In some "circles" Royal Albert was the ONLY bone china to have if you wanted to be part of a 'society' ladies group.
This is an example of 'fancy' Royal Albert from the 1950's, dressed to impress!
DLAT Rating: 8/10 (Darling, Look At This!)
This is part of our Royal Albert "fancy" collection and we have now decided some of which needs to find new, caring homes to live in! This Royal Albert trio is being made available as separate items (or all together if someone doesn't previously purchase part of the trio)
To see the other ROYAL ALBERT Serena pieces which may still be available, take a look HERE
Notice that, unlike the other pieces of this trio, we have downgraded the DLAT to 8 for this teacup - there is a reason, please read the cosmetic condition report below...
ROYAL ALBERT - Teacup (1) ONLY
Circa 1940's ~ 1960's (based on the backstamp design) although we believe this trio left the works in the 1950's
Registered pattern: 839329
Pattern name: Serena
Translucent fine china, meaning that when it is held to the light you can easily see the shadow of your hand through the chinaware
Hand decorated with both the artist and gilder's marks visible on the underside.
The design is very 'visual', intended to draw your eyes to it, yet not assault the eyes! Very "spring gardens" happy splashes of colour style of decoration.
Absolutely this is a 'show pony' for the occasional fancy tea occasion when you wish to impress by bringing out 'Serena' for the afternoon!
Typical 'high back' (Countess style) handle design of this period, the handle loop is quite small - only ladies fingers will be able to hold this teacup correctly and even though it is often referred to as shaped in the Countess style, a commoner can hold it too! (but don't forget to hold your "little pinky" out to the side!)
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Pink printed colouring is used for the backstamp except the pattern name which is a pale Blue
ROYAL ALBERT
BONE (Crown graphic in the centre) CHINA
ENGLAND
"SERENA"
Reg No 839329
DIMENSIONS:
Mouth: 95mm diameter
Height: 65mm
COSMETIC CONDITION:
This is the REALLY IMPORTANT part! No good being a Show Pony if it hasn't had love and caring over the years.
Unfortunately this teacup does have a flaw (or two) ... read on please
CLEAN
NO chips at all
NO discolouration to the design, both inside the teacup and externally with NO tannin stains in the bottom of the teacup!
NO crazing observed, dry and wet checked
The hand applied Gold gilding is in very good condition, this means there is almost no observeable wear n tear from handling at all. The most susceptible areas to wear are the top rim and the handle (Gold gilding is applied to both sides and the back of the handle)
THE FLAWS:
(a) While the gilding looks great, I then noticed a short length of wear on the back of the handle, lower section. Typical rubbing from being held with the fingers. This is the ONLY area where the gilding is worn.
(b) In relation to the Gold gilding, we also know there is a small Gold dot at the top of the handle - that is definitely a 'Woopsie, slip of the hand' but the factory gilder prior to the teacup leaving the works.
(c) The next issue actually caught us by surprise. While examining the inside and out very closely, we noticed a very faint light Brown external crack from the lip downwards for 12mm. We looked inside at the same area, no crack. No chipping to the top rim in this area. It looks very much like the glaze has cracked in this area only, bacteria has gotten into the crack and it is now a light Brown colour. Not terribly obvious but it is there none-the-less
(d) Lastly, during the same inspection we noticed a small 'bump' inside the teacup at the bottom. This is UNDER the glaze so it appears that this was imperfection in the clay prior to glazing. It is not coloured and very difficult to see - but your finger will feel it.
So, although this teacup has aged beauty and STILL is very presentable at any special tea occasion, she is not perfect! Most things 70+ years old tend to have little issues, that's life!
