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White ‘Castleford-type’ teapot, sliding cover: C.1276 & A-1928

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

White ‘Castleford-type’ teapot, sliding cover

Maker(s)

Production: Unidentified factory

Entities

Categories

Description

White felspathic stoneware teapot and sliding cover, with moulded body and applied reliefs.

Castleford-type teapot with ovoid body, a short oval galleried neck with shaped rim, a straight, fluted spout and a foliated loop handle with projecting spur at the top. Smear glazed on the outside. The sides of the body formed with sixteen vertical panels, alternately flat and concave, decorated with pendant and festooned floral decoration. Around the base is a strip of small acanthus, around the neck small pendant trefoils and on the gallery trefoils above half daisies interspersed with upstanding leaves. The cover has a similar partial gallery, made to fit the other when slid into place, and a central finial moulded as a flower sitting on a bed of leaves; around the edge is a band of leaves and semi-circles; there is a vent hole to one side. The interior is glazed, with a domed strainer at base of the spout. The underside is slightly recessed, giving a narrow foot-rim.

Notes

History note: Bought on 22 November 1923 from I. J. Davis, 13 Snargate, Dover by Dr Glaisher, Trinity College, Cambridge, price seven shillings and sixpence (7/6). A pair of white Bow lions was bought at the same time.

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher bequest, 1928

Measurements and weight

Height: 15 cm
Length: 22.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

George III
Circa 1795 CE - Circa 1810 CE

Note

Dr Glaisher bought this teapot ‘as a good specimen of the ware and of a design I had not seen before’. The body and spout shape and the decoration of the panels are characteristic of tea wares identified as made by Dunderdale & Co., however the less typical handle and finial and the semi-translucent body suggest another maker (see Cox). The mark, ‘35’, is found on a number of ‘Castleford-type’ teawares of uncertain origin.

The Castleford Pottery in Yorkshire, run by David Dunderdale & Co. from 1790 to1821, was renowned for its white felspathic stoneware, and thus teapots from this material have become known as ‘Castleford-type teapots’. However, other factories made similar wares, including Sowter & Co of Mexborough in Yorkshire and Chetham & Woolley of Longton in Staffordshire. Examples are typically plain white or white with edges lined in blue or another colour, or black basalt. The smear-glazing makes the most of the crisply-moulded ornament, whilst the stoneware would be durable in an everyday setting. The teapots are moulded in two parts, with applied handle and sprig decoration, and may have a drop-in, sliding or hinged cover. There are four examples in the Fitzwilliam Collection, of which two have sliding lids and two have added blue lining.

The sliding lid is a device to prevent the lid falling off when the tea is poured. The handle is squared to allow the lid to slide; an upward pointing spur helps to stop it falling off.

Components of the work

Decoration composed of clear glaze

Materials used in production

white felspathic Stoneware

Techniques used in production

Press moulding : Press moulded white felspathic stoneware, sprig decorated and smear-glazed

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: 35
  • Location: Underside of base
  • Method of creation: Impressed
  • Type: Mark
  • Text: 4247 white Castleford teapot with sliding cover and incurved panels in the side. b. at Dover, Nov 22, 1923
  • Location: Underside of base
  • Method of creation: Rectangular paper label, handwitten in black ink
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.1276 & A-1928
Primary reference Number: 71713
Old object number: 4247
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 15 July 2020 Last processed: Friday 16 February 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "White ‘Castleford-type’ teapot, sliding cover" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/71713 Accessed: 2024-11-05 19:30:32

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/71713 |title=White ‘Castleford-type’ teapot, sliding cover |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 19:30:32|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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