A teacup and saucer in "bell" shape with a high ring handle, with a very striking pattern of a bright French blue and gilt scroll pattern on the rims, and very finely painted flower sprigs in the style of David Evans, complete with little strawberries. The gilding is in a dark shade that was characteristic for the Alcock factory in this era, and the flower painting is exceptional.
Pattern: unknown
Year: 1840-1845
Size: teacup 10.2cm (4”), saucer 15.5cm (6”)
Condition: good without damage or repairs, and with very little wear; both cup and saucer are crazed. The cup shows a faint glaze line on the outside (see last image), however this does not go through the porcelain and it is not a crack.
The Samuel Alcock factory was operative in Staffordshire between 1822 and 1856, after which it was bought by Sir James Duke and Nephews. The factory started as a partnership between the young Samuel Alcock and the older Ralph Stevenson, who provided the factory and capital. Alcock quickly took the factory to great heights, building one of the biggest factories of its time. Alcock jumped on the new Rococo Revival fashion and served a huge new middle class market. The reason we now don't hear much about Samuel Alcock porcelain is that much of it has been mis-identified over the years and attributed to Coalport, Ridgway, Rockingham or others; Alcock did not mark any of his porcelain save a few rare pieces, and the numbering system is difficult to understand. However, the wares are still wide spread and many are of great quality.
Murray Pollinger was a passionate collector of Samuel Alcock porcelain. He was known as a true gentleman, impeccably dressed, always kind and modest - even some of his porcelain collecting friends had no idea about the size and importance of his collection. From the mid 1980s until shortly before his death in 2022 he collected many thousands of pieces and painstakingly catalogued them. He also went on trips to Staffordshire to discover the history of Samuel Alcock from whatever little documentation has been preserved. Through his painstaking work, Pollinger was able to make sense of the pattern numbering system that was used, and this was a huge step forward in identifying and understanding the porcelain. A website with the results of his research will be made availabe over the course of 2023. While he sold off about half of his collection in 2016, the remaining half is now made available to a new generation of collectors.
