Samuel Alcock Porcelain Sucrier, Cobalt Blue and Gilt, Rococo Revival circa 1840

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Samuel Alcock Porcelain Sucrier, Cobalt Blue and Gilt, Rococo Revival circa 1840

About the Item

On offer is a beautiful lidded sucrier or sugar box made by Samuel Alcock circa 1840 during the Rococo Revival era. 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 some very high quality wares and original designs, often standing out for their bright choice of colors and beautiful shapes. This sucrier would have been part of a large tea service. It is made in the Rococo Revival style, which was very popular during the 1830s and 1840s and excelled in strange, natural shapes. The sucrier has an unpredictable bulbous shape and a beautiful finial of an ivy blossom. The decoration is simple but effective: an abstract underglaze cobalt blue pattern with some gilt sprigs on top of the glaze. The sucrier has two very charming handles in the shape of, presumably, ivy stems. 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-organized 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 neoclassicism. 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 symmetrical and don't particularly make rational sense. This beautiful sucrier is made in this style; nothing about it seems very sensible but it is beautiful and perfectly serves its purpose. The sucrier is unmarked as was common at the time, but has the pattern number 6067, which dates the item to some time in the 1840s. Condition report: The sucrier is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs, crazing or even significant wear. 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. Dimensions 6" X 6" X 6"

Creator:
Samuel Alcock & Co. (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 6 in (15.24 cm)Width: 6 in (15.24 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Rococo Revival (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1840-1849
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1840
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. In excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs, crazing or significant wear.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A-ALC041stDibs: LU4805119601762