BACKGROUND:
My wife "collects" but is changing which type of china/porcelain she wants (she is now into pre-1900's sculptures, figurines and fancy wares) and she has come to realise that many of her treasured items need to "leave home", yes it's time to push the "kids" out the door and start their own lives elsewhere.
DLAT RATING: 9.9/10 (Darling Look At This!) Nothing is perfect and although this duo appears very fancy (if somewhat 'busy') all is not as it appears, there are flaws and these are detailed below.
The decoration and shapes are dainty, delicate, very "eye catching" without being gaudy and with a pleasing shape.
The design, Serena, has been around for a very long time and over the years the shapes and decorations change slightly.
This particular version of Serena looks very much like those produced in the 1950's but it is from a much later period, the late 1970's. This is transferware and there are no decorator or gilder marks on the underside ... by the late 1970's it was just too expensive for Royal Albert to produce these teasets with hand decorations and remain competitive in the fine china marketplace.
Distinctive features of the teaset duo are the long, upturned handle (without a "pip" on the top) and the wide mouthed teacup shape. Some Serena's" that I have seen have very little decoration INSIDE the teacup, while this example has the majority of decoration inside the teacup mouth with the lower half of the teacup externally being plain White.
This advertisement is for the Teacup and Saucer ONLY - my wife had the trio originally but at the moment she cannot locate the side plate.
ROYAL ALBERT - Teacup & Saucer DUO (No side plate found so far)
Circa late 1970's
Fine Bone China
Pattern: SERENA
Transferware decoration
Background colour is clean, bright White although the decoration is so extensive that there isn't a lot of the background colouring to see!
Design: More of the classic & timeless design comprising roses and garden flowers in Pink, Yellows & Purple. The usual areas have been finished with Gold gilding e.g teacup rim, handle, around the foot and of course the scalloped rim of the saucer.
Being fine bone china, these pieces are translucent (you can easily see the shadow of your fingers through the china when held up to a strong light source)
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Makers mark printed on the base of the saucer
DIMENSIONS:
TEACUP:
95mm diameter mouth x 65mm height
Long, upturned handle extends above the teacup rim by 12mm
SAUCER:
127mm diameter
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Both the teacup and the saucer have low level flaws, these are not in "perfect" condition but could still be suitable as "emergency" replacements or for video production "props" What? I hear you say ... Yes my wife used to loan out some bits and pieces for the purposes of being used in drama productions. This particular duo though was part of a larger setting that she had and it was used frequently when entertaining. As a result, both of these pieces have seen their fair share of wear ... here are the details
TEACUP:
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO chips
NO fleabites
NO crazing
NO discolouration observed to the White base china
NO damage or wear is apparent to any of the decorations
NO damage to the double band of Gold gilding around the foot
HOWEVER, it's all about the finishing touches with this teacup - the Gold gilding
Around the rim I would judge the gilding to be 8/10 with no areas "missing in action" but a little patchy looking (it's all about those countless lips that have been rubbing against the Gold!)
The handle gilding is in worse shape, I would judge this at 5/10 with about half of the Gold gilding worn away on both sides and the back of the handle - this is pretty noticeable!
Inside, at the bottom of the teacup I can see about 4 or 5 little Black "dots" and by using normal cleaning (soft sponge with just a touch of dishwasher detergent) I could not move those dots at all. I have no idea what they are but they have found their "home" and do not want to leave!
What on earth happened to the backstamp (Me thinks, one eye closed and tongue hanging to one side!) ... the backstamp is UNDERNEATH the glaze but it appears to have moved when it was fired at the works ... like a stamp which has moved while drying! I could not image that Royal Albert would allow this to leave the works so perhaps this teacup was originally a "second" and the person we got it from all those years ago somehow obtained it - a mystery! (Don't you love a mystery?)
SAUCER:
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO chips
NO fleabites
NO crazing
NO discolouration observed to the White base china
NO damage or wear is apparent to any of the decorations
HOWEVER, it's all about the finishing touches with this saucer, specifically the scalloped rim Gold gilding
Around the rim I would judge the gilding to be 9.5/10 with no "rubbed away" areas except in just ONE spot the Gold abruptly stops and then continues again. I checked carefully for a chip - Nada Zero here, there is no chip but this tiny section of Gold has gone walkabout! I have tried to take a photograph of this to make it clearer.
So, in summary, this duo is by no means perfect but the saucer in particular is in pretty good shape although a bit of a youngster in that it is only 50+ years old! The duo has packed it's bags and now eagerly awaits a new owner to give it the care and attention that Royal Albert deserves.
SPECIAL NOTE: This duo has been together for ever so long ... to encourage someone who is interested in keeping the couple together, an automatic discount will apply in the checkout area if BOTH pieces are selected. Ain't Love Grand?
