basalt « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Posts Tagged ‘basalt’

Black salt glazed teapot with metal handle, c.1830

Sunday, November 13th, 2022

This black basalt (aka Egyptian black or shining black ) stoneware low form collared teapot was make in England in the early 1800s. It has elegant engine turned banding decoration and measures 3.5 inches high, 9.5 inches from handle to spout.

Early in its life, the original handle broke off and was replaced with a metal “tinker” replacement. I like how it has taken on a dark patina over the past 150+ years, nearly matching the dark glaze of the teapot. The lid also took a tumble at a later time and was glued back together, suggesting that the break/repair was done more recently. I wish staples/rivets were used to repair it but that’s a bit selfish of me, I know.

This teapot with similar form and decoration suggests what the original handle on my teapot might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Ebay

Tags:basalt, English, metal handle, pottery, salt glaze, stoneware
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Basalt teapot with Sibyl knob, c.1785

Sunday, February 9th, 2020

This classical black basalt pottery teapot with engine-turned ribbed body was made in England, c.1785-95. It stands 4.5 inches high, 8 inches wide from handle to spout. An impressed mark “NEALE & CO” can be found on the underside. My favorite design feature is the Sibyl knop on the lid, an intricately detailed sculptural feat unto itself.

After the original spout broke off – most likely over 175 years ago – a silversmith applied a silver replacement. I tend to keep replacement metals unpolished, as I feel the oxidization adds another layer of beauty to the piece. In this case, the dark richness of the silver spout blends in nicely with the teapots black surface.

This intact teapot with similar form suggests what the original spout on my teapot might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of 1stdibs

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, pottery, silver
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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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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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Black teapot, c.1820

Sunday, December 7th, 2014

This small earthenware pottery teapot with squat round shape was made in England during the first quarter of the 19th century. It has a black glaze, aka Jackfiend and Egyptian black, and stands 4-1/2″ high. Due to its small size it is known as both a Bachelor’s and a one-cup teapot. Some collectors and dealers believe that these tiny teapots are miniatures or part of a child’s tea set, but they are actually functioning teapots.

By now my readers know that the main reason I purchased this teapot is due to its early replacement handle. Made by a tinker in the 19th century, the workmanship is a bit crude, as is evident by the malaligned horizontal band laden with excess soldier and the twisted wire support around the base. But even a funny looking tiny teapot with a clunky metal repair is better than burning your fingers on a teapot with no handle.

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

Photo courtesy of Ancient Point

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, pottery, salt glaze
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Georgian Castleford teapot, c.1810

Sunday, July 20th, 2014

This handsome Castleford-style teapot with neoclassical design was made in England in the early 1800s. It is made of fine-grained unglazed black basalt stoneware with a hinged lid set in a scalloped rim and fastened with a metal pin. It measures 5-1/2″ tall and 8-3/4″ from handle to spout. Two different classical tableaux in detailed relief are on each paneled side, with acanthus leaves at the top and the bottom.

When this teapot was dropped over 150 years ago, the spout broke in two places and the knob came undone. Typically, fragile lids on teapots with this design snap off so I am surprised that this lid remains intact. A 19th century tinker repaired all of the broken bits by attaching two metal sleeves around the breaks in the spout and riveted on a new metal replacement knob. The metal repairs were originally painted black to blend in with the black basalt color of the pot, but time and age have peeled away the paint, leaving a pleasing patina to the metal. There is a later putty repair to a crack on the underside which is useless now, but I imagine it served its purpose at the time it was applied.

This example with nearly the same form, shows what the original spout and knob would have looked like on my teapot.

Photo courtesy of D. G. Barsby Antiques

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, pottery, stoneware
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Admiral Nelson teapot, c.1810

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

A black pottery teapot with relief decoration, made in England to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson become one of Britain’s greatest war heroes and many monuments in England have been erected in his memory

One side has a moulded relief vignette of a crocodile, a pyramid and a fort with military devices, surmounted by a banner titled “TRAFALGAR”, surrounded by classical acanthus leaves

Teapot measures 4-3/4″ high and is 10″ long

The reverse side shows a monument with the figures of Britannia and Victory holding a shield inscribed “NELSON”

Remains of black enamel are seen on the side of the replaced tin spout. It was quite common for teapot spouts to break or chip and I have dozens of examples of this type of repair in my collection. I have even seen silver mounts on intact spouts that would have been attached at the time of purchase for proactive protection

A well executed tin lid with turned pewter knob replaced the lost or broken lid. The large chipped scalloped edge remains unrepaired and was most likely damaged after the other repairs were done

This is another, more elaborate example of a black basalt teapot made to honor Admiral Nelson with similar decoration

Photo courtesy of Christie’s

Tags:basalt, commemorative, English, metal lid, metal spout
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Black “one cup” teapot, c.1830

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Also known as a “Bachelor’s teapot” this small English stoneware teapot with a low round shape from the early part of the 19th century has an “Egyptian black” or “shining black” glazed finish and stands 3-1/4″ tall. Some collectors and dealers believe tiny teapots such as this to be miniatures or part of a child’s tea set.

Spaniel lid finial is similar to the one on my post dated 3/12/10, English black teapot, c.1810.

Ornate low relief scrollwork design surrounds the teapot and carries over to the handle design.

The end of the broken spout is repaired with a simple tin collar, one of the most common and simplest of metal repairs.

Tags:basalt, English, metal spout, pottery, stoneware
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Bachelor’s salt glaze teapot, c.1820

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Black glazed pottery “one cup” (aka “Bachelor’s”) teapot from England with scroll relief decoration, stands 3-1/2″ high and was made in the early 1800s.