,927 +/- 197 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 35 +/- 12 ppm
- Vandium (V): 132 +/- 30 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 284 +/- 45 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cobalt (Co): Non-Detect / Negative
Learn more about XRF instruments and XRF testing here and here.
For safer choices for your family, please check out THIS post and THIS post!
#SimpleSolution: Frame this in a shadow box with a note on the back about how you came to have it (who gave it to you) and a note in the inside of the shadow box warning anyone who opens the box that it is high Lead and should not be used for food-use purposes. Hang your shadow box on the wall. It’s a lovely piece of art actually!
These are available for sale on Amazon* (LINK) but I encourage you to NOT purchase these as I have never tested a set that was either Lead-safe or Lead-free.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
For those new to this website:
Tamara Rubin is a Federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. Tamara’s sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in August of 2005. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. Her work was also responsible for two CPSC product recalls in the summer of 2022, the Jumping Jumperoo recall (June 2022) and the Lead painted NUK baby bottle recall (July 2022) and was featured in an NPR story about Lead in consumer goods in August of 2022. Tamara uses XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals), including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic. All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times, to confirm the test results for each component tested and reported on. Please click through to this link to learn more about the testing methodology used for the test results discussed and reported on this website.
I have the Royal Doulton Classique China manufactured in 1984 that my boss actually purchased for me in England. Its Royal Doulton Fine China 5 Classique Pattern Vogue Style Gold Trim made in England. Can you tell me the likelihood it has lead in it?