Teapot thumbnail 1
Teapot thumbnail 2
+1
images
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Teapot

ca. 1755 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This teapot is small, reflecting the high cost of tea in mid-18th-century Britain. In 1747, a decade or so before this pot was made, the tax on tea imported from China was greatly increased, and the official figures for imports fell accordingly. However, a good deal of tea was smuggled in.

Materials & Making
Longton Hall porcelain has a very glassy composition. This could not withstand the thermal shock of contact with boiling water, so the teapot probably had to be slowly warmed up before use.

Trading
Longton Hall sold its wares from the factory site in Staffordshire, through London auctions, and at the 'Longton Hall China-Warehouse' in St Paul's Churchyard in London. In 1760 more than 90,000 pieces were sold at a closing down sale held in Salisbury.

Design & Designing
Ceramic vessels naturalistically modelled and painted as vegetables and animals were very fashionable in mid-18th-century Europe. The fashion probably originated in France or Germany and was soon taken up in Britain, especially at the Chelsea and Longton Hall porcelain factories. The Meissen factory in Germany may have been the first to make such illusionistic serving vessels.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Teapot
  • Cover
Materials and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels
Brief description
In the form of a gourd, Longton Hall porcelain factory, Staffordshire, ca.1755
Physical description
TEAPOT in the form of a gourd
Dimensions
  • Width: 11.43cm
Dimensions checked: Registered Description; 01/01/1998 by LM. Query over height, loaded in as Height 11.43 cm (diameter) so unsure whether the measurement refers to height or diameter.
Gallery label
(27/03/2003)
British Galleries:
During the 1750s, several British porcelain factories made teapots and tureens in the form of animals, vegetables or fruit. The Longton Hall factory probably took this idea from the Chelsea factory. Naturalistic forms continued to be made in pottery throughout the 1760s.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Mr Arthur Hurst
Object history
Made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory, Staffordshire
Summary
Object Type
This teapot is small, reflecting the high cost of tea in mid-18th-century Britain. In 1747, a decade or so before this pot was made, the tax on tea imported from China was greatly increased, and the official figures for imports fell accordingly. However, a good deal of tea was smuggled in.

Materials & Making
Longton Hall porcelain has a very glassy composition. This could not withstand the thermal shock of contact with boiling water, so the teapot probably had to be slowly warmed up before use.

Trading
Longton Hall sold its wares from the factory site in Staffordshire, through London auctions, and at the 'Longton Hall China-Warehouse' in St Paul's Churchyard in London. In 1760 more than 90,000 pieces were sold at a closing down sale held in Salisbury.

Design & Designing
Ceramic vessels naturalistically modelled and painted as vegetables and animals were very fashionable in mid-18th-century Europe. The fashion probably originated in France or Germany and was soon taken up in Britain, especially at the Chelsea and Longton Hall porcelain factories. The Meissen factory in Germany may have been the first to make such illusionistic serving vessels.
Collection
Accession number
C.265&A-1940

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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