HISTORY:
My wife "collects" but is changing which type of china/porcelain/earthernware she wants (she is now focused on pre-1900's "art" pieces such as figurines) and she has come to realise that many of our special items need to "leave home" to find a new, caring home to live in.
Let's go back ... way back in time (these Alfred Meakin's are like little "time machines"!)
It is just after the trauma of WWI and then followed by the Great Depression, immediately prior to the beginning of open hostilities with the Hitler regime. It was at this time that the Alfred Meakin works were producing these dinner & teasets. Meticulously and skilfully hand decorated by female artists/dressers (most often) 90 years ago.
A little "aside" to ponder ... I have pieced together some broad information about just how it was for these pottery workers in this period. They were most often paid on the basis of "piece lots completed" not hourly and it appears the decorators were employed as "dressers". A dresser producing an average number of pieces could expect the equivalent of approximately 3d (threepence or we used to call these a 'thrupenny bit' when I was a kid) per hour! Proof of work completed was by the addition of the hand painted decorations near the backstamp on pieces produced by the worker.
These dinner sets were not 'cheap' at the retail stores and most folk had very tight budgets, so to purchase one of these dinner sets was a 'big deal' but a welcome visual relief from the turmoil during the years immediately prior to the mid 1930's ... for many, the realisation dawned that money, employment and the 'status quo' were just fleeting moments in time but to have something like a nice 'Alfred Meakin' was at least a tangible asset which could be enjoyed ... keep in mind that many folk had lost EVERYTHING prior to the mid 1930's
These teasets are PART of our own family heirloom, my wife has decided to keep the rest of the dinner set, not only for our enjoyment on appropriate occasions but she also 'at times' loans this sort of thing out to production companies for use in 'period dramas' In fact, the dinner set has featured in some 'small screen' (television) dramas some years ago but for quite a while now, retired and living in a spare room! Living peacefully amongst it's other Meakin 'friends' my wife decided it was time to "let's sort out this Meakin" and much has gone to another property for safe keeping, these remaining teasets will be looking for a new, appreciative home within which to live! She is only allowing the teasets to leave us, the complete (very large, multi-setting) dinner set will not be leaving the family at this stage.
Price indicated is for EACH PIECE, however there are variations between pieces and the prices of pieces reflects this. If more than any two pieces is purchased, automatic discounts come into play which further reduces the asking prices. The idea is that "the more that someone purchases, the happier we are!"
I mentioned that the condition of the various pieces varies, full details (actually in GREAT detail) is below in the COSMETIC CONDITION section of this advertisement.
DLAT RATING: 9/10 (Darling Look At This!) From a classic 'period' perspective
ALFRED MEAKIN - "ROSECLIFFE" Teacup Saucer Side Plate Creamer Jug
Made in England
Circa 1937 (confirmed by the backstamps)
Earthernware - this is opaque in nature, meaning you cannot see and light through the material.
Honey glaze used on all pieces, this promotes a "Golden" look to all of the pieces
Meticulously hand decorated using three colours (Red/Magenta, Lime Green & Black) and hand Gold gilded with edge feathering.
Pattern: Rosecliffe
Design: I couldn't conclusively determine the reason for the pattern name, Rosecliffe. There does not appear to be a rose by this name and the only references to Rosecliffe by AI (which I tend to take with 'a grain of salt', AI isn't particularly smart at times!) were an early 20th century mansion in Newport, USA.
Quite simple in design, featuring a dominant rose bud surrounded by foliage and garlands of smaller roses near the rims of the pieces. Simple but effective, particularly with the Golden background colouring. A nice 'touch' is the small bouquet of flowers INSIDE the teacup and creamer jug.
Feathered Gold gilding has been used around all rims and down the back of the teacup handles (only). It is suggested by Alfred Meakin that the Gold used is 18 karat or 75% pure Gold, with the elevated value of Gold at the current time perhaps this enhances the value of these pieces, although the weight of Gold would be extremely low!
Shape: All pieces are of a pretty traditional shape and the teacup handles are "standard" in shape, not Queen Anne or otherwise.
It would have to be said that overall the design is very pleasant to look at and not overtly ostentatious. These teaset pieces ooze class, 'days of old' and conservative values, in contrast to the "Art Deco" movement which was raging in during this same time period.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
I know, a lot of pictures of the backstamps - I like to give a LOT of detail!
Makers mark - underside of the teacups
Yes, not much to see! No backstamp, just the decorators marks although even these are indistinct. One teacup though (Grade B) does have the ENGLAND impression, but only that teacup.
