Samuel Alcock Plate, Inverted Shell, Flowers, Provenance G.A.Godden Regency 1822

This dish would have been part of a large dessert service.

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 factory 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 much of it has been mis-identified over the years and attributed to Coalport, Ridgway, Rockingham or others; Alcock did not mark any of his porcelain save a few rare pieces, and the numbering system is difficult to understand. However, the wares are still wide spread and many are of great quality.

This dish has a wonderful moulded rim with piercings and shell details; this is often called the “inverted shell” shape. The rims are gilded with a pattern of fine vines. The centre decoration consists of an intriguing flower painting that is slightly naive and very unusual; it doesn’t only show beautiful bright flowers against a hazy background of hills, it also shows the roots under the ground.

This shape was produced by various factories, among which were Minton, New Hall and Hicks & Meigh. We know from the pattern number and the style of the image that this one was made by Samuel Alcock.

The dish is unmarked except the pattern number 547 and a label from the Geoffrey A. Godden reference collection. The pattern number points to the year 1822.

Condition report: The dish is in excellent condition without any damage or repairs, but it is crazed as visible in some of the pictures. There is very little 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: 21.5cm (8.5″) x 20.5cm (8″).