This is a very charming small teapot with cover made by the Worcester porcelain factory in about 1770. The teapot is globular in shape, with a simple white ground and elegantly painted flower sprays. The finial of the cover is in the shape of a flower, as was popular at the time.
The small size of this teapot suggests that it formed part of a cabaret set with just one or two cups on a matching tray.
The Worcester Porcelain Company was one of the first potteries in Britain to produce porcelain. Alongside other great potteries such as Derby, Chelsea and Bow, they pioneered a new industry that would grow out to be huge in the following century. This plate is from the first period, which is often called the "Dr Wall" period after its founder. In later years Worcester went through many different ownerships and styles, and ultimately it became the Royal Worcester factory that only finished operation in the early 21st Century.
The teapot is unmarked, as is common for that era; whoever the shape and quality of the porcelain, as well as the greenish hue of the glaze on the underside clearly indicate that this is a genuine Worcester teapot.
CONDITION REPORT The teapot and cover are in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and only very minimal wear as visible in the pictures; there is also some brown kiln dust baked into the glaze on the belly of the pot, and a small firing imperfection where the spout meets the belly, also visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal, 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 17cm (8") between handle and spout; 10cm (4") diameter of belly; 12.5cm (5") high including finial.
Worcester small globular teapot with cover, flower sprays, ca 1770
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