On offer is a beautiful vase made by Samuel Alcock around the year 1840 during the Rococo Revival era.
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 vase is decorated in deep cobalt blue with a gorgeous hand painted landscape on one side and a lavish gilt detail on the other. The landscape is painted in beautiful autumnal colours. The most stunning feature of the vase is its two handles, which consists of griffins. The neck of the vase is perforated, pointing to the fact that it might have doubled as a potpourri vessel if sold with a lid. The rim is adorned with a crown-like moulded decoration.
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 symmetrical and don't particularly make rational sense. This beautiful vase is made in this style; nothing about it seems very sensible but it is beautiful and perfectly serves its purpose.
The vase is unmarked, as was normal at the time, but has the pattern number 208. As this is a very low pattern number it is assumed that the vase, which is clearly in a style from around 1840, made use of a much earlier pattern.
CONDITION REPORT The vase is in good antique condition. The body of the vase is in perfect condition so it is safe for use filled with water. There are some small and professionally done repairs to the griffins, that are not visible without special UV light. There is a firing crack in the neck of the vase; this has happened during production and has been glazed over. The vase is slightly lop-sided; this is often the case with these items as they were very difficult to fire and could easily sag in the kiln. There is some rubbing to the gilt, as can be expected. The landscape painting is in excellent condition.
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 24cm (9.5"), width (incl. both handles) 19cm (7.5"), depth 11.5cm (4.5").
SHIPPING I ship worldwide from the UK, mostly by Royal Mail 2nd Class for the UK and International Tracked and Signed for the rest of the world. I am happy to combine shipping charges on multiple items - please contact me to discuss. In principle I do not make a profit on shipping although for simplicity's sake I charge flat shipping fees. If the fee charged greatly exceeds the actual cost I will gladly refund you the difference - at the same time if it is slightly lower I will gladly make up the difference. In some countries shipping will end up significantly more than the expected fees and I will contact you to discuss our options. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING SHIPPING COSTS AND OPTIONS.
Samuel Alcock griffin vase, landscapes Rococo Revival ca 1840
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We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!
