Belleek Coffee Cup Trio, Shamrock Pattern, 1891-1926

If you ever thought Belleek fine china looks, sounds and feels unique, you are right. There is a back story to this extraordinarily fine Irish eggshell porcelain, which has an unusually high amount of “frit” and therefore is thinner and finer than any other china.

Pottery in Belleek (in the now Northern-Irish area of Fermanagh) had started in 1849 with John Caldwell Bloomfield, who was a wealthy land owner. During the Irish famine he realised that unless he would find a way for his tenants to make a profit off the land, they would starve. Agriculture had become impossible due to the agricultural diseases caused by monoculture. This caused millions to starve and more millions to leave. As an amateur mineralogist, John Caldwell Bloomfield realised that his land had exactly the right mineral deposits to be used as clay for porcelain. He involved several investors and scientists and after many years of research, trial, error, the building of a railway line to import coal from England, and building a factory, the Belleek pottery resulted, employing the local people and soon producing the finest china made with clay from the Belleek area.

What had started as a way to fend off famine among the local tenants had became a story of incredible success by the 1880s as Queen Victoria fell in love with the fine white china and the many homely, slightly bizarre but nature-loving designs; this was different from English tradition, yet it was very much to the taste of the British who had developed a real love for home-made fine china since it was introduced in the late 18th Century. Soon the English nobility started to place big orders and the pottery is still flourishing today and selling its wares the world over, while in England most potteries have long disappeared.

The Shamrock series is one of the most classic and popular designs Belleek has made. It could be found in many Irish households and is still made and widely popular today – although these antique items have an unrivalled delicacy that you won’t see in contemporary items. Many Belleek designs are inspired by nature rather than by fashion: there are sea shells, froth, kelp, tree roots and bark, corals and woven baskets. The Shamrock series is shaped in the shape of finely woven wicker baskets and has sweet sprigs of shamrock draped across the surface. Each detail is true to the concept; the surface is wonderfully woven, and the teacup handle is made like a twig of wood. The shamrock leaves are finely moulded and painted in two shades of green, wonderfully portraying the uniquely green colour of the Irish landscape.

The set is marked with the 2nd black mark, which was used between 1891 and 1926.

Condition report The set is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs, crazing or wear.

Antique porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s and early 1900s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. Makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker’s recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.

There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera – I try to be as accurate as I can.