Crimean War Commemorative Tankard c.1856

We have for sale a rather rare piece of military history, a large Staffordshire two handled tankard commemorating the Battle of Alma River on the 20th September 1854. The tankard is of a cylindrical form with a cream body extending to squared handles to each side. The inner and outer upper rim is decorated in black and grey with alternate large unfilled and small filled balls possibly symbolising cannon balls and musket shot over a scrolling foliate border above alternate designs consisting of crossed cutlasses with a drum and a musket, and the crossed allied flags of Great Britain and France. The main body is decorated to the front with charging cavalry in the uniform of the British Light Brigade, and the alternate side of the tankard depicts the British cavalry engaging the retreating Russian forces. The handles of the tankard are decorated with climbing vines and the underside is marked Alma within a border of laurel leaves indicating the tankard commemorated the Battle of Alma River. The Battle of Alma River (known as the Battle of Alma) represented the first major battle of the Crimean War, and the evidence supporting an engagement between the British Light Cavalry Brigade and the Russian forces is sketchy. Some sources indicate that the Light Brigade pursued the retreating Russian forces towards the end of the battle but were ordered back from that pursuit. Other sources state that the Light Brigade was ordered not to engage the Russian forces at all and so remained uninvolved in the battle. The decoration of the tankard would indicate the former especially seeing as the Russian troops seemed to be depicted with their backs towards the oncoming British cavalry. However, the decoration may have been generic to wares commemorating all the battles of the Crimean War, and thus actually represent the famed "Charge of the Light Brigade" at the Battle of Balaclava on the 25 October 1854. The tankard is approximately 7.5 inches (19.1cm) wide from handle to handle 4.5 inches (11.4cm) in diameter to the base and 4.5 inches (11.4cm) high. The tankard is in a very good antique condition with no chips, cracks or repairs, but does show the crazing and discoloration typical of commemorative Staffordshire earthenware of this period