Samuel Alcock true trio, beige with flowers, ca 1841

  

This is a beautiful "true trio" made by Samuel Alcock in or shortly after 1841. The trio is decorated in a warm beige ground with a gilt pattern and beautiful flowers in the centre of each item. Samuel Alcock was one of the many potters in Staffordshire such as Spode, Coalport, H&R Daniel and many others during the 1830s and 1840s.

He was perhaps not the most well-known of potters but produced very high quality wares and original designs, often standing out for their bright choice of colours and beautiful shapes. The Alcock factory is not well documented so although they had a huge output, items are often mis-identified and we don't know much about the production process of artists, even though the wares have a very high quality that equals that of the more well known factories.

The trio is unmarked except for the pattern number 9492, which dates it to the year 1841. The trio is in excellent antique condition with no damage or repairs and hardly any. Wear, as visible in the pictures. There is very fine micro-crazing on the coffee cup. 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. 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 (diameters) teacup 10.8cm (4.25"), coffee cup 9cm (3.5"), saucer 15.2cm (6).

This item is in the category "Pottery & Glass\Cookware, Dinnerware & Serveware\Cup & Saucers". The seller is "rattlethecups" and is located in this country: GB. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Handmade: Yes
• Colour: Beige
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
• Style: Rococo Revival
• Material: Bone China, Ceramic, Porcelain
• Theme: Flowers
• Pattern: flowers
• Type: Trio
• Features: Date-Lined
• Year Manufactured: 1841
• Origin: British
• Brand: Samuel Alcock
• Set Includes: teacup, Coffee Cup, Saucer
• Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
• Time Period Manufactured: 1800-1849