Cobalt blue
It's the time of year to cuddle up on the sofa with a cup of tea... days are getting shorter but there is this wonderful late afternoon light of the low sun, which I love. My allotment is still giving me great sunflowers, the last of the year.
What you see here is a teapot and trio from Samuel Alcock, and I've paired them with a Rathbone sucrier that goes together beautifully. The style is typical for the 1820s: a deep cobalt blue ground with rich gilding, and the teapot and trio have sublime little landscape panels. The sucrier has an intriguing pattern of huge pale yellow and gilt artichokes.
Designs with a cobalt blue ground had been made since the 18th Century, however it was never possible to make the ground colour, which is created on the blank porcelain underneath the glaze, even. In 18thC examples you often see it "scaled" in order to hide the fact that it was uneven. In the early 19thC, potteries discovered how to make a stable, even ground, and this quickly became all the rage.
Of course it looks amazing with the rich gilding, but there was another reason for this as well; rooms were still lit with candles, and the gilt would reflect the candle light, creating a wonderful effect, but also giving a little bit extra light. I don't know how people managed, particularly in the North where the days get very short in the winter, with only candles to rely on - they must have slept a lot during the winter!
The Alcock set also bears incredibly detailed, beautifully hand painted little landscapes. They are mostly quite autumnal in character, which was a popular way to paint landscapes at the time. You see hills and rivers, churches, farm houses and medieval ruins; probably all from the painter's imagination but very typically British.
Where to find things
You can find lots of cobalt blue stock on my website, and you can find all my available stock here. If you always want to see the latest additions, follow me on Instagram... I post pictures and a story several times a week.
Happy weekend, and enjoy a cup of something on the sofa! 💙🫖☕️💙
This week's treasures:
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