Early 1900s Wedgwood Black Basalt Sybil Tea Pot

Details

Description

For your consideration…a truly special bit of Wedgwood Jasperware
A c.1900 Black Basalt Teapot with Sybil Finial

Developed by Josiah … Read more For your consideration…a truly special bit of Wedgwood Jasperware
A c.1900 Black Basalt Teapot with Sybil Finial

Developed by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 as Black Basaltes or black porcelaine, in order to imitate Greek vases - then thought to be Etruscan - to which he could add his patented polychrome 'encaustic' painting. Since the idea of black stoneware was not new, Wedgwood made no attempt to patent it; but he correctly identified the best moment to develop it...Having good turning and casting properties, this adaptable material, generally known in the trade as Black Egyptian, was soon being mass-produced in Staffordshire and Yorkshire, effectively replacing the ubiquitous red teapot with a black one."

The pot has been lovingly cared for and as it is basalt it’s been dusted but not cleaned in water
as you want a certain patina to build up over time and the inside is glazed with a high gloss so that can be rinsed out.
This elegant Georgian Style Teapot was created in the 18th C
in the NeoClassical Style that was championed by Josiah Wedgwood
As a return to an enlightened educated time
Measures 9” x6” x6”
The Sybil,or Prophetess finial was a detail that was prized by stylish people of the era….
There is an old repair to the finial as it dates from a time before central heating and when hot water
was used in cool teapots these things happened. It in no way affects the integrity of the piece.

A bit about the making of it…

"...The body utilised by the two earliest industrial manufacturers of the ware, Wedgwood and Humphrey Palmer, was composed of 20 each of Purbeck clay and of calcined iron to one of manganese. It was fired in an oxidizing atmosphere at stoneware temperatures (approximately 1200 degrees centigrade). Formulas for basalt frequently made use of a colouring agent called 'carr' which is an oxide derived from iron residue in the drainage system of the mines...Manganese was available from Cornwall..."

Interestingly enough black basalt tea pots became 'all-the-rage' because they showed off the beauty and grace of the hostess' hands as you'll note from this exchange.

"Wedgwood produced numerous black basalt tea pots "and in a letter to Bentley: 'Nobody makes black T.pots but Palmers". Wedgwood clearly means 'nobody else' as the firm had been producing teapots for some time Black teapots appealed to feminine vanity by enhancing the whiteness of the pourers' hands as acknowledged by Wedgwood in a letter to partner Bentley in late 1772: 'Thank you for your discovery in favour of the black Teapots. I hope white hands will continue in fashion and then we may continue to make Black Teapots'. See less