Royal Albert Musical Flower Basket – Old Country Roses (RARE 1962 Launch Year), "Fur Elise" 🎶🌹🇬🇧

This charming and finely crafted music box by Royal Albert is a truly delightful piece of collectible art. It features a beautiful basket overflowing with vibrant, hand-sculpted roses in the classic and world-renowned Old Country Roses pattern.

The piece combines the timeless elegance of fine porcelain with a nostalgic musical element, making it a desirable addition to any collection. As a piece bearing the 1962 copyright date, it is a verifiable artifact from the pattern's launch year, holding a special significance for serious collectors.

2. About the Musical Basket 📖✍️✨

This dual-function figurine serves as both a beautiful decorative object and a fully functional music box. The vessel is shaped as a woven basket, overflowing with realistic porcelain blooms in the pattern's signature palette of deep red, soft pink, and sunny yellow.

By winding the key on the underside, it plays the timeless and recognizable melody of Beethoven's "Fur Elise". This piece is designed to be a centerpiece of grace and nostalgia, perfect for a shelf, a mantelpiece, or a dressing table, offering both a visual aesthetic and a sentimental, auditory experience.

3. About the Maker: Royal Albert ✍️🏛️

Royal Albert is a celebrated English brand with a long history of producing fine bone china and collectibles, dating back to its founding in 1896. The brand received a royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, cementing its status as a provider of fine tableware to the Royal Household.

The "Old Country Roses" pattern, first introduced in 1962, is its most famous design, known for its romantic and nostalgic floral motifs. This piece is a product of that esteemed lineage, crafted with the quality and design aesthetic that propelled Royal Albert to global recognition.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

With its 1962 copyright date, this piece is an early example of the iconic "Old Country Roses" pattern, which was launched in the same year. This places the music box squarely in the heart of the mid-century modern era.

This was a period when a desire for ornate, traditional decorative items led to a boom in the collectible ceramics market. The "Old Country Roses" pattern itself was seen as an embodiment of quintessential 'Englishness' and enjoyed massive popularity, particularly in international markets in Asia. This musical basket is a tangible connection to that period of home decor and a testament to the pattern's enduring global appeal.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This music box will appeal to a wide range of discerning collectors. The ideal buyer is a collector who specializes in Royal Albert's early-run "Old Country Roses" pieces, a dedicated music box enthusiast, or a curator of nostalgic, mid-century decor.

Its appeal is heightened for those who appreciate the intersection of porcelain artistry and sentimental music. The combination of its beautiful, verifiable pattern and the fully working melody makes it a unique and sought-after collectible for a private display cabinet or a formal dressing table.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This music box is valuable for its verified maker and pattern, its dual decorative and musical function, and its excellent vintage condition. As a piece from the launch year of the world-famous "Old Country Roses" pattern, it holds a special significance for collectors.

This item is approximately 63 years old. The combination of the hand-sculpted porcelain roses and the working musical mechanism secures its position as a high-value collectible that is consistently sought after in the secondary market.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This vintage music box is in excellent vintage condition.

• Music Box: The mechanism is in working order and plays the melody as intended.

• Aesthetics: The porcelain is vibrant and clean, having been preserved with a natural patina.

• Decoration: The hand-sculpted roses and gold accents are well-preserved and intact.

• Imperfection Note: There may be a small flea bite chip on a porcelain petal, a minor imperfection that is not noticeable at a distance but is visible upon close inspection.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The World's Best-Seller: The "Old Country Roses" pattern is reportedly the best-selling bone china pattern in the world, with over 150 million pieces having been sold since its launch.

• Beethoven's Ballad: The music box plays Beethoven's "Fur Elise", a melody so widely recognized it has become synonymous with classical romance and nostalgia.

• Early Production Date: The 1962 copyright date on the base indicates this piece was produced in the very first year the famous pattern was available to the public.

• 22-Karat Gold: The trim on the edges and handles is finished with 22-carat gold, a mandatory luxury element that adds significant reflective appeal and value to the design.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Item Name: Musical Flower Basket

• Maker/Factory: Royal Albert

• Pattern/Collection: Old Country Roses

• Period: Vintage, Mid-20th Century (c. 1962)

• Medium/Material: Bone China Porcelain, Hand-Sculpted Roses, Music Box Mechanism

• Music: Plays Beethoven's "Fur Elise"

• Origin: England

• Approximate Height: 4.5 inches (Based on similar pieces)

• Approximate Dimensions: L: 3.25", W: 3.25" (Based on similar pieces)

• Marking Transcription (Verbatim from Sticker and Base): Royal Albert / Plays: Beethoven's "Fur Elise" / Old Country Roses / Gardener's Musical Basket / MADE IN CHINA / © 1962 ROYAL ALBERT LTD (NOTE: The mark indicates a production after the 1962 copyright, likely a later edition of the original model).