Makers mark underside of the saucers
Makers mark underside of the side plates
Makers mark underside of the creamer jug
Red & Lime Green markings off to the side of the backstamps are the decorators ID markings
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP: 82mm mouth x 71mm height
SAUCER: 145mm diameter
SIDE PLATE: 180mm diameter
CREAMER JUG: 80mm diameter mouth, 18mm wide spout and 85mm height
COSMETIC CONDITION:
I like to inform as much as possible, after carefully examining all of these teaset pieces I have grouped them into three distinct 'classes' or Grades (A, B or C). Grading has primarily been based on the presence of crazing, a common issue with such old earthernware. Crazing is evidenced by cracking of the topmost glazed surface, usually due to environmental changes in temperature over long periods of time. The older pieces are, the more prevalent crazing becomes. Sometimes crazing is of no real consequence, just fine clear cracks on the top surface but if bacteria gets into those cracks, ugly discolouring can occur.
The pieces graded as B & C DO SHOW some crazing, to varying degrees but not discoloured.
There is a lot of information in this section, take it slowly and please read everything to determine the condition of every piece being offered. All of the lower graded pieces have lower prices reflecting their condition.
To start ... this section is universal to ALL pieces, no matter which Grade they are:
Specific information to each piece and Grade follows this universal description
NO chips to any part of any piece
NO discolouration observed to the Golden Yellow overall colouring
NO significant damage or wear is apparent to the decorative flower artwork
Now let's get down to the specifics ...
GRADE A
This grade specifically means NO CRAZING, no signs of glaze breakdown at all
TEACUPS:
NO crazing observed to any part of each teacup.
NO cracks observed
Gold gilding is in very good condition, possibly some light wear in places - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
SAUCERS:
NO crazing observed to any part of each saucer.
NO cracks observed
Gold gilding is in very good condition, possibly some light wear in places - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
Each saucer has one fleabite on the underside, not discoloured.
SIDEPLATES: There are NO sideplates which meet the criteria for Grade A!
GRADE B
This grade means that SOME crazing has been observed, some very small and others covering a wider area
TEACUP:
Light, clean (not discoloured), crazing can be seen right next to the topside of the handle and also underneath the teacup. Inside the teacup and around the outside of the teacup has no apparent crazing.
NO cracks observed
Gold gilding is in very good condition, possibly some light wear in places - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
SAUCERS:
NO crazing observed to any part of each saucer.
NO cracks observed
A couple of extremely small Brown "dots" noticed on either saucer in the centre area. Normal cleaning (soap n water) did not move these.
Gold gilding is in very good condition, possibly some light wear in places - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
Each saucer has two fleabites on the underside, generally not discoloured.
SIDEPLATES:
Both sideplates of this grade have topside and underneath crazing evident, easily visible when dry but not a lot of cracks when compared to Grade C.
NO cracks observed
One sideplate has an extremely small Brown "dots" in the topside central area, the other plate is clean. Normal cleaning (soap n water) did not move this 'dot'
Gold gilding is in very good condition, possibly some light wear in places - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
Each sideplate has two fleabites on the underside, generally not discoloured.
CREAMER JUG:
NO crazing can be seen inside or the outside of this jug.
HOWEVER, I can see what appears to be an extremely light line down two opposite sides of the jug (inside and externally) which I suspect are very light cracks! I checked that it does not leak - it does not, however be careful handling this jug.
Overall, the jug looks fine until you take a really close look at it. Those two cracks are very hard to see but there is also a couple of 'dirty marks' on the outside and normal cleaning (soap n water) did not budge those marks.
Gold gilding is in good condition, possibly some light wear on the jug handle, topside - it is difficult to determine this due to the feathering used but I think there are some little signs of handling wear - difficult to tell. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
Clean inside, no staining of any kind.
GRADE C:
SIDE PLATES:
ALL sideplates of this grade (C) have considerable topside and underneath crazing evident, easily visible when dry, many more visible glaze cracks than the Grade B side plates.
NO cracks observed to any plate.
A couple of these side plates have those extremely small Brown "dots" in the topside central area and a couple of the plates do not have these 'dots' Normal cleaning (soap n water) did not move this 'dot'
Gold gilding is in good condition, although on a couple of plates (look carefully at the photograph) I can see a small spot 'here and there' on the rim where the feathered Gold looks to have been worn a little due to handling over the many years. The Gold colouring has that "old Gold" look, I guess this is due to the 18Kt content.
Each sideplate does have fleabites, the majority have just two but one plate has three of these on the underside, they are all generally not discoloured (no bacteria has gone to live inside!)
There you have it ... blow by blow
As always, these will be extremely carefully packed for shipping safely. Remember, the more that 'leave the house", the lower the overall price - although 'aged' and bit tired looking (as we all do after 90 years!) these 'ladies' deserve a caring home to look after them.
