Teacup 44: The first and the last of the Royal Albert 100 years set

September 4, 2020 | 11 Comments


This is the 1900s Blue Regency cup as part of my Royal Albert 100 years set. This set of 10 cups – one for each decade 1900s-1990s – celebrates the 100 year anniversary of Royal Albert. So this is the first cup in the set, and it’s also the last cup that I have sketched as part of this project of working through my teacup collection.

I really love this cup as it’s very rich with lots of gold and dark blue. I also like that it combines some floral elements in a geometric pattern.

This is the official description of the design: The late part of the 19th century saw a revival of interest in the classic designs of the Regency era. It became fashionable to combine different patterns, colours and gold to create sumptuous designs. Alternate panels of cobalt blue and white grounds, filled with deep maroon daisies and gold accents complete the design.

Some of you might have seen me do a demo of this cup a few years ago and if you missed that, there is a step by step article about it. This design is perfect for demos as I love sketching a fancy saucer with a regular pattern.

As this is the last cup in the 100 years set I thought it might be fun to see my sketches of all the cups together. But just to make it complicated, a few years ago Royal Albert decided to change three of the designs! What?

So I will share two images – the original set (which I got 2009-2010) and the current one. The italics indicate the cups which have changed.


Original Royal Albert 100 Years Collection

Top Row:

  • 1990s Regency Blue
  • 1910s Duchess
  • 1920s Spring Meadow
  • 1930s Polka Rose
  • 1940s English Chintz

Bottom Row:

  • 1950s Festival
  • 1960s Golden Roses
  • 1970s Poppy
  • 1980s Holyrood
  • 1990s Hartington Lane

Current Set

Top Row:

  • 1990s Regency Blue
  • 1910s Duchess
  • 1920s Spring Meadow
  • 1930s Mint Deco
  • 1940s English Chintz

Bottom Row:

  • 1950s Festival
  • 1960s Golden Roses
  • 1970s Poppy
  • 1980s Rose Blush
  • 1990s Bouquet

So do I have a favourite?

No… it’s impossible for me to choose. The design that I like least in real life is Rose Blush as some of the flowers are a bit blurry, but that is something that I can easily change (and improve) when I sketch. I just make the edges crisper and IMHO it looks better!  So I actually love sketching it.

But if you have a favourite one (or two or three) I would love to know in the comments below. Of course there is a difference between liking the cup and liking the design. Or it’s all too hard, isn’t it?!!


And finally… I still have another 10 cups in my collection to share with you….


 

11 Comments

  • Jeanette Gillings says:

    I love them all but if I had to choose I’d pick the Mint Deco. I love the green… what looking at all these beautiful sketches does do is make me is thirsty for a nice cup of tea!

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Jeanette! Actually it was Mint Deco which initially caught my idea when I was looking for a fancy teacup to buy myself. And then I bought the whole set!!!! (with a few gift cards at Xmas time)
      I hope you can have a good cuppa!

    • Liz Steel says:

      My comment from yesterday didn’t make any sense… as I was thinking about Polka Rose not Mint Deco. So it was Polka Rose which caught my eye years ago. I do like Mint Deco and think it’s a fun change to the set.

  • Jane Varley says:

    Hi Liz, yes it is certainly hard to choose but I am particularly fond of cobalt blue on china so i your latest addition, Regency Blue would be my choice. Your Holyrood is also gorgeous. I love the deep shadow against the red of the saucer. What about publishing your teacup collection sketches as a book? That would be something!

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Jane – yes Regency Blue is very special!!!!! And yes I love Holyrood too – it’s very elegant. Maybe the replaced it because it didn’t quite fit in the set – too simple?

      As for the book idea… yes! I have that idea too. One day! Doing this series has been a great way for me to do the research on each cup. But there are a lot of the cups which I want to sketch again outside of this project!

  • Ceri Donovan says:

    I keep finding myself on eBay looking for vintage teacups! 🙂

  • Molly James says:

    Hi Liz, First off, let me say — I’m LOVING learning from you (Bought your book – tho it’s currently back in quarantine as I took it to my cancer treatment, but 3 more days and I’ll have it back! …. watched your video on Art Toolkit … and now am following you here and deciding which course I want to take … what i can afford … etc etc etc … I’d like to take them ALL!!! lol)

    So my favorite tea cup. I was surprised how clear it is to me, I thought I’d have many … but no, for some reason, it’s the 1980 Hollyrood cup. Funny thing, I looked it up online, and i don’t like the actual cup as much as I like yours, lol. BUT if i were in your watercolor world, I would definitely choose to drink my tea from that cup.

    Thanks again for all your awesome ideas and spirit! In case you want to see what i said about you (it’s all good lol) and the things I’ve been thinking about it’s my latest blog post – https://creativitylovingeducator.com/2020/09/08/curiosity-courage-and-creativity/

    Have an awesome day!
    Molly

  • Colette Parker says:

    Liz you do such beautiful work. Do you ever sell your pieces?

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