Royal Albert | 'Greenwood Tree' | 14-Piece Tea Set for Four | Green-Trimmed Bone China | England

Royal Albert | 'Greenwood Tree' | 14-Piece Tea Set for Four | Green-Trimmed Bone China | England

Beneath the old oak, spring has broken — tulips, forget-me-nots and lilac blossom crowding around ancient roots.

Royal Albert bone china was made by Thomas C. Wild & Sons at Longton, Staffordshire. 'Greenwood Tree' shows a woodland glade in early spring: an oak with textured, knotted bark and a light canopy of new growth, rising above a border of mixed flowers. Other 'Greenwood Tree' pieces from The Dancing Faun Antiques bear British design registration number 774783, dating to 1932. This records the registration of the design rather than the manufacture of this particular tea set.

The set comprises four trios — each a teacup, saucer and side plate — together with one large milk jug and one large cake plate, fourteen pieces in total. All pieces share the 'Greenwood Tree' transfer-printed decoration on a white bone china ground, with a continuous apple-green line to the rims, foot rings and handle detailing.

Each teacup is of a generous, slightly rounded form with a lightly lobed body and a moulded handle formed as a curling vine in apple-green. The exterior carries the full landscape scene — the oak rising from lower left, its canopy spreading across the upper body, with pink tulips, blue forget-me-nots, yellow flowers and mauve-lilac blossom at its base. The interior rim is lined in apple-green. Each saucer is scallop-edged with a matching green rim and a reduced version of the scene across its well.

The side plates are square-edged with scalloped corners and the green rim, each showing the full tree with its flowering border, the composition differing slightly from plate to plate.

The large milk jug is of full baluster form with a scalloped lip and the same apple-green vine handle, with the tree and border scene on both principal faces.

The large cake plate is a square-scalloped form with a pair of moulded green scroll lugs at opposing sides. The oak rises nearly the full height of the plate from lower left, branches arching towards trees and topiary in the distance, above a full flower border. The central field is left open and white.

The set is in excellent condition and appears to have seen minimal use. There are no chips, cracks or crazing on any of the fourteen pieces. The apple-green trim is vivid and consistent, with no notable fading or loss, and the transfer decoration is sharp and well registered. There is very slight surface wear consistent with age and storage on some pieces.

Key Details

• Maker: Royal Albert (Thomas C. Wild & Sons, Longton, Staffordshire)
• Pattern: 'Greenwood Tree'
• Backstamp: 'Made in England' — backstamp colour not recorded
• Pieces: 14 — 4 teacups, 4 saucers, 4 side plates, 1 large milk jug, 1 large cake plate
• Material: Bone china
• Approximate Dimensions: Teacup approximately 8cm h x 9.5cm w; Side plate approximately 16cm square; Cake plate approximately 27cm square; Milk jug approximately 11cm h
• Gilding: None — apple-green rim trim throughout
• Condition: Excellent — no chips, cracks or crazing; green trim vivid and intact; very slight surface wear to some pieces

Collector Appeal

Four trios with the milk jug and cake plate, every piece free of chips, cracks and crazing.

Other ‘Greenwood Tree’ pieces from the shop: pair of pin dishes.

The oak holds its place at the centre of every piece — the tulips and forget-me-nots gathered at its roots.