Teapot and Cover, Bristol, hard paste porcelain, c.1775

This rare Bristol waisted or ogee-shaped teapot has a foliate capped spout and ribbed, ear-shaped handle with thumb rest. The domed cover has a moulded, applied leaf, and the finial is formed in the shape of a tight little flower bud. The strainer has seven holes. Both sides are painted in detailed puce monochrome, or camaieu, with floral bouquets and sprays. The cover is also painted with floral bouquets. This European flower decoration and the shape of the teapot are very much in the Meissen idiom and demonstrate Richard Champion's attempts at Bristol to imitate the wares of that great factory. Both the spout and the handle and thumb rest are painted with ornamental designs in puce. The collar and also the rim of the cover are painted with an unusual orange design.

Unmarked.

Bristol had inherited porcelain-making in 1770 after Cookworthy moved from Plymouth. Richard Champion's factory lasted from 1773 until 1781, when enormous losses forced him to sell his patent to a group of Staffordshire potters, later to become New Hall.

Condition: There are firing cracks around the handle terminals at the points where the handle was applied to the body in the factory. These faults would have opened during firing in the kiln and are fairly typical of experimental Plymouth and Bristol porcelain. The handle has not been off however, as the lower terminal is partly glazed still. There is also a small, fully-glazed fault to the footrim. A tiny part of the sprigged stem decoration from the cover has been lost. There is no restoration and no other damage. The enamel decoration is in superb order.

Dimensions: Height (to top of finial) 6 1/4" (15.9cm)

As Bristol porcelain is relatively scarce and highly collectable, this teapot would enhance any collection of early English 'true' or hard paste porcelain.