On offer is a very charming teapot with cover, made by Rockingham probably between 1830 and 1835. The teapot is decorated in a French blue pattern with pale yellow and gilt flowers.
This shape of teapot became very famous when a similar teapot starred in the 2017 "Beauty and the Beast" movie as Mrs Potts.
Although the Rockingham pottery started some time in the mid-18th Century, when we say "Rockingham" it mostly means the Rockingham pottery as it was run between 1826 and 1842, creating high quality bone china table ware. The pottery rose to fame when King William VI ordered a huge dinner service containing 200 pieces. It took 600 people 7 years to complete this service, and by the time it was finished the King died. It ended up being used for the first time at the subsequent coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837. In the end, the undertaking, although it brought important business from all British aristocracy, had ruined the pottery and it never recovered. It closed it doors in 1842. This story serves to show the status, artistic sophistication and capacity of the Rockingham pottery in the 1830s.
This teapot is an example of the Rococo Revival, with interesting twists and turns. The teapot spout and handle seem to have little twigs or leaves growing out of them. The shape of the pot itself is a beautiful pear shape; generous yet sophisticated with perfectly balanced dimensions.
An example of an identically shaped teapot can be found in Miller & Berthoud's book "An Anthology of British Teapots" in plate 1922 on page 321.
CONDITION REPORT The teapot is in excellent condition except some crazing and a little wear and discolouration particularly on one side of the cover. These flaws are clearly visible in the pictures. The pot is good for use as it has no damage whatsoever.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS The pot stands 17.8cm (7") high incl. finial, and measures 24cm (9.5") from handle to spout.
Rockingham teapot, French blue, pale yellow flowers, 1830-1835
PLEASE NOTE THAT CURRENTLY THERE ARE SHIPPING DELAYS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, THE TIME OF YEAR AND BREXIT. WE WILL GET YOUR ITEM SAFELY TO YOU BUT IT MIGHT TAKE MORE TIME THAN USUAL!
Your item will be shipped after receipt of funds, unless agreed otherwise in writing.
We will ship your items within a maximum of 2 working days after payment (usually quicker). We cannot be held responsible for delivery times once the item has been shipped as this is at the shipper's discretion and, in case of international delivery, can be subject to customs delays, weather, holidays and/or political instability.
If your delivery failed to appear or was damaged in transit, please let us know as soon as possible and, in case of damage, provide us with pictures of the damaged item and/or packaging. Cut off dates for this are 14 days after shipping, or 2 days after a damaged delivery. We will need to comply with shippers' regulations in order to follow up the issue, but it is vital that you let us know what is wrong as soon as possible. We will do anything we can to follow up faulty deliveries but cannot be held responsible if we have not been notified within the required time period.
We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!
Cancellations can only be accepted before the item has been shipped. Once an item has been shipped, the transaction cannot be cancelled anymore.
Returns need to be requested within 2 days of receipt of the item and completed within 14 days from the date they have been agreed in writing.
If you want to return an item because you changed your mind, you will be responsible for the return shipping. For international deliveries, this will need to be a fully tracked shipping mode. The item is expected to be received back in the same state it was sent - any damage due to insufficient packaging will be your responsibility. We will only pay for return shipping if we have mutually agreed that the item did not satisfy your expectations. A refund will be made immediately after receipt of the item.
We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!
