This is a beautiful coffeecup and saucer made by Samuel Alcock around 1830, which was the Rococo Revival era. The set is decorated with a bold Imari pattern and has a "ring-moulded" shape.
 
Samuel Alcock was a major potter in Staffordshire between the 1820s and 1840s. He is probably one of the most under-appreciated potters of that era, creating a huge and very high quality output but as he didn't mark his wares, many got attributed to other factories and his name largely forgotten. Only recently are people starting to recognise the extraordinary quality of these wares, and this piece is a great example of the creativity and beautiful of their Rococo Revival designs.
 
The Rococo style was originally a style of the 18th Century. After the Baroque style, which was highly symmetrical and well-designed as it aimed to express the perfection of God, the Rococo style was a reaction that expressed the unpredictability and flow of nature. "Rococo" is derived from the French word "rocaille", which stands for a mass of pebbles that are self-organised in a completely unpredictable mess, for instance on the beach or in the mountains. Rococo moved away from the stranglehold that religion had on the arts: it was capricious, asymmetrical, charming and worldly. As Europe got mired in various wars between Germany, France and Britain, the general style got much more austere again and people embraced neo-classicism. But in the 1830s and 1840s, the seemingly unlimited fortunes of the Industrial Revolution sparked a revival of Rococo, once again creating natural shapes that are not always symmetrical and don't particularly make rational sense. 
 
This coffee cup can be identified as Rococo Revival because of its generous bell-shape and its interesting moulding; you can see the little rings around the the rims, and the handle which, if you look carefully, looks like a bent twig. In spite of this Rococo Revival shape the pattern is more traditional: a bright, rather wildly painted Imari pattern in cobalt blue, gilt and orange, with big oriental flowers.
 
The items are unmarked, which is common for this era.
 
CONDITION REPORT The set is in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing. There is some wear to the gilt and the pattern, as visible in the pictures; however the set still looks bright.
 
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
 
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
 
DIMENSIONS (diameter) cup 8.2cm (3.25"), saucer 14.2cm (5.6")