A Staffordshire Flatback Figure of Prince Albert, Alpha Factory, 1840s
This small Staffordshire flatback figure is modelled as Prince Albert seated. He wears a cobalt blue jacket with a high neck, trousers painted with a pale pink wash, and black shoes. His jacket is picked out with gilt details including a star insignia on his right breast. In his right hand he clutches an orange scroll. The edge of the chair is decorated with sieved clay. A gilt line is applied to the front and sides of the base. The glazed concave base has a very small air vent to allow gas to escape during the firing process.
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819-1861) was born to a family connected to many of Europe’s ruling monarchs. In 1840, he married his cousin, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, becoming her consort. Victoria granted Albert the title of Prince Consort in 1857. In his role as consort, Albert supported many public causes, including educational reform and the worldwide abolition of slavery. The hugely popular Great Exhibition of 1851 is one major project with which he was very closely involved. His premature death at the age of 42, plunged Victoria into a period of deep mourning lasting many decades.
The author and scholar Thomas Balston was the first to recognise the characteristics of an important group of figures, which he singled out and referred to as being the work of the Alpha Factory. The actual name of the manufacturer is unknown, however we do know that their period of production dates to between 1840 and 1853. Alpha characteristics here include the porcelaneous clay body, the palette of colours used, and the gilt line halfway up across the front of the base and descending to the bottom of the base on each side.
Condition: Typical light wear and tiny losses to areas of the on-glaze black enamel. There are a few glaze lines, and tiny glazed clay tears from manufacture. There is a tiny nick to the foot rim at the rear. No restoration or overpainting.
Dimensions: Height 13.5 cm; Width (across the base) 5 cm; Depth (across the base) 5.1 cm
Ref. See Pugh for a similar figure (A125, Plate 16a, Figure 40), and for a description of the Alpha Factory.
Staffordshire Portrait Figures of the Victorian Era, P.D. Gordon Pugh (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1988).