On offer is a beautiful vase made by Samuel Alcock around the year 1840 during the Rococo Revival era.
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 business, then called Samuel Alcock & Co, 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 he marked only few of his items, and his numbering system was byzantine, so much of it has been mis-identified over the years and attributed to Coalport, Ridgway, Rockingham or others.
The vase is decorated in bright maroon with gilt and gorgeous hand painted landscapes on both sides. It is in perfect condition so can be used as a vase, but it also looks stunning on display. On the bottom you can see the pattern number 7530.
CONDITION REPORT The vase is in excellent antique condition with no damage and virtually no wear. There is no rubbing to the gilt. The handles have identical faint stress cracks (see last picture); it is obvious that this was a design flaw that has played out over time, however the handles are completely stable and these lines don't seem to affect their strength or beauty. There is no crazing, nor are there any cracks.
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 height 28cm (11"), width (incl. both handles) 16cm (6 1/4").
