Teapot
1896 (design registered)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Teapots seemed always to offer scope for the designer's imagination. Some examples used camels, monkeys or people as figures of fun, completely abandoning any relevance and entering the realms of novelty and sometimes of impracticability. This teapot borders on the whimsical and would certainly have provided a topic for conversation at teatime.
Materials & Making
The complex shape added considerably to the difficulties of making and of applying the pattern. It was slip-cast in a convoluted mould, but the material is earthenware (the cheapest to fire) and the decoration is transfer-printed.
Design
The source of this highly elaborate teapot design is India. Burgess & Leigh registered the design in 1896 as a teapot, but its shape copies precisely the form and surface decoration of a multi-colour printed biscuit tin registered by Huntley & Palmer. The ensuing law suit resulted in Burgess & Leigh adapting their similarly coloured teapot to this monochrome version. An example of both Huntley & Palmer's tin and of Burgess & Leigh's original, coloured teapot copy are also in the Museum's collections. This highly elaborate teapot shows an Indian scene, with an elephant, British and Indian people and hunting dogs. Traditionally Chinese shapes and decoration were the most common for teawares, but here, in the Victorian days of Empire, India was favoured.
Teapots seemed always to offer scope for the designer's imagination. Some examples used camels, monkeys or people as figures of fun, completely abandoning any relevance and entering the realms of novelty and sometimes of impracticability. This teapot borders on the whimsical and would certainly have provided a topic for conversation at teatime.
Materials & Making
The complex shape added considerably to the difficulties of making and of applying the pattern. It was slip-cast in a convoluted mould, but the material is earthenware (the cheapest to fire) and the decoration is transfer-printed.
Design
The source of this highly elaborate teapot design is India. Burgess & Leigh registered the design in 1896 as a teapot, but its shape copies precisely the form and surface decoration of a multi-colour printed biscuit tin registered by Huntley & Palmer. The ensuing law suit resulted in Burgess & Leigh adapting their similarly coloured teapot to this monochrome version. An example of both Huntley & Palmer's tin and of Burgess & Leigh's original, coloured teapot copy are also in the Museum's collections. This highly elaborate teapot shows an Indian scene, with an elephant, British and Indian people and hunting dogs. Traditionally Chinese shapes and decoration were the most common for teawares, but here, in the Victorian days of Empire, India was favoured.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Earthenware, with transfer-printed decoration |
| Brief description | Earthenware teapot, Burgess & Leigh, Burslem, designed 1896 |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Applied and impressed: 'Regd.shape 281720' 'Rd. No.285771' printed in pink, 'Rd 281720' |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
After the kettle and stand, the teapot was the most important and expensive item in the tea service. New and unusual designs, such as the shape of this teapot, tempted consumers to buy.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Given by M. J. Franklin |
| Object history | Manufactured by Burgess & Leigh, Burslem, Staffordshire |
| Summary | Object Type Teapots seemed always to offer scope for the designer's imagination. Some examples used camels, monkeys or people as figures of fun, completely abandoning any relevance and entering the realms of novelty and sometimes of impracticability. This teapot borders on the whimsical and would certainly have provided a topic for conversation at teatime. Materials & Making The complex shape added considerably to the difficulties of making and of applying the pattern. It was slip-cast in a convoluted mould, but the material is earthenware (the cheapest to fire) and the decoration is transfer-printed. Design The source of this highly elaborate teapot design is India. Burgess & Leigh registered the design in 1896 as a teapot, but its shape copies precisely the form and surface decoration of a multi-colour printed biscuit tin registered by Huntley & Palmer. The ensuing law suit resulted in Burgess & Leigh adapting their similarly coloured teapot to this monochrome version. An example of both Huntley & Palmer's tin and of Burgess & Leigh's original, coloured teapot copy are also in the Museum's collections. This highly elaborate teapot shows an Indian scene, with an elephant, British and Indian people and hunting dogs. Traditionally Chinese shapes and decoration were the most common for teawares, but here, in the Victorian days of Empire, India was favoured. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.278&A-1983 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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