Teapot
Description
A Royle's Patent Self-Pouring teapot. Manufactured by Doulton Burslem. The teapot is decorated with a floral design with white flowers and foliage on a pale blue background. The pewter lid which originally came with the teapot is missing. The spout is broken.
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Object detail
Artist/Maker
Production role
Manufacturer
Production place
Classification
Credit line
There
is
something
very
civilised
about
brewing
a
big
pot
of
tea
for
guests
and
family,
perhaps
served
alongside
a
plate
of
biscuits
and
tiny
sandwiches.
However,
this
vision
of
graceful
hosting
can
sometimes
be
shattered
by
the
reality
–
a
large
teapot
filled
with
tea
can
be
extraordinarily
difficult
to
actually
pour!
That
is
where
Victorian
inventor
John
James
Royle
comes
in.
After
seeing
Victorian
women
struggling
to
pour
these
enormous
pots
of
tea
for
family
and
friends,
he
had
the
bright
idea
of
inventing
a
self-pouring
tea
pot,
to
help
make
domestic
life
just
that
much
easier.
Puke
Ariki’s
example
is
missing
the
key
element
of
a
lid,
but
a
fully
functional
self-pouring
tea
pot
also
has
a
lid
with
a
hole
in
the
top.
The
user
would
lift
the
lid
and
cover
the
hole
with
their
finger,
and
then
push
it
back
down.
This
releases
a
cup
of
tea
without
having
to
lift
the
teapot
from
the
table,
as
the
pressure
inside
forced
the
tea
up
the
curved
spout.
Puke Ariki’s example has clearly seen some hard days requiring a lot of tea drinking. It is missing its lid and has a number of cracks and chips, but its delicate patterning combined with its sturdily useful design suggests it may have been well used in its day!
Puke Ariki’s example has clearly seen some hard days requiring a lot of tea drinking. It is missing its lid and has a number of cracks and chips, but its delicate patterning combined with its sturdily useful design suggests it may have been well used in its day!
Accession number
A69.464
Collection type
Material
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