teapot « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Archive for the ‘teapot’ Category

Chinese teapot with monogram & multiple repairs, c.1780

Sunday, July 1st, 2018

This globular porcelain teapot was made in China for export, possibly for the French market, during the last quarter of the Qianlong period (1711-1799.) It measures nearly 5.5 inches high and is 8.75 inches wide from handle to spout. The delicate armorial decoration on each side consists of a gilt monogram (JEM) suspended from a shield surrounded by floral garlands and ribbons. The chipped lid has a peach shaped knob and is decorated with flowers.

It appears that on more than one occasion over the past 200+ years, this fragile teapot was rushed to surgery. The multiple repairs include a silver plated replacement spout with scalloped backplate, an iron replacement handle with a pleasing green patina, and 2 metal staples securing cracks on the body. Every surface of this noble survivor bears scars, which to me, makes it even more attractive and unique.

Tags:Chinese, globular, metal handle, metal spout, porcelain, staples/rivets
Posted in teapot | 2 Comments »

Yixing teapot with elaborate silver repairs, c.1700

Sunday, May 27th, 2018

This gorgeous rectangular red/brown Yixing pottery teapot was made in China, c.1700. It is decorated with 6 panels of appliqué decoration, including four-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst clouds. It measures 8 inches high, 7 inches wide, 3.75 inches deep.

Not only is the teapot itself stunning, but the elaborate replacement handle, lid and mounts are a knockout. After the original handle broke off, it was taken to a skilled silversmith who made a solid silver replacement stirrup-shaped handle with leaf mounts, along with a scalloped rim and base, spout, and a replacement lid with an ivory knob. I especially love the cutout heart at the end of the spout. The hallmark inside of the lid, W.F. over A.F. in a chamfered square, is for Fordham & Faulker (William Charles Fordham & Albert Faulkner), Orchard Works, Orchard Lane, Sheffield, UK. I have yet to research the hallmark but am looking forward to discovering the year the repair was done. Stay tuned.

I purchased this a few months ago from a dealer in the UK who said it was once in the private collection of British actress Rita Tushingham (Dr. Zhivago, etc.) Thanks, Rita for having such exquisite taste!

This teapot of similar form suggests what the original handle on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Woolley & Wallis

Tags:Chinese, metal handle, metal lid, metal spout, pottery, silver, staples/rivets, Yixing
Posted in teapot | 3 Comments »

Chinese teapot with wicker handle, c.1760

Sunday, April 22nd, 2018

This globular form porcelain teapot was made in China, c.1750-1770, where it was decorated with flowers and leaves in blue under glaze. Soon after it was exported to the Netherlands, ceramics with simple blue and white decoration fell out of favor, and more colorful designs were the new trend. To keep up with the demand, this teapot was overpainted with birds and flowers in red, green, black, and gold enamels. Amsterdams Bont (colorful [work] from Amsterdam) is the term used to describe this form of decoration. Pieces with overpainted decoration done in England at around the same time are referred to as being clobbered. Teapot measures 4.75 inches high, 6.5 inches from handle to spout.

As if the skittish overpainted decoration isn’t enough for me, this teapot has an unusual woven wicker replacement handle and straps, which make it a grand slam. I have only come across a handful of entirely woven repairs/replacements, which were most likely done by basket makers, rather than tinkers or jewelers. Take a look at these other examples with similarly woven handles: Large jug with woven handle, c.1820 and Pearlware blue & white cream jug, c.1820.

This teapot of similar form shows what the original handle on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of M. Ford Creech

Tags:Chinese, clobbered, porcelain, rattan
Posted in teapot | 2 Comments »

Mansion form teapot with metal lid, c.1750

Saturday, February 17th, 2018

This whimsical teapot in the form of a three-story Georgian mansion is made of saltglaze stoneware pottery. The molded decoration includes a coat of arms, guards, animals, vines, birds, a dancing couple, and a crane on a serpent’s head spout. It measures 5.75 inches high, 8 inches wide from handle to spout and was made in the Staffordshire region of England, circa 1750-1760.

After the original lid broke or went missing, an intricate tin replacement in the form of a shingled roof with a chimney as knob was made by a clever tinker. This is one of just a few replacement lids I have come across where the repairer copied the form of the original, and I am so glad that he (or she) did!

This teapot of similar form suggests what the original lid on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tags:American, English, metal lid, pottery, salt glaze, Staffordshire, stoneware
Posted in teapot | 2 Comments »

Black basalt Wedgwood teapot, c.1920

Sunday, January 14th, 2018

This small squat black basalt teapot has raised classical sprig decoration. It was made in England in the first quarter of the 1900s and measures 3.5 inches high and 6.25 inches from handle to spout. On the underside are the incised marks WEDGWOOD, 42, 10, SW.

