Teapot
MakerProbably made by
Staffordshire potteries
English, 17th century-present
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Mary Gorton Keeney
Dateabout 1820
MediumMold-formed buff-colored earthenware with a blue-tinted glaze and underglaze cobalt blue decoration
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height including lid x width x depth): 8 7/8 x 5 1/4 x 5in. (22.5 x 13.3 x 12.7cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Margaret F. Bunyan
DescriptionRectangular teapot of buff-colored earthenware with a blue-tinted glaze, a type of ceramic known as pearlware. The teapot is part of a partial tea service consisting of a teapot (.1a,b), lidded sugar bowl (.2a,b), cream pitcher (.3), two tea bowls (.4 and .5), and two saucers (.6 and .7). All of the pieces in the set have the same transfer-printed underglaze cobalt blue pattern and border. The pattern shows a boy sitting beneath a tree to the right. He is playing a wind instrument, probably a flute, and looking out over a small lake in the foreground. Behind the lake is a small hill with at least one grazing sheep, and possibly two. A house with a tower sits on a tree-topped hill in the distance. The pattern is surrounded by foliage and a scalloped line on top, and a line of leaves on the bottom. The border, found on all the pieces in the set, has circles and squares superimposed on a blue field. The geometric shapes are filled with flowers and smaller geometric patterns. Abstract flowers, fruit, and leaves are located throughout the blue field.
Teapot (.1a): The teapot swells from a rectangular foot with curved corners to a wide middle, narrows below the neck, swells again just below the rim, and has a small ledge where the lid rests inside the rim. A molded handle and spout are applied over the two mold lines on opposite sides of the teapot. The pattern is printed once on each long side of the teapot, and the border is printed just outside the rim. The handle and spout are decorated with various flowers and geometric shapes printed on a blue field. There is light crazing over all the surfaces of the teapot.
Lid (.1b): The rectangular lid has a small, rectangular molded finial applied to the slightly domed center. The border is printed around the edge of the lid, and on the top of the finial as well. There is a small hole pierced through the lid to one side of the finial. The inside of the lid has a ledge circling three quarters of the rim.
Teapot (.1a): The teapot swells from a rectangular foot with curved corners to a wide middle, narrows below the neck, swells again just below the rim, and has a small ledge where the lid rests inside the rim. A molded handle and spout are applied over the two mold lines on opposite sides of the teapot. The pattern is printed once on each long side of the teapot, and the border is printed just outside the rim. The handle and spout are decorated with various flowers and geometric shapes printed on a blue field. There is light crazing over all the surfaces of the teapot.
Lid (.1b): The rectangular lid has a small, rectangular molded finial applied to the slightly domed center. The border is printed around the edge of the lid, and on the top of the finial as well. There is a small hole pierced through the lid to one side of the finial. The inside of the lid has a ledge circling three quarters of the rim.
Object number1978.16.1a-b
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