Period: Mid-Victorian
Maker: Sir James Duke & Nephews
This mid-Victorian teacup & saucer by Sir James Duke & Nephews has a gorgeous gilt and enamel design of tree blossoms and ferns on a festive plum-coloured ground. The style reflects japonisme, the aesthetic boom in the West for Japanese culture.
The maker was Sir James Duke & Nephews, who for a few brief years, circa 1860 to 1863 or 1864, operated the former Hill Pottery of Samuel Alcock in what is now Stoke-on-Trent. The late Geoffrey Godden praised the “very high quality” of the ceramics produced “by this little-known firm.”
Sir James Duke & Nephews continued the Alcock pattern system. The relatively high number painted on the bases of the cup and saucer, 6/557, dates it to around 1863 or 1864.
Condition Very minor gilt rubbing, otherwise perfect.
Saucer Diameter: 14.5 cm
Cup Height: 6.5 cm; Diameter: 7.7 cm; Width across handle: 9.9 cm
Net weight: 243 g
Medium: Bone china (porcelain)
Origin: Stoke-on-Trent, England