Typical of an enormous number of 18th and 19th century teapots from all around the globe, metal spouts were attached to replace damaged ones, or to insure that undamaged spouts would remain so. Many were made of tin but some, such as this, were made of silver.

Sadly, the knob on the lid broke off during shipping. Of course I could just glue it back on but I think I’d rather see a silver replacement to match the spout in its place.

This identical teapot has its original spout.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, pottery, Wedgwood
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London shape Coalport teapot, c.1812

Sunday, August 13th, 2017

This stately London shape porcelain teapot was made by the Coalport Porcelain Works of England, c.1812. It has a linear pattern in gold with red accents of birds perched on the branches of a fantastical tree, complete with a nest resembling an upturned straw boater hat. It measures 6.5 inches high and 10 inches from handle to spout.

Naturally, I prefer the side riddled with 21 metal staples, as I feel they add a layer of unintentional whimsy to the printed pattern beneath. The final photo shows the teapot on display at the exhibit Make-Do’s: Curiously Repaired Antiques, on view now through October 1 at Boscobel House and Gardens. Come see it, along with hundreds of other examples from my collection of antiques with inventive repairs.

Tags:English, porcelain, staples/rivets
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“Love and live Happay” teapot, c.1805

Saturday, July 15th, 2017

I am a big fan of ceramics with bold, graphic decoration, especially ones with text, and this charming example certainly fits the bill. This Prattware pottery teapot, proclaiming “Love and live Happay (sic),” was made in England in the early 1800s. Standing 5.25 inches high and 10 inches wide, it is painted in typical Prattware colors, including green, yellow, blue, and brown.

It appears that long ago, Mr. Butterfingers loved his teapot so much that he tossed it up in the air with glee, but didn’t catch it on its way back down. Sadly, the lid and handle shattered beyond repair, but thankfully a tinsmith was able to craft a nifty metal replacement handle so the teapot was able to be loved again and live happ(a)ily ever after.

This teapot with similar shape and decoration shows what the original handle and lid on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Agnes Ashe

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, prattware
Posted in teapot | 4 Comments »

Chinese Imari teapot with double repair, c.1720

Sunday, May 21st, 2017

This bullet-form porcelain teapot has it all: good looks, great form, a winning personality, and two different early inventive repairs. It was made in China for export during the Kangxi period (1662-1722) and is decorated with floral sprays in the Japanese Imari palette with bold colors and strong graphics. It measures 4 inches high and 6.5 inches wide from handle to spout.

At some point in its early life, a spoutless teapot was brought to a repairer who made a simple metal replacement spout. Not long after, it was brought back to be fitted for a wicker covered bronze replacement handle. A friend once showed me a similarly shaped teapot that had met such an end. And by merely sealing up the hole left by the missing spout and grinding down the handle terminals, the original owner lost a teapot but gained a sugar bowl. As much as I marvel at the ingenuity of that transformation, I am glad my broken teapot is still a teapot.

This teapot with similar form and decoration shows what the original handle and spout might have looked like on mine.

Photo courtesy of Alain Truong

Tags:Chinese, globular, Imari, metal handle, metal spout, porcelain, rattan
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Wedgwood barrel-form teapot, c.1780

Saturday, April 15th, 2017

This basalt stoneware barrel-form teapot was made in England by Wedgwood, and in production from 1780 to 1790. It measures 3.5 inches high and 6 inches wide from handle to spout. The underside has the impressed mark “WEDGWOOD, Z, 1x”, and “B257” is hand painted in gold on the underside of the teapot and its lid.

Sadly for some but happily for me, over 200 years ago this small teapot slipped from the hands of someone who must have cherished it and the spout broke off. It was taken to a jeweler or tinker who replaced it with a silver spout on a scalloped plate. I have many examples of spouts with the same design, so I assume they were made in bulk by jewelers to have on hand, ready to be popped on to similarly damaged teapots. The lid’s knob broke off at a later date but was not replaced. I am hoping one day to make my own replacement knob of the same design, perhaps in silver to match the spout.

This undamaged teapot shows what the original spout and Sibyl-form knob looked like before they were damaged.

Photo from British Teapots & Tea Drinking by Robin Emmerson.

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, silver
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Georgian creamware teapot, c.1790

Saturday, April 1st, 2017

I love finding pieces with multiple repairs and this lovely soft paste pottery creamware teapot with pearlware glaze fits the bill nicely. It was made in Staffordshire or Leeds, England, in the late 1700s and is hand painted with spritely polychrome floral decoration on both sides. It measures 5 inches high and is marked with what appears to be A+A in red on the underside of the pot and lid.

But of course the reason it ended up in my collection is the three inventive repairs, which include a slightly exaggerated bronze handle covered in rattan, a brass collar concealing a chipped spout, and a cracked lid repaired with brown paper tape. I believe each repair was done years apart so one can only assume that the previous owners of this teapot were a clumsy lot.