An early New Hall Teapot, pattern 121, circa 1785
Of flattened globular form, this early New Hall teapot is painted with pattern 121. A thin purple line is punctuated at intervals by red ornately scrolling leaves and tiny floral sprigs, surrounded by scattered puce leaf sprigs. The top of the plain spout is painted with a puce foliate design, and the handle with its slightly raised spur thumbrest is painted with a puce flower-dot-and-line design. The decoration is based on a Chinese export pattern. The spout has a nine-hole strainer. The inset or recessed foot is in the manner of contemporary Derby teapots. The greyish paste and potting flaws fit with early New Hall, shortly after the Champion’s Bristol patent arrived in Staffordshire.
Typically unmarked for this early period.
Provenance: The Huxley-Robinson Collection.
Condition: This piece is free from chips or restoration, presenting only a faint, wispy hairline to the base. It is great to have the original cover. As is typical of early porcelain, it features minor, original manufacturing and potting variations, including a small, pre-decoration flaw near the opening of the knop. Characteristic of New Hall’s upside-down firing method, there are a few minor glaze runs to the foot rim and the underside of the cover, as well as minute traces of kiln dust and grit.
Dimensions: Height (to top of knop) 17 cm
New Hall & Its Imitators, David Holgate, Faber (1971).
A Partial Reconstruction of the New Hall Pattern Book, Pat Preller (2003).
New Hall Porcelains, Geoffrey Godden, Antique Collectors’ Club (2004).
Price: £95.