Samuel Alcock Siege of Acre Parian Jug in Lavender and White

A fine Victorian Parian jug by Samuel Alcock and Co of Burslem, one of the great Staffordshire potteries and a pioneer of Parian relief jugs in the 1840s. The body is moulded in crisp white relief on Alcock's signature lavender ground, the colourway he is most admired for, and it carries one of his most collectable subjects: the Siege of Acre.

The continuous scene shows Sir Sidney Smith defending the breach at Acre in 1799, when his forces held the walled city against Napoleon Bonaparte's besieging army. It was Napoleon's first real check, and he abandoned his eastern campaign soon after. Alcock took the composition from a painting by William Hamilton, translating its drama into finely modelled figures that run right around the jug, finished with a moulded branch handle.

The base carries Alcock's printed royal arms mark with the painted pattern number 115 and an impressed size number, exactly as recorded on documented examples of this design.

It measures 16 x 15 cm, a good size for display or for flowers. We would fill it with garden stems or dried hydrangea, stand it on a dresser, mantel, or bookshelf, or set it among other Parian and white and lavender ceramics where the relief can be read. It is a real conversation piece with history behind it.

In condition terms, there are three small cracks, one to the rim and spout and two at the handle joins, with light brown staining following the lines, so we are offering this as a decorative and display piece rather than a perfect collector's example. The moulding itself is sharp and the lavender is bright, please see the close up photographs.

A marked and named Samuel Alcock jug like this suits collectors of Parian and Victorian relief jugs, anyone drawn to naval and Napoleonic history, and lovers of antique English pottery. It would make a memorable gift for a collector or history enthusiast